The VfL Bochum Sentinel
Squad10 Aug 2026
89 days out for Maxim Leitsch after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. VfL Bochum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
No deal for Tiago Tomás at that price
VfL Bochum offered $20.7M; VfB Stuttgart said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Door shut on Tim Kleindienst
VfL Bochum asked and Borussia Mönchengladbach said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
As if he never left: Maxim Leitsch returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Maxim Leitsch is a VfL Bochum player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
VfL Bochum go back to the board over Tiago Tomás
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $23.8M — a club that wants Tiago Tomás enough to be asked twice.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
The town asked, and VfL Bochum paid $6.5M
Maxim Leitsch was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $6.5M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Market10 Aug 2026
Patrick Braun steps up from the VfL Bochum academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Patrick Braun has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Thomas Schmid joins the VfL Bochum first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Thomas Schmid is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
Florian Hartmann steps up from the VfL Bochum academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Florian Hartmann has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
- Squad Luis Pick signs a new deal
- Squad Luis Pick in a row with a teammate
- Squad A row about effort at VfL Bochum