Major League Soccer expansion club side St. Louis City SC have signed Brazilian striker João Klauss. The 25-year-old Brazilian, who is currently on loan at Sint-Truiden in Belgium will arrive from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in the summer and sign a designated player deal until 2025 with an option for 2026. DePredict understands Hoffenheim will receive $5 million.
“Klauss is a player I have known since a very young age and I continued following his career,” St. Louis City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel who is a formal Goalkeeper said in a club statement. “In fact, Hoffenheim Director of Football Alexander Rosen and I played a major role in bringing him to Germany when I was at Hoffenheim. He has a tremendous capacity to score and create chances for his teammates. Those attributes will surely help our team. His prime is ahead of him, and we are excited to help him maximize his potential.”
A strong and powerful forward, Klauss was originally signed by Hoffenheim back in 2017. The striker, however, has been mostly out on loan, recently at Austrian side LASK and Standard Liege Belgian side. Klauss’ time in Austria was, in particular, impressive. The striker managed 24 goals and five assists in 61 games for LASK. At Standard, in the meantime, the forward was confronted with the club’s problems off the field but still managed an impressive nine goals and ten assists in 43 games.
