FC Dallas to send Justin Che to Bundesliga's Hoffenheim on loan, media report

It was reported by the specialized press that FC Dallas will send Justin Che on loan to Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga on an 18-month contract. 

According to Kerry Hau of SPORT1's, the agreement includes an option to buy, and that the club is looking for him to be part of the first team. 

Che had attracted the interest of a Bundesliga giant since last year

If this is confirmed it would be a defeat for Bayern Munich, who a few weeks ago were interested in the player. 

However, in those same weeks at the end of December, it became known that the player was of interest to more teams not only in the Bundesliga but also in the Premier League. 

According to MLS reporter Tom Bogert, Bayern Munich was impressed with the player's performance in training, so they asked for him and the player was loaned to them in 2021, to be part of their U19 team, shortly before being moved to Bayern's second team. 

However, when his loan expired in the summer the team hoped to be able to close a deal with him to stay and play permanently with them. 

And this did not materialize because FC Dallas was in a very precarious situation due to their out-of-form defenders and the number of injuries in the team. 

For this very reason, FC Dallas retained him in the summer when Bayern made approaches. However, it has been known since then that if the right offer came in the winter, the Cowboys would not stand in the way of the player. 

Che's numbers that stunned the Bundesliga

The German-American defender who plays for FC Dallas of Major League Soccer is a great element when it comes to passing the ball, defending the area from opposing attackers and above all, he has great vision to send the ball forward. 

The player manages to complete 64 percent of his dribbles and when it comes to fighting for the ball he is very effective as he has won 54.84 of those duels. 

In aerial duels he is also very effective, winning 50 percent of those balls, and in general, he accumulates more than 56 percent of effectiveness in balls won and has achieved 79 ball recoveries. 

With these numbers, it was inevitable that the player would attract the attention of European clubs and Bayern, but if the information revealed by the press is confirmed, it will be Hoffenheim who can use Che's effectiveness. 

In Major League Soccer, Che has made his effectiveness felt by opponents as he can play right-back or center-back.

Last season he even had three assists in 15 games, but unfortunately, his team did not make the playoffs. 

Che has been called up to the U.S. men's national team training camp under head coach Gregg Berhalter, although he is awaiting his senior national team debut.

Justin Che in the footsteps of Ricardo Pepi

If the player's transfer is completed, he would be the second player FC Dallas has sent to Europe, following the signing of Ricardo Pepi who was transferred to FC Augsburg in a club-record transfer. This included an $18 million transfer fee.

Before his transfer to the Bundesliga club, Pepi came close to joining Wolverhampton and Chelsea, so the Premier League would have been his destination. 

Pepi has already played his first game for Augsburg, a team that lost 3-1 to TSG Hoffenheim, so his debut was not what he would have expected, but even so, the player has already made his debut in the German league.