"Puzzle piece" for the offense: Ulm signs Besong

Paul-Philipp Besong now plays for SSV Ulm. picture alliance / BEAUTIFUL SPORTS

As SSV Ulm announced on Saturday morning, Paul-Philipp Besong is now under contract with the Münster city. The striker was recently looking for a new club after his contract with Borussia Dortmund II expired. Ulm has high hopes for the 24-year-old. "Paul is a piece of the puzzle that we were missing in attack. We are very pleased that we were able to convince him of our approach and are confident that he will enrich our team with his quality, which undoubtedly lies in his pace and finishing," Managing Director Markus Thiele was quoted as saying in a statement.

Besong has a contract until 2027 and will wear the number 17 in the future. The Westphalian native is very familiar with the 3. Liga. He has made a total of 57 appearances for Erzgebirge Aue and BVB II, scoring 12 goals.

The 1.84-meter-tall attacker, who can also play on the wings, trained at Borussia Dortmund. After progressing through several youth teams, including the Youth League and winning the U19 championship in 2019, he was signed by 1. FC Nuremberg . However, due to a cruciate ligament tear, Besong failed to break through to the second division, making only four appearances for the first team. Instead, he played for the reserve team and attracted attention, particularly in the 2021/22 season, scoring eight goals in 13 Regionalliga matches. This led to his move to Aue in the 3. Liga.

After one appearance in the first half of the season, Besong only played in the second half of the season at BVB II, as he was sidelined for months due to injury. Despite this, he scored three goals, but ultimately couldn't prevent relegation to the Regionalliga and has been without a club ever since. He now has ambitious goals for his time in Ulm: "I firmly believe we can achieve something."