Borussia Dortmund winger Cole Campbell has joined Hoffenheim on loan until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old United States youth international has made a total of five Bundesliga appearances for Dortmund since his arrival at Signal Iduna Park from Icelandic side Breiðablik in the summer of 2022.
Campbell, who has played just 16 minutes of Bundesliga football this term, completed the move after leaving Dortmund’s winter training camp in Marbella at the weekend. The deal is understood to include an option for fifth-placed Hoffenheim to make the move permanent this summer for an estimated £10m.
Cole Campbell: ‘A very talented winger with great potential’
“Cole is a very talented winger with great potential for development, whom we have been watching closely for some time,” said Andreas Schicker, Hoffenheim’s managing director. “He has great pace and strong one-on-one qualities. He can be used in a variety of ways on the offensive flanks. We are convinced that he can give our team an extra boost.”
With just 35 minutes of Bundesliga football under his belt so far, Campbell has struggled to translate the promise of his youth team appearances for Dortmund into senior success. The winger, whose formative years were spent between Atlanta United’s academy and Icelandic side Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar, scored 19 goals and provided 20 assists in 58 appearances for Borussia Dortmund’s under-17 and under-19 teams.
Campbell joins Hoffenheim amid ‘high expectations’
“Cole is a young player with a lot of potential, but for various reasons he has not been able to show that recently,” said Sebastian Kehl, Dortmund’s sporting director. “He has high expectations of himself and was unhappy with his current role.
“That is one of the reasons we agreed to this loan and believe that he will get more playing time at Hoffenheim in the second half of the season than he has recently had with us. We wish him every success.”
It remains to be seen whether Campbell’s arrival will have a knock-on effect for Hoffenheim winger Bazoumana Touré, who has been linked with a move to Newcastle United.
