Arminia Bielefeld have signed the next player for the 2024/2025 season. This time from a club relegated from the second division, a future third division competitor.

DSC Arminia Bielefeld have signed Lukas Kunze from VfL Osnabrück. The 25-year-old native of Bielefeld has made 104 appearances over the past three seasons (Bundesliga 2/3rd division/Lower Saxony Cup), scoring 13 goals in the process. The brother of Fabian Kunze (Hannover 96) will mainly be deployed in central midfield.

“With Lukas, we are strengthening our squad with a ball-playing, physically strong central midfielder who is also capable of scoring goals from this position. Over the past three years, he has impressed with his consistent and reliable performances. We are sure that he can quickly become an important part of our team,” said Bielefeld’s sporting director Michael Mutzel and head coach Mitch Kniat about the new signing.

At 1.91 meters tall, the right-footed player was first trained at VfL Theesen, then at FC Schalke 04 and SV Rödinghausen. He made his debut there in 2016, first in the Westfalenliga and later in the Regionalliga West together with his twin brother Fabian.

While his brother moved to Arminia in the 2019/2020 season, Lukas moved to VfL Osnabrück in the 3rd division in 2021/2022. With the purple-and-whites, he became an undisputed regular on the final matchday of the 2022/23 season, winning promotion to Bundesliga 2 in stoppage time (90.+6).

“Michael Mutzel and Mitch Kniat quickly convinced me of Arminia’s path during our talks. As a native of Bielefeld, I’m really looking forward to wearing the colors of my hometown and playing in the SchücoArena in the future,” said the midfielder about his commitment to the Bielefeld Alm.

Kunze is the third external signing for the 2024/2025 season after Jonas Kersken, who Bielefeld signed permanently from Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Stefano Russo (FC Viktoria Köln). The loan players Christopher Schepp (SV Meppen) and Tom Geerkens (Wuppertaler SV) are also returning to Bielefeld.