Chance taken: Quarshie and Conté join TSG first-team squad permanently

“Joshua and Bambasé have taken their opportunity and have definitely earned this step through their performances for the TSG U23s and for the first-team throughout pre-season,” said Pellegrino Matarazzo. “The integration of talents like Joshua and Bambasé is part of this club’s philosophy, part of TSG’s DNA. It is a philosophy with which I can absolutely identify as a head coach. I hope both Quarshie and Conté will keep developing as we all wish over the coming weeks and months.”

“By making this decision, we’re underlining the path that we want to continue on consistently and with full conviction in the future too,” explained Pirmin Schwegler, the head of professional football at TSG, who went on to add that “it has always been and will continue to be a fundamental part of our club identity to promote young players in an environment that is optimal for talented youngsters and to prepare them for professional football in the long term. Joshua and Bambasé are the next examples of how young players can showcase themselves for the first team with very good performances for the U23s and great commitment in day-to-day training sessions. We will therefore persevere with this philosophy and continue to give more young players from our academy the opportunity to show themselves in the first team.”

Quarshie and Conté completed the entire preparations for the 2023/2024 season with the first team and also made appearances in the friendly fixtures against FC Astoria Walldorf, SV Elversberg, Racing Strasbourg, Feyenoord and Fulham during this period.

“It is ultimately the biggest compliment that we can pay to all the coaches, staff and experts in our academy,” said TSG’s technical director Bastian Huber, who continued: “When young players such as Joshua and Bambasé make the step from our own academy to the first team, it serves as a confirmation of the great work that is done there on a daily basis. Because it is precisely this development that everyone works towards with full dedication on a daily basis in order to give the players as much as possible and everything they need for their careers.”

Joshua Quarshie moved to the Kraichgau from Rot-Weiss Essen and has been wearing the TSG shirt since the summer of 2022. The current Germany U19 international came on as a substitute in the closing stages of TSG’s home game against VfL Wolfsburg (2-1 loss) on Matchday 15 of last season and already has his first minutes of Bundesliga football under his belt. The 19-year-old central defender made 27 appearances for TSG’s Regionalliga team last year.

Bambasé Conté has been playing in Hoffenheim since summer 2018 and has progressed through all of TSG’s youth teams since the U17s. The attacking player made 15 appearances in the Regionalliga last season, scoring four goals and notching four assists. The Germany U20 international was included in the first-team squad for the away game in Wolfsburg in February 2022.