After the arrival of FC Basel's Albian Ajeti, FC Augsburg have also announced the signing of Jeffrey Gouweleeuw from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. Both teams have not made the details of his contract or transfer fee known. He will wear the number six.
Excited to be joining a former opponent
The 24-year-old is well aware of how his new club play, having played against them twice in the current UEFA Europa League group stage. That does mean that he will be cup-tied against Liverpool in the round of 32, and therefore ineligible to play.
The sporting director at Augsburg, Stefan Reuter, was pleased to welcome the Dutchman to the club. "Jeffrey Gouweleeuw is already an experienced player as the captain of AZ Alkmaar, despite his young age," said the 49-year-old.
The player, who was also speaking to the team's website, was similarly excited about the future: "I have, during the Europa League, been able to intensively follow FC Augsburg and get to know them as a nice team. Therefore it is great to now be a part of the side."
The defender added, "I am excited to be playing in the Bundesliga, which will be a great experience for me."
Added depth
Augsburg have not only signed the Alkmaar captain to add more stability and another option to their defence, but as a replcement for the injured Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker. The centre-half broke his leg during the final game of the Europa League group stage, and it is not yet known when he will return.
That restores Markus Weinzierl to his usual quota of four centre-backs. Christoph Janker was used in the cup competitions and looks set to continue in the vain, with Gouweleeuw, Ragnar Klavan and Jeong-Ho Hong battling it out to be the two starters.
Both Ajeti and Gouweleeuw will now join up with their new side at their training camp in Spain.