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Kiteishvili departure not fixed despite “Viking”!

How long will Otar Kiteishvili continue to lace up his boots for Sturm?

(Bild: Sepp Pail)

The early bird catches the worm! Sturm have already signed their first new signing for next season. With the Danish U21 team player Tochi Chukwuani, the Blacks were able to land a promising talent. Without the team players, the Ilz team will test against BW Linz in Bruck an der Mur on Thursday (15).

The young man's numbers are already impressive: Chukwuani, who will only turn 21 next Sunday, has already played 81 games in Denmark's top division. Last season, the youngster made 21 appearances, scoring three goals and providing two assists. "We've been interested in Tochi for a while. It's great that it's worked out now," says Andreas Schicker, describing the right-footer as dynamic, a strong runner, physically strong and powerful. At 1.87 m, Chukwuani, who moved from Nordsjaelland to Lyngby in the summer of 2022, is also a handsome figure.

The "Viking", who has a market value of 1.2 million, was supposed to make an appearance in his future home country on Friday, but he had to miss the U21 international match against Austria in Ried. "He has a slight injury and muscular problems," explained Sturm's sporting director, who signed the midfielder until 2028 in the summer. The next Dane at Sturm after Höjlund, Böving and Biereth was also highly rated by other clubs. English second division side Swansea City and Red Star Belgrade are also said to have had the 20-year-old on their radar.

Tochi Chukwuani was highly sought after on the island.

(Bild: SK Sturm)

However, the signing of Chukwuani does not mean that Otar Kiteishvili's contract extension is off the table for good. "He is flexible and can play all positions in the diamond: Ten, eight and six. He is not a 1:1 replacement for Otar," emphasized Schicker. "He's more or less a precaution in case something happens in the summer." The departure of Alexander Prass and Tomi Horvat cannot be ruled out. And Kiteishvili's future is still very much up in the air.

Big picture with four cameras
Of course, the new player will not be present at Thursday's test against BW Linz in Bruck (15), nor will the team players. "We've now also brought a few young talents into training," says Christian Ilzer ahead of the test gallop against the Bundesliga newcomers. The coach also has good news from Kjell Scherpen. The Dutch goalkeeper, out of action since mid-December with a torn cruciate ligament, has been completing his rehab program in Amsterdam since then. "He'll be back in Graz after the international break." Luka Maric will be in goal against BW Linz. The test match will be shown live on KroneTV from 14:55 (also streamed on krone.at and fan.at). Four cameras will be watching the Ilz squad. It's worth watching.