Eintracht Frankfurt striker Noel Futkeu is closing in on a move to Bundesliga newcomers SV Elversberg after the two clubs reached a verbal agreement over a loan deal. According to Florian Plettenberg, Elversberg will also secure a purchase option for the 23-year-old. Futkeu has already agreed personal terms with SVE and must now complete his medical before the transfer can be finalized.
The move brings a swift conclusion to an unusual summer for last season’s 2. Bundesliga top scorer. Frankfurt activated their buyback option to re-sign Futkeu from Greuther Fürth in April, but never intended to integrate the striker permanently into Adi Hütter’s squad. Get German Football Newsnoted last month that Futkeu was among four Eintracht players permitted to negotiate departures.
His return nevertheless followed an excellent individual campaign in Fürth. Futkeu finished the season with 19 league goals, including the final strike in Fürth’s 3-0 victory over Fortuna Düsseldorf on the final matchday. GGFNcovered that decisive goal as Fürth preserved their 2. Bundesliga status and Düsseldorf suffered relegation.
Frankfurt reportedly paid approximately €1.3m to bring Futkeu back, but the striker was quickly identified as one of several attacking players without a future at the Deutsche Bank Park. Elversberg now offer the former Fürth forward something Frankfurt could not: a realistic pathway to Bundesliga minutes.
For the promoted Saarland club, the prospective deal represents an opportunity to add a proven goalscorer without immediately committing to a permanent transfer. For Futkeu, it provides the chance to turn last season’s prolific second-tier campaign into his first sustained opportunity in the German top flight.