Will and Co.: How the second half of the season went for the Lilies‘ loaned players

SpVgg Greuther Fürth entered the final matchday of the 2025/26 season second-to-last in the standings. They desperately needed goals in their direct relegation battle with Fortuna Düsseldorf. And the Cloverleaf delivered. On matchday 34, Fürth scored three goals against Fortuna Düsseldorf, securing their place in the relegation playoffs. Paul Will also played a key role. The defensive midfielder, on loan from SV Darmstadt 98 since the second half of the season, was a decisive factor for the Green-Whites. Things had been looking up for the Cloverleaf since the winter break. The Franconian side finished the first half of the season with just 15 points, second-to-last in the table. In the second half, they collected 22 points and currently sit in eleventh place in the second-half standings.

Except for the match against Darmstadt, in which he was unavailable due to contractual reasons, Fürth’s head coach Heiko Vogel started the 27-year-old in every game; he only missed three matches, not playing the full 90 minutes. And he also wore the jersey for the full 90 minutes in Fürth’s last crucial match. That makes a total of 15 appearances in the second half of the season. Now, Will and his teammates face two more matches in their fight to avoid relegation: In the relegation play-offs to stay in the second division, they will face Rot-Weiss Essen (May 22nd/8:30pm and May 26th/8:30pm) – the team of former Lilien player Klaus Gjasula.

Grazer AK were still embroiled in a relegation battle on the final matchday against Blau-Weiß Linz. However, an early goal, set up by Leon Klassen, paved the way for their survival. In the sixth minute, Klassen intercepted the ball in the opposition’s half and immediately passed to his teammate Lichtenberger, who fired a shot into the net from around 20 metres. At 2-0, the 25-year-old was once again in the spotlight, demonstrating his tremendous commitment. A Linz player was poised to pounce on a rebound after the Graz goalkeeper parried the ball, but Klassen threw himself into the challenge and slid in to deflect it for a corner.

Just like Paul Will, Klassen is indispensable at his loan club. Grazer AK have had the left-back on loan since the second half of last season. Since then, he has started every match and played almost every minute – only being substituted three times (in the 87th, 69th, and 89th minutes). Klassen has made a total of 15 appearances for the Austrians, scoring one goal and providing one assist.

What was already apparent after Meldin Dreskovic’s first few games at his current club, Nyíregyháza Spartacus FC, has been confirmed in the remaining matches of the second half of the season. The 28-year-old has been a regular starter in the Hungarian league and, thanks to a dominant second half of the season, has kept SFC clear of the relegation battle. Although they finished the season in ninth place (fourth from bottom), the numerous points they accumulated in the second half of the season allowed them to create a comfortable cushion. They are now twelve points clear of the relegation zone.

In their last match against the bottom-placed team, Nyíregyháza secured a point, with Dreskovic contributing an assist. The centre-back, wearing number 98, passed to teammate Kovacsreti, who unleashed a shot from 32 metres that found the back of the net. His record in the second half of the 2025/26 season: 14 games, one goal, two assists.

In the summer of 2025, Fabio Torsiello joined Alemannia Aachen in the 3. Liga on loan. He started with three appearances in the third division and one in the Middle Rhine Cup, but in August he had to undergo knee surgery, which prevented him from being an option for coach Mersad Selimbegović until early February.

He rejoined the squad at the beginning of March and made five appearances by the end of the season. Alemannia showed a significant improvement after the winter break. At the halfway point of the season, they were in 17th place with 21 points, a relegation spot. In the second half of the season, they moved up to second place with 43 points, catapulting themselves from the relegation zone to seventh place overall.

Viktoria Aschaffenburg finished the season in 17th place, second to last in the table, after a defeat on the final matchday. Othmane El Idrissi made a total of nine league appearances and one more appearance in the Bavarian Cup.