VfB Homberg has also made a move, signing from SV Straelen, which has withdrawn from the Oberliga Niederrhein. The captain is coming.

VfB Homberg has pulled off a minor transfer coup during the winter break. Luca Thissen, who captained SV Straelen in the first half of the season, will strengthen coach Stefan Janßen’s squad.

The defensive midfielder came through the youth ranks at Fortuna Düsseldorf, where he made 23 appearances for the U17s (two goals) and 26 appearances for the U19s (three goals, one assist). At the age of 19, Thissen also made his debut for the U23s in the Regionalliga West, where he made a total of five substitute appearances in 2022/23, albeit hampered by a metatarsal fracture.

Last summer, the center back, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Sunday (February 4), decided to make the move to Regionalliga relegated side SV Straelen. Under coach Sunay Acar, Thissen, who was born in Neuss, immediately became captain and impressed with his performances.

Absolute leader in Straelen

Acar fielded the youngster in every game, both in the cup and in the league. With the exception of the second round of the Lower Rhine Cup against TuRU Düsseldorf (3-0), where Thissen was substituted at half-time, the 1.77-meter-tall player was always on the pitch for at least 75 minutes.

His performances were impressive. In a newly assembled and young team, Thissen scored two goals and provided two assists in 21 competitive games. With four wins in a row, Straelen went into the winter break in third place in the table.

However, this is of little comfort to SVS and its players, as the club has withdrawn from competitive play. Thissen is already the tenth Straelen player to be presented at a new club, with two more to follow shortly.

The big winner is VfB Homberg, currently 10th in the Oberliga Niederrhein, who can look forward to a promising young player with experience.

Bartu comes from Venlo

And that’s not all: in addition to Thissen, the club announced on Tuesday that it had signed Berkan Can Bartu from the U21 team of Dutch second division club VVV-Venlo. These are the fourth and fifth winter signings for VfB. Luca Happe (SV Sodingen), Ryo Iwata (Sportfreunde Baumberg), and Kingsley Marcinek (TVD Velbert) had already signed previously.