American forward Cole Campbell is packing his bags and heading to Bundesliga newcomers Elversberg, swapping the yellow wall of Dortmund for a fresh start in Germany’s top flight.
The 20-year-old, born in Houston but raised in Iceland, signed a four-year deal running through June 2030, Elversberg announced Thursday. That’s a serious commitment from a club that just earned promotion for the first time.
Sporting director Christian Weber couldn’t hide his excitement: “In Cole, we’re signing another highly talented player who will be a tremendous asset to us with his exceptional pace and one-on-one ability.” Weber added they’d been chasing him for a while and are thrilled he chose them. Sound like a guy who knows he got a steal.
According to Kicker, Elversberg shelled out €6 million ($7 million) to Dortmund for the winger who joined BVB’s youth setup from Iceland in 2022. Not chump change for a club that was in the second division last season.
Dortmund’s sporting boss Lars Ricken paid tribute: “Cole is an incredibly talented player with a lot of potential. He made the leap to professional soccer with us. We thank Cole for his time with us and wish him all the best.” Classy move from Dortmund, who’ve gotten used to seeing their young Americans move on.
Campbell got a taste of the Bundesliga last season with a loan to Hoffenheim, where he made five sub appearances. He also came off the bench for Dortmund against Heidenheim earlier in the season. Not bad for a kid who once played for Iceland’s U-17s before switching his allegiance to the Stars and Stripes.
He’s got soccer in his blood: his mother, Rakel Karvelsson, is a former Iceland women’s forward born in Los Angeles who played college ball at North Carolina. His dad is American. So yeah, he’s got options.
Campbell is the latest U.S. talent to come through Dortmund’s development pipeline, following in the footsteps of Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna. Will he be the next big thing? Elversberg is betting big on it.
And by the way, Elversberg finished runner-up in Germany’s second division last season to secure promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in club history. Talk about a fairy tale. Now they’re adding a U.S. prospect to the mix. Let’s see if Campbell can help them stay up.