After bringing in Jakub Sylvestr yesterday, Stefan Effenberg has made Tim Sebastian his second January signing on Thursday. SC Paderborn 07 have captured him from league rivals RB Leipzig, and tied him down to a two-and-a-half year deal.
Plenty of experience
Sebastian is a hugely experienced centre-back and will add an experienced head to the heart of Paderborn's defence.
The 31-year-old has played 125 games in the 2. Bundesliga and a further 58 in the Bundesliga.
Add that to his experience in the German lower leagues, and Sebastian had featured well over 350 times in his career.
The veteran defender has, along with Leipzig, also turned out for Karlsruher SC and Hansa Rostock.
Strong competition
Sebastian joins former Leipzig centre-half partner Niklas Hoheneder in Westfalen, as well as a host of other defenders.
The pair will do battle with Hauke Wahl, Rafa Lopez and Florian Ruck fto start at the heart of the defence, although it looks like Effenberg favours Wahl over the rest.
Wahl, who came in from Holstein Kiel in the summer, has been very impressive in both boxes and has the potential to be a fixture in their back-line for years to come.
Born and Effenberg delighted with new signing
"Tim Sebastian is a seasoned central defender," said Paderborn's managing director, Michael Born.
He continued, "He has proven at several clubs that he can play for a long time at a high level and also assume leadership responsibility."
Effenberg also gave his thoughts on the deal, "The first half of the season has shown that we need more stability in defense."
The Paderborn head coach concluded, "Tim can provide this with his quality and character, meaning we get greater security and compactness in our defensive game."