World’s most valuable up to 19 years
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In his third Bundesliga game for Union Berlin, Tom Rothe scored his first goal of the season. The 19-year-old left-back, who came from Borussia Dortmund for a transfer fee of 5 million euros, is set to move to Florence following the departure of Robin Gosens (30). Union President Dirk Zingler is full of enthusiasm. “Tom will be the future left-back in the national team. He is the best 19-year-old we have in this position,” Zingler told “Sky”.
In international comparison, Rothe is, together with Monaco’s Kassoum Ouattara (19), the most valuable left-back under 19 years of age. During his loan at Holstein Kiel, the Dortmund native increased his market value from 3.5 million to 8 million euros. According to “Sky” information, the conditions for the transfer to Union were a buy-back option of around 10 million euros and a matching right. This means that the Black and Yellows can follow suit if another club makes an offer for Rothe in order to sign him for the same amount.
Union Berlin boss Zingler: “We don’t have that many good left-backs”
“If he continues to develop, he will also be seen by our national coaches. We don’t have that many good left-backs,” said Union boss Zingler. In a comparison of the most valuable German left-backs, Rothe ranks fifth. Ahead of him are Luca Netz (21, Gladbach) and Jan-Niklas Beste (25, Benfica), players who have never played for the senior national team.
However, Rothe’s first goal for Union was not his first Bundesliga goal – he scored that in April 2022 in BVB’s 6-1 win over Wolfsburg. Rothe secured his first Bundesliga assist in October 2022 in a 2-3 defeat in Cologne. His teammate Benedict Hollerbach (23) is now hoping for assists from the left: “Tom played me a few very good balls into the depth. Defensively, he did his job very well. I am happy about the quality we have gained. I was sad that Robin Gosens left us. He often set me up. If Tom can take over that one-to-one, all the better.”
Florence has a purchase obligation of 7.5 million euros for Gosens, which is tied to a certain number of appearances and qualification for the European Cup – in Berlin, the former international player is still under contract until 2028.
