FC Dallas defender Justin Che headed to Hoffenheim – Loan-to-buy deal in place

Return to Germany 

Six months after his loan at Bayern Munich expired, Justin Che appears to be on his way back to the Bundesliga. According to a report by the very reliable Sport 1 reporter Kerry Hau, the 18-year-old defender who has both a German and US passport is on the verge of joining Hoffenheim on an 18-month loan deal. Hoffenheim will have an option to make the deal permanent at any point during the loan. 

Bayern Munich were initially interested in a transfer, but Transfermarkt understands that interest cooled off in recent months due to Dallas’ negotiations tactics. As was the case with Ricardo Pepi, Dallas also preferred another destination. Pepi moved to Augsburg earlier this winter in a deal worth $18 million, including various performance-based incentives and a percentage of any future fee. Those sorts of incentives would have been more challenging to reach with Bayern. 

Che returns to Germany after spending the 2020/21 season in Germany. The Dallas academy product returned to Major League Soccer in June and played 15 games (three assists). Che can play both as center-back and as a right-back and will pair up with US compatriot Chris Richards at Hoffenheim. 

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