American wonderkid smashes transfer record to sign for German top-flight newcomers

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FT Desk

United States wonderkid Cole Campbell has completed a record transfer to Bundesliga newcomers Elversberg from Borussia Dortmund.

Born in Texas, Campbell relocated to Iceland during his childhood, where he regularly travelled for summer training camps thanks to his mother's background as a former Iceland international.

He signed for Dortmund from Breiðablik in 2022, initially representing the club's reserve side before earning his first-team debut in 2024.

Despite breaking into the senior squad, Campbell made only seven appearances over the following year. He was then loaned to Hoffenheim in January, but his spell there was limited to just 74 minutes of Bundesliga action.

Cole Campbell has completed a permanent move from Borussia Dortmund to SV Elversberg.

Thank you for everything you gave in black and yellow, Cole! Wishing you all the best in this next chapter! 🇺🇸🖤💛 pic.twitter.com/QJN80ug9YL

— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) July 9, 2026

It was reported that he had no future at the club, with Celtic previously an interested party, but newly promoted Elversberg have won the race for his signature, smashing the club transfer record with a €6m deal.

Their previous record addition was Lukasz Poreba, signed earlier this summer from Hamburg.

“In Cole, we’re signing another highly talented player who will be a tremendous asset to us with his exceptional pace and one-on-one ability,” sporting director Christian Weber said.

“We’ve been pursuing him for quite some time and are delighted that he has chosen to join us.”

Dortmund wished Campbell well after reporting the deal themselves.

“Cole is an incredibly talented player with a lot of potential. He made the leap to professional soccer with us,” BVB managing director of sports Lars Ricken said. “We thank Cole for his time with us and wish him all the best for his future, both on and off the field.”

Who are Elversberg?

SV Elversberg's promotion to the Bundesliga is one of the most unlikely success stories in recent German football. The club is based in the small Saarland municipality of Spiesen-Elversberg, which has a population of around 13,000.

Despite their modest size, Elversberg have risen from the fourth tier of German football to the Bundesliga in just four seasons, becoming top-flight members for the first time in their history.

Their remarkable climb began in 2022 when they won the Regionalliga Sudwest to secure promotion to the 3. Liga.

They immediately followed that by winning the 3. Liga title in 2023, earning back-to-back promotions to Bundesliga 2. After comfortably avoiding relegation in their first second-tier campaign, Elversberg narrowly missed out on promotion in 2025, losing dramatically to Heidenheim in the promotion play-off after conceding a stoppage-time goal.

Rather than letting that setback derail them, Elversberg responded by finishing second in Bundesliga 2 the following season. A 3-0 victory over Preussen Munster confirmed automatic promotion, completing one of the fastest rises through the German football pyramid in modern times.