Brighton and Hove Albion have confirmed the arrival of SC Paderborn 07 captain Uwe Hünemeier on a three-year deal. He passed his medical on Wednesday morning and, while both clubs didn't disclose the transfer fee, transfermarkt speculate the fee was close to £2m.
Hünemeier has enjoyed by far the spell best of his career in Paderborn, after previously coming through the youth ranks at Borussia Dortmund he moved to Energie Cottbus in search of first-team football. There he began to establish himself, but excelled at the Benteler-Arena and helped guide the club to the Bundesliga in 2014/15.
Hoping to help the Seagulls' promotion push
Despite his fine individual performances, he couldn't prevent them from slipping back down to the 2. Bundesliga after just a one-season stay. Now, moving to the south coast of England, Hünemeier will hope to have a similar effect on the Seagulls' possible promotion bid. They got their Championship season off to a fantastic start last weekend, as Kazenga LuaLua scored the only goal in their game against Nottingham Forest.
Brighton manager Chris Houghton said he was "delighted" to sign a player of his new centre-back's experience. Houghton added, "He has played at the top level in German football and we all know how high the standards are there." He singled out Hünemeier's "good leadership qualities" and will "will add a great deal" to the south coast side's defensive.
The Brighton boss concluded, "He is a very popular player at SC Paderborn and it would be easy for him to remain there, but he wants a new challenge, he wants that to be in England and he has shown a great desire to join us."
Championship continues to pinch 2. Bundesliga stars
He is not the first star to be swiped from the German second division from their English counterparts this summer. Philipp Hofmann and Sebastian Polter have already jumped ship, although the latter played for 1. FSV Mainz 05 his last competitive game in Germany was for 1. FC Union Berlin, and Rouwen Hennings looks set to complete a €2m move to Burnley.