Official | Köln complete signing of Belgian winger Alessio Castro-Montes | OneFootball

Union Saint-Gilloise winger Alessio Castro-Montes’ reported on permanent move to 1. FC Köln has been officially confirmed. The Bundesliga’s cathedral city club have paid – per transfermarkt.de – €2m to acquire the €5m-valued wide-man. Castro-Montes can play on either flank as a fullback, wingback, or defensive-minded midfielder.

How precisely the 28-year-old will fit into head coach Lukas Kwasniok’s tactical plans remains to be seen. The Belgian Pro League veteran’s most frequently works on the left-hand-side. Köln parted company with former starting left-back Leart Paçarada recently, but new summer addition Kristoffer Lund already fills Paçarada’s role.

“With Alessio, we are shoring up the flanks as planned,” Köln sporting director Thomas Kessler noted in a club statement. “He is a versatile player who brings international experience, footballing quality and great game intelligence to the table. In our discussions, he clearly expressed his desire to contribute these strengths to our team and prove himself in the Bundesliga.”

“I chose FC because it’s a really big, cool club with a huge fan base,” the player himself added. “And it’s always been my dream to play in the Bundesliga. This is a great move for me.”

GGFN | Peter Weis