Daniel-Kofi Kyereh has completed a free transfer from SC Freiburg to 2. Bundesliga side VfL Osnabrück, dropping down a division after an injury-ravaged spell in the top flight.
The 30-year-old Ghanaian-German attacking midfielder and forward, born on 8 March 1996 in Accra, joins the newly promoted club from Lower Saxony as he looks to rebuild his career and regain full match fitness. His contract with Freiburg expired at the end of June 2026, leaving him a free agent. The move reunites him with head coach Timo Schultz, the same coach under whom he flourished at FC St. Pauli. Osnabrück’s technical director Daniel Latkowski has highlighted Kyereh’s ability to score and create goals, along with his technical quality and football intelligence. The club spent recent months closely monitoring his physical progress, including treatment and training support from their performance staff, and is confident he can contribute relatively soon. He is expected to wear the number 7 shirt at the Bremer Brücke.
Kyereh, who has a Ghanaian father and German mother and moved to Germany as a small child, came through the youth ranks at clubs including Eintracht Braunschweig, VfL Wolfsburg and TSV Havelse.
He established himself at senior level with Havelse before moving to Wehen Wiesbaden, where he scored regularly and helped the side. His real breakthrough arrived at FC St. Pauli between 2020 and 2022. Across more than 60 second-tier appearances he scored 21 goals and provided around 20 assists. The 2021/22 season in particular stood out, with strong goal and assist numbers as St. Pauli pushed hard for promotion.
In the summer of 2022 he joined Bundesliga club SC Freiburg for a multi-million-euro fee. He made a positive early impression, scoring in the league and netting his first European goal in the UEFA Europa League. His senior appearances for the first team remained limited, however, before a serious injury changed everything.
In February 2023, during a training session, Kyereh tore his anterior cruciate ligament. What followed was a long and complicated rehabilitation lasting more than three years, marked by setbacks, further surgery and extended periods focused purely on recovery and match fitness.
He missed the remainder of that season and the entirety of the next two campaigns for the first team, along with numerous international opportunities. The physical and mental toll was significant; he has spoken openly about periods when retirement crossed his mind.
He finally returned to competitive football in April 2026 with Freiburg’s reserve side in the Regionalliga. In a small number of appearances he scored twice and showed encouraging flashes of his former attacking sharpness.
Freiburg bid him farewell at the end of the 2025/26 season without offering an extension. Over the summer he continued preparing, including work with a personal fitness trainer in Barcelona.
Internationally, Kyereh earned 18 caps for Ghana between 2021 and 2022. He featured in World Cup qualifying and was part of the Black Stars squad at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. A strong return to regular club football is seen as the clearest route back into national-team contention.
For Osnabrück, freshly promoted to the second tier, Kyereh represents a low-risk, high-upside addition with proven pedigree at this level. The familiar coaching environment with Schultz and the ongoing medical support reduce the uncertainty that often surrounds players returning from long-term injury.
For Kyereh himself the move is a pragmatic step: prioritising consistent minutes, rebuilding confidence and rhythm, and creating a platform from which he can climb again.