The Green-Whites squad has seen some more movement. Head coach Thomas Schaaf and Allofs Wednesday morning presented the newest face in the Werder group - as U19 player Özkan Yildirim was officially presented with all of the other new acquisitions. He received a two-year contract until 30 June 2013. Mehmet Ekici meanwhile has plenty more experience. And there are pretty high expectations on him. "He is further along than Mesut Özil was when he first got to us. Özil had only had a couple of Bundesliga appearances while Mehmet Ekici has already one season behind him as leading player," said Allofs. "Mehmet is the type of player who embodies everything that has made us strong in the past. He enjoys passing, can implement things quickly and also looks to shoot himself. Of course, he is still a young man. But he has so much self-confidence which will help improve our game," said Schaaf.
All told, Allofs is taken with the current status of the squad. "It's clear that there will still be changes, but we already have a very interesting team," said Allofs. Clemens Fritz added: "We have good new acquisitions among our ranks. They have already in part proven that they are good footballers and will strengthen us."