When Jürgen Klopp was presented a few weeks ago as the new Germany head coach, he made one thing clear at his first press conference: he would reshuffle the pack completely. Only a handful of players could feel sure of their place in the Germany side. Beyond that, performance, form and, of course, work ethic would decide who gets called up for future training camps.
Klopp said 57 players were on his imaginary shortlist for his first matches as Germany coach. The 59-year-old deliberately refused to discuss names, but even then it was clear he had players in mind who had never really been involved with the national team before. Germany were trying to put the humiliation of three botched World Cup tournaments in a row behind them, at least for now, with a fresh start and new faces.
Felix Keidel could now be one of those new faces. Late on Tuesday evening, the Bild newspaper first reported that the 23-year-old from SV Elversberg had received an invitation from the Germany head coach. A day later, kicker followed up and confirmed the reports with information of its own. Keidel's nomination comes as a huge surprise. He has made only three appearances in the German top flight and brings virtually no experience at the highest level.
Getty ImagesWhich clubs did Felix Keidel play for in his career?
At FC Ingolstadt, where his footballing career began in the Under-19s in 2012, Keidel worked his way through every youth side before his promotion to the professional squad in the summer of 2022. He then spent three years with the club from the automotive city, establishing himself as a first-team regular in his very first season at just 20 years old and making 37 appearances in the 3. Liga (one goal, four assists).
Then, in 2025, he stepped up a division and joined SVE, who were in transition after narrowly missing out on promotion against 1. FC Heidenheim and bought Keidel out of his contract in Ingolstadt for a modest transfer fee of just €400,000. Again, he needed virtually no settling-in time. He immediately became a regular in coach Vincent Wagner's side (25 appearances, 13 of them in the starting line-up) and played a key part as the Saarland club sensationally sealed promotion to the Bundesliga at the end of the season.
Keidel needed little more than two years to climb from the third tier to the very top. Three Bundesliga appearances against Leverkusen, Gladbach and, most recently, Bayern (one goal), plus one DFB Cup game against MSV Duisburg (two assists), were apparently enough to convince Klopp of his qualities and earn him a chance with the national team.
Getty ImagesWill Felix Keidel solve a major problem area in the Germany team?
Whether the 23-year-old is already at the required level to play a decisive role for Germany from the outset remains to be seen. More than anything, the Germany head coach is likely to value Keidel's outstanding versatility, which means he can slot into several different positions in the national side without any problem.
During his time at Ingolstadt, for example, there was hardly a role on the pitch Keidel did not fill. His biggest backer, FCI coach Sabrina Wittmann, used him in both full-back positions, although his natural role is actually on the right of a back four, as well as in central midfield and even in attacking midfield as a playmaker and half-space player slightly wider out.
Following his move to Elversberg, his role became a little more defensive. He played mainly at right-back in the promotion season, but SVE coach Wagner now seems to have taken a liking to using him in defensive midfield alongside Lukasz Poreba.
For Klopp and Germany, Keidel is likely to be on the radar mainly as a right-back. No player has really nailed down that spot since Philipp Lahm retired and Joshua Kimmich moved into the centre. Klopp's predecessors Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann tried a host of different options there, but none really worked. From the Leipzig duo of Benjamin Henrichs and Ridle Baku to Stuttgart's Josha Vagnoman and even Kimmich's switch back there at the 2026 World Cup, most of the ideas were shelved again after only a short trial run.
German football is still searching for a high-quality and, above all, long-term option at right-back in a back four. Maybe, of all people, the little-known Keidel is the answer.