Nico Thier

Nico Thier did not come up through a Bundesliga academy. He started his youth career at FC Schalke 04 before moving on to Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, and his senior football began several tiers below where he plays now, at Westfalia Herne. From there the path ran through SV Sodingen and TuS Bövinghausen, where a move was initially held up by a fee dispute before he signed anyway. He stayed long enough to help Bövinghausen reach promotion to the Oberliga Westfalen in the 2021/22 season.

The breakthrough, such as it was, came late. A short spell at SG Wattenscheid 09 in early 2024 brought two goals in two appearances before he moved on again, and it was at Sportfreunde Lotte that his form turned heads: eight goals in seven appearances across the 2024/25 season, including one in the DFB-Pokal, and a run to the Westfalenpokal final. That kind of return at that level does not go unnoticed, and Fortuna Köln moved for him, announcing the signing at the end of May 2025 ahead of a switch that summer.

At Fortuna Köln, Thier now wears squad number seven. He arrives with no major individual honours or league titles to his name, and the jump from regional football to a club of Fortuna's stature is itself the story so far.