SC Freiburg have continued with their summer spending spree and have today completed the signing of Serbian centre half Stefan Mitrovic, for a fee believed to be in the region of €1.5m. The twenty-four year old joins the Bundesliga side from Benfica after spending six months on loan at Spanish outfit Real Valladoid last season.
The deal comes after Freiburg sold German international and their star defender Matthias Ginter to Borussia Dortmund for a fee in the region of €10m.
Mitrovic signed a five-year deal with the Portuguese giants last May, seemingly to tie him down as 'one for the future'. However he only made eight appearances for S.L Benfica 'B' and never made a first team performance, despite having two titles to his name. He seemed delighted with his move when speaking to the official reporter for Freiburg's website;
“Playing in the Bundesliga will be a huge challenge. I’m convinced joining Freiburg is the right choice for me. I’ve been very impressed by the open conversations with the people in charge."
Sporting Director Klemens Hartenbach also said:
“We’re happy to have added a tough defender and a good tackler to our squad who’s also good with both feet and capable of playing his way out of trouble. We believe he can make it in the Bundesliga.”
Mitrovic appeared sixteen times in La Liga last season and earned his first cap for the national side after the season's penultimate weekend in a friendly match. Mitrovic will now be hoping to gain consistent playing time at his new-found home in Germany.