The fans of Rot-Weiss Essen still have to wait for a transfer from the top drawer. On Tuesday, a second division player canceled. Here are the details

Rot-Weiss Essen have signed four players from the regional league: Jimmy Kaparos, Tom Moustier, Ramien Safi and, most recently, Dion Berisha. They are joined by Tobias Kraulich and Michael Schultz from league rivals Dynamo Dresden and Viktoria Köln respectively, as well as Robbie D’Haese from Belgium.

RWE has not yet been able to present a player from the top shelf, for example from the Bundesliga 2. There is a reason for this – and it is of a financial nature.

Of course: The sporting management around sports director Christian Flüthmann, director of professional soccer Marcus Steegmann and coach Christoph Dabrowski have been holding countless talks with potential new RWE players for months in order to strengthen the team. Of course, this also includes professionals from the 2nd Bundesliga

There are several examples: Ahmet Arslan (1. FC Magdeburg) and Florian Dietz (1. FC Köln) should be mentioned here. And a most recent case: As Forecasting learned, Kaan Caliskaner canceled Rot-Weiss Essen on Tuesday morning (July 9).

According to our information, the 89-time second division striker, who is still in the service of Eintracht Braunschweig until June 30, 2025, had actually reached an agreement with the RWE management. Actually

We have an internally defined pain threshold as to what we are prepared to pay for a player in total. We are currently not prepared to exceed this limit, as we want to end up with a balanced squad with a clear structure.

Marcus Steegmann

But there was one more catch: the 24-year-old, who RWE coach Dabrowski would have loved to see in his team, had also received a financially more attractive offer from Poland.

RWE was supposed to make up the difference in salary with what we might call a handout. A sum of 50,000 euros was reportedly being discussed. However, the Essen team were not prepared to do this. As a result, the 1.92 meter tall center forward, who lives with his girlfriend in Cologne, moved to the Ekstraklasa instead of the German 3rd division in Essen.

Steegmann confirmed the interest in Caliskaner to Forecasting, but he would neither confirm nor deny the asking price.

Steegmann told RS: “We have a personnel budget with which we plan and which has been slightly increased compared to the previous season. And we have an internally defined pain threshold as to what we are prepared to pay for a player in total. We are currently not prepared to exceed this limit, as we want to end up with a balanced squad with a clear structure. We saw last season what is possible with a team that is strong as a collective. Nevertheless, we want and need to strengthen ourselves further in order to field a strong team.”

This example shows the whole problem Rot-Weiss Essen faces with major transfers. As a third division club, RWE has a number of arguments in its favor: the 3rd division, the tradition, the passionate fans, the modern infrastructure and a coach with an offensive style of play. And, of course, the salary level is quite respectable compared to the rest of the league.

But: Players who come from the 2nd Bundesliga or have even played at a higher level are often only casually interested in such arguments. At the end of the day, the player knows what he earns in the 2nd division and naturally wants to give up as little as possible in a possible employment contract in Essen. RWE, as in the case of Caliskaner, is not prepared, at least at the moment, to compensate for any loss of salary with hand money.

Rot-Weiss Essen must have staying power on the transfer market

It has to be said as clearly as that: A player may move to Essen in the Regionalliga because of the fans and the stadium, but not in the 3rd division – let alone even higher, should RWE be promoted at some point. It’s often all about the money – after all, soccer is a business.

It should also be noted: RWE has to be patient with any major transfers. Only when the players gamble away and get nervous at the end of the summer transfer window will an option like third-division club Rot-Weiss Essen be considered for second or even first-division players. Before that, RWE is just an “option” for such people – but rather option D than plan A, B or C.

As Marc-Nicolai Pfeifer said when he took office as CEO of Rot-Weiss Essen: “What also impressed me in the talks with the RWE managers is that they want to be successful here with sustainability – without doing any crazy things. Not every expensive team is successful, but every successful team is expensive. So I have to make a certain investment in order to take the next step and set goals. “

89-time second division player says no! Why it’s difficult for RWE on the market

The fans of Rot-Weiss Essen must continue to wait for a transfer from the top drawer. On Tuesday, a second division player canceled. Here are the details

Rot-Weiss Essen have signed four players from the regional league: Jimmy Kaparos, Tom Moustier, Ramien Safi and, most recently, Dion Berisha. They are joined by Tobias Kraulich and Michael Schultz from league rivals Dynamo Dresden and Viktoria Köln respectively, as well as Robbie D’Haese from Belgium.

RWE has not yet been able to present a player from the top shelf, for example from the Bundesliga 2. There is a reason for this – and it is of a financial nature.

Of course: The sporting management around sports director Christian Flüthmann, director of professional soccer Marcus Steegmann and coach Christoph Dabrowski have been holding countless talks with potential new RWE players for months in order to strengthen the team. Of course, this also includes professionals from the 2nd Bundesliga

There are several examples: Ahmet Arslan (1. FC Magdeburg) and Florian Dietz (1. FC Köln) should be mentioned here. And a most recent case: As Forecasting learned, Kaan Caliskaner canceled Rot-Weiss Essen on Tuesday morning (July 9).

According to our information, the 89-time second division striker, who is still in the service of Eintracht Braunschweig until June 30, 2025, had actually reached an agreement with the RWE management. Actually

We have an internally defined pain threshold as to what we are prepared to pay for a player in total. We are currently not prepared to exceed this limit, as we want to end up with a balanced squad with a clear structure.

Marcus Steegmann

But there was one more catch: the 24-year-old, who RWE coach Dabrowski would have loved to see in his team, had also received a financially more attractive offer from Poland.

RWE was supposed to make up the difference in salary with what we might call a handout. A sum of 50,000 euros was reportedly being discussed. However, the Essen team were not prepared to do this. As a result, the 1.92 meter tall center forward, who lives with his girlfriend in Cologne, moved to the Ekstraklasa instead of the German 3rd division in Essen.

Steegmann confirmed the interest in Caliskaner to Forecasting, but he would neither confirm nor deny the asking price.

Steegmann told RS: “We have a personnel budget with which we plan and which has been slightly increased compared to the previous season. And we have an internally defined pain threshold as to what we are prepared to pay for a player in total. We are currently not prepared to exceed this limit, as we want to end up with a balanced squad with a clear structure. We saw last season what is possible with a team that is strong as a collective. Nevertheless, we want and need to strengthen ourselves further in order to field a strong team.”

This example shows the whole problem Rot-Weiss Essen faces with major transfers. As a third division club, RWE has a number of arguments in its favor: the 3rd division, the tradition, the passionate fans, the modern infrastructure and a coach with an offensive style of play. And, of course, the salary level is quite respectable compared to the rest of the league.

But: Players who come from the 2nd Bundesliga or have even played at a higher level are often only casually interested in such arguments. At the end of the day, the player knows what he earns in the 2nd division and naturally wants to give up as little as possible in a possible employment contract in Essen. RWE, as in the case of Caliskaner, is not prepared, at least at the moment, to compensate for any loss of salary with hand money.

Rot-Weiss Essen must have staying power on the transfer market

It has to be said as clearly as that: A player may move to Essen in the Regionalliga because of the fans and the stadium, but not in the 3rd division – let alone even higher, should RWE be promoted at some point. It’s often all about the money – after all, soccer is a business.

It should also be noted: RWE has to be patient with any major transfers. Only when the players gamble away and get nervous at the end of the summer transfer window will an option like third-division club Rot-Weiss Essen be considered for second or even first-division players. Before that, RWE is just an “option” for such people – but rather option D than plan A, B or C.

As Marc-Nicolai Pfeifer said when he took office as CEO of Rot-Weiss Essen: “What also impressed me in the talks with the RWE managers is that they want to be successful here with sustainability – without doing any crazy things. Not every expensive team is successful, but every successful team is expensive. So I have to make a certain investment in order to take the next step and set goals. “