It’s was confirmed by SV Darmstadt 98 today that 1899 Hoffenheim centre-forward Antonio-Mirko Colak will be joining the Lilies for their second consecutive season in the top flight.
The deal is on a one-year-loan, making his future at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor temporary for now. However, he will want to make a statement due to the fact that this is his second time being loaned out his home club.
Sporting Director Holger Fach has spoken on the transfer, he confirms the reasoning for bringing in a new centre forward, relating “the injury to Felix Platte” as to why they have now “reinforced the attacking area with quality”.
Colak has his say
Antonio Colak has also spoken about the move, saying he is “delighted to have signed for SV 98” and that he’s been welcomed openly: "It is a great advantage to have already met the guys and to have been very well received by them."
The Croatian international then ends his statement by turning focus towards the future, stating "now it is optimal to be in training camp as quickly as possible” and that he will be “hunting for goals with the Lilies". His head is clearly in the right place going into the next season and joins Jan Rosenthal, Dominik Stroh-Engel and Felix Platte as the attacking options.
Positive past
Previously Colak had played at 1. FC Nürnberg where he gained Bundesliga experience with seven appearances. In 2014/15 he scored ten goals out on loan at the Polish first division club Lechia Gdansk in 30 league matches, he then came back to Germany and has remained ever since.
In youth Colak was nurtured at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, going out on loan most recently to 1. FC Kaiserslautern where he notched five goals in 24 appearances. For the Croatian U19 and U17 teams, Colak has featured in 21 matches.