Werder Bremen Signs Kratt On Permanent Deal

York United midfielder Ronan Kratt’s loan move with Werder Bremen has been made permanent.

The 19-year-old had been sterling mid-season addition for the York United when he arrived last year, jumping in to score two goals through 14 appearances and help spark a big rise in form for the Nine Stripes.

Much like Emilio Estevez’s move to ADO Den Haag, the transfer out comes with an undisclosed transfer fee attached.

Following the conclusion of the 2022 campaign, Kratt enjoyed a training stint with Werder Bremen that preceded his loan move there six months ago. His parent club put a purchase clauses in place to make his stay permanent should he meet a threshold of appearances for the club’s U-23 side – we’ve heard ten was the magic number.

Having featured for Werder’s second team eleven times, he’s now set to join the Regionalliga Nord side permanently.

This won’t be Kratt’s first club stint in Germany either: the young winger had played with SSV Ulm 1846 at the U-19 level, where the likes of Mario Gomez and Thomas Tuchel once developed.

“I’d like to thank everyone at Werder Bremen for their collaboration on what is a fantastic move for Ronan, York United and the CPL,” added York United Club President Angus McNab, who describes Kratt as a very mature and determined young man.

“We’ll now watch from afar as Ronan continues his career and development in Germany. We wish him every success and I hope he knows that he’s always welcome at the club.”

That certainly appears to be the case, with Kratt having joined the stands to take in the club’s recent Pride Night win over Atletico Ottawa.

From the start of the loan, McNab had been confident that the purchase conditions would be met, having told media months ago that he did not expect to see Kratt return back to the Nine Stripes setup once the youngster embarked to Germany.

While it took the youngster some time to settle abroad, he’s left Werder’s second team impressed from the first half-campaign.

“He has already shown that he has qualities that will help us in the new season,” added Werder academy head coach Bjorn Schierenbeck. “We are pleased that we now have him permanently with us.”