Borussia Dortmund loan midfield prospect Kjell Wätjen out to Bochum | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund midfield prospect Kjell Wätjen has been loaned out to Bochum for the 2025/26 2. Bundesliga campaign. Bochum have maintained serious interest in the 19-year-old for quite some time. The Germany U19 international will now receive a chance to hone his skills in the second division.

Wätjen made his Bundesliga debut very much unexpectedly on matchday 32 of the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign. Thrust into the starting XI by then BVB head-coach Edin Terzic, Wätjen registered an assist in a 5-1 victory over Augsburg.

Terzic and BVB sporting director Sebastian Kehl memorably talked up Wätjen’s potential after the match. Wätjen would nevertheless not earn another Bundesliga start under Terzic and subsequent Dortmund head coaches Nuri Sahin and Niko Kovac.

Wätjen made two brief relief appearances under Sahin during the first half of the 2024/25 season. For the most part, however, the teenage talent spent the year with BVB II in the 3. Liga. He did score five goals and contribute five assists in 20 appearances for the Dortmund reserves.

“We made a conscious decision to loan Kjell out very ambitious second division club where he can gain a lot of playing experience,” Kehl noted in a BVB released statement. “Due to the competitive situation in our midfield, the latter would have been difficult for Kjell at BVB in 2025/2026.“

Bochum sporting director Dirk Dufner lauded Wätjen – currently representing the Germany U19s at the UEFA U19 European Championship – as “one of the most talented German players in his age group“.

Wätjen was also part of the famous Christian Wück squad that captured the 2023 U17 World Championship. He notched two U17 tallies under Wück.

“I am delighted to be able to take the next steps in my young career at [VfL Bochum’s] Castroper Straße,” Wätjen – who is from nearby Gevelsberg – noted in his own statement. “I come from this region and know how important VfL is to the people here.”

GGFN | Peter Weis