Felix Keidel: Who is the new Germany call-up starring for Elversberg?
Felix Keidel is one of 16 uncapped players called up by Jürgen Klopp for Germany’s upcoming UEFA Nations League games. Bundesliga brings you the lowdown on Elversberg’s midfield string-puller.
Age: 23 (born: 14 June 2003)
Club: Elversberg
Position: Central midfielder/full-back
Country: Germany (uncapped)
Key stats and facts
Keidel was born in Duisburg on 14 June 2003 and joined Ingolstadt aged nine before racking up 91 games with their senior team, which included nine goals and 14 assists, between 2022 and 2025 – but it wasn’t until this season that he got his first taste of top-flight football at 23 years of age.
Keidel had helped steer Elversberg to a maiden Bundesliga promotion in 2025/26, but he did so primarily as a full-back, the position he had also played for Ingolstadt, and he had even dropped to the bench in the Rückrunde with Jan Gyamerah and Lasse Günther beginning to bolt down their positions on either side of the Schwarz und Weiß back four.
Elversberg made Łukasz Poręba’s loan from Hamburg permanent in the summer, but when injury to Freddy Schmahl denied head coach Vincent Wagner his preferred midfield pivot in pre-season, Keidel stepped into the breach, impressing in friendly wins over Strasbourg and Lorient in particular.
Four Bundesliga games, two wins and a fine free-kick goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach later, and Keidel has been called up by Klopp.
Keidel’s free-kick from 1.30 below:
Plays a bit like: Joshua Kimmich
Soon to be Keidel’s international teammate, Bayern Munich and Germany captain Joshua Kimmich had a similar positional journey to the Elversberg man, breaking through as a right-back for club and country before being moved into midfield on a full-time basis (save for Klopp’s predecessor Julian Nagelsmann’s experiment at the FIFA World Cup 2026).
Keidel also shares Kimmich’s set-piece prowess, with both sending deadly deliveries from wide areas into the danger zone for their clubs. Where Kimmich may step aside for Harry Kane or Michael Olise for direct free-kicks at Bayern, Keidel is now in charge of Elversberg’s, with the aforementioned strike against Gladbach showing quite how effective he can be.
Did you know?
Keidel is the son of former Duisburg and Ingolstadt midfielder Ralf, who won nine caps across Germany’s U21 and Olympic teams between 1997 and 1999 when he was on the books at English Premier League side Newcastle.
A full senior cap – whether it comes against Serbia or Greece – would see Keidel junior surpass his father on the international stage, completing a stunning recent rise.
What they’re saying
“Felix Keidel is a central player. At some point in Ingolstadt, he ended up at full-back as an alternative position, but fundamentally he’s a central midfielder. Theoretically, he’s simply coming home now.” – Elversberg coach Vincent Wagner
“At first, I asked him if he was kidding me, but it was actually true. Later that same day, I got a call from Jürgen Klopp, and I was absolutely thrilled. He asked me how I was, and I said: ‘I’m fine, and you?’ He said I can drop the formal ‘Sie’; it's ‘du’ and ‘Jürgen’. My parents and my girlfriend were very happy for me and are very proud. I’m overjoyed by the call about how things are going.” – Keidel on his surprise Germany call-up
