FC Ingolstadt 04 defender, Hauke Wahl, will spend the remainder of the 2016/17 season on loan with 2. Bundesliga side, 1. FC Heidenheim.
A product of the Dynamo Dresden academy, Wahl has been held in high regard since making his professional debut for Holstein Kiel during the 2013/14 3. Liga season. That form earned the defender a move to SC Paderborn, where he made the switch to the Audi Sportpark during the summer.
The 22-year-old however has found playing time hard to come by with the Bavarian Bundesliga strugglers, limited to time only in the DFB Pokal, and will look for some respite with the promotion chasing second division side from Baden-Württemberg.
A chance to gain some valuable experience
Ingolstadt Sporting Director, Thomas Linke, suggested that from a Schanzer perspective, the loan move will prove to be extremely valuable for the Bavarians. "At Heidenheim, Hauke has the opportunity to gather high quality match practice, which can only do him very good and we look forward to seeing him back in the ranks in the summer," the former Bayern Munich defender told the official Ingolstadt club website.
In the meanwhile, the departure of Wahl leaves the Audi Sportpark side with only three recognised central defenders: Marvin Matip, Marcel Tisserand and Romain Brégerie. With that taken into account, it would be surprise if Maik Walpurgis' side were to bring another defender to Ingolstadt over the winter break - a fact that Linke has already hinted at.
Defensive cover for the Voith Arena side
The Voith Arena side, now in their third consecutive second division campaign, have gone from strength to strength this season. Frank Schmidt's side sit in 4th place, heading into the rückrunde, with promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in the club's history a real possibility.
However with star defender Kevin Kraus suffering a cruciate ligament tear, that will keep the 24-year-old out for the remainder of the season, Heidenheim have been left short of defensive cover. Therefore for club chairman Holger Sanwald, the chance to bring in Wahl seemed a no brainer, "Due to Kevin Kraus' injury and long term absence, we were no longer adequately covered in defence."
Sanwald continued, "All the more we are now looking forward to having Hauke Wahl, who already knows the 2. Bundesliga well. Along with Matthias Wittek, Timo Beermann and Wahl we are again very well placed in defence."