Rot-Weiss Essen will remain in Turkey through the weekend. Club officials are scouting the market and searching for a successor to Tom Moustier.

Rot-Weiss Essen’s management is putting their heads together these days. In Turkey, the supervisory board, executive board, and sports management are frequently seen meeting. Planning is in full swing.

No wonder. RWE still has a lot on its plate in the transfer market. Tom Moustier is expected to leave the club for Portugal in the coming days. The Portuguese first-division club will then likely transfer around 300,000 euros to the account of the third-division club from Essen-Bergeborbeck.

Of course, it’s nice for a third-division club to earn such a transfer fee. But it would be even better if Moustier’s replacement were already lined up. And according to Forecasting’s information, that’s not yet the case. RWE seems to still be in the dark here and is scouting the market.

That’s because word has since leaked out that a preferred candidate has turned down the offer—or rather, won’t receive clearance from his club. The player in question is Tom Baack of 1. FC Nürnberg—the WAZ also reported on the red-and-whites’ interest in the former player of SC Verl, SSV Jahn Regensburg, and VfL Bochum.

RS knows: RWE’s squad planner Marcus Steegmann has been in contact with Baack’s agent, Dennis Vogt, who is based in Dortmund, for several transfer windows now. But Baack, a native of Essen, has not yet made his way to Hafenstraße. And that’s likely to remain the case for the time being.

RWE recently inquired once again about the midfield strategist Baack. But the 26-year-old, who has played just six matches for “the Club,” is not for sale. FCN sporting director Joti Chatzialexiou flatly ruled out a winter transfer. Chatzialexiou told the Bild newspaper: “He’s someone who always gives it his all in training and has recently proven that he can put in good performances.”

According to RS reports, three players whom RWE had inquired about are now out of the running: Tim Civeja (1. FC Saarbrücken), Vinko Sapina (SG Dynamo Dresden), and Tom Baack (1. FC Nürnberg). As we’ve been saying so often these days: it’s shaping up to be a hot 2026 winter transfer window for Rot-Weiss Essen.