From the Regionalliga to Europe – this is the leap Preußen Münster’s Henok Teklab is taking. The winger signs with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise until 2027.
The transfer had been a done deal for a few weeks, but now it is official. Henok Teklab is making the leap from the Regionalliga West to the Europa League. The 24-year-old is moving from SC Preußen Münster to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
The Belgians caused a stir internationally last season. As runners-up in the Jupiler Pro League, Saint-Gilles were even allowed to play in the Champions League qualifiers, but were defeated there by Glasgow Rangers. But that was not the end of their European journey.
They continued in the Europa League, where Saint-Gilles won their group ahead of Union Berlin, SC Braga and Malmö FF. In the round of 16, they met up with the Berliners again. After a turbulent 3:3 in the first leg, RUSG celebrated an impressive 3:0 away win and advanced to the next round. In the quarter-finals, however, they lost to Bayer Leverkusen (1:1/1:4).
In the last season, Saint-Gilles were again among the top teams in Belgium and even had a chance of winning the championship until the last matchday. In the end, however, it was only enough for third place. However, since champions Royal Antwerp also won the cup, Teklab can look forward to participating in the Europa League qualifiers in the new season.
Teklab goes the Undav way
Teklab’s leap is reminiscent of Deniz Undav’s – only more extreme. The striker moved from SV Meppen to Saint-Gilles in 2020, initially from the German third to the Belgian second division. With the Belgians, however, he immediately celebrated the second league championship and also shone in the top flight the following year with 25 goals and ten assists in 33 games. RUSG dominated the league, but squandered their lead from the main round in the championship round and finished second. Nevertheless, the season paid off for Undav, who moved to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
For Teklab, it’s now straight from the fourth to the first division and all the way to Europe. The Frankfurt native, who contributed six goals and twelve assists to the club’s promotion in the last regional league season, will sign until 2027. In Saint-Gilles, he will meet Dennis Eckert-Ayensa, who played for Alemannia Aachen and Borussia Mönchengladbach in his youth and moved to Belgium from Ingolstadt in 2022. However, he has hardly made an appearance there so far – also due to injuries (456 minutes of action across all competitions, two goals, two assists).