Cottbus signs Guttau: Fourth new arrival for the 2. Bundesliga

Career path and statistics

Coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz explained the signing with the new arrival's playing style: „Er vereint Flexibilität und Torgefahr aus dem Mittelfeld heraus, was unserer Mannschaft zusätzliche Impulse geben soll. Wir hatten ihn schon länger auf dem Zettel und freuen uns, dass er mit uns nun erstmals den Weg in eine Liga höher gehen möchte." Wollitz added: „Julian ist ein sehr interessanter Spieler, der viel Erfahrung im Profifußball und ein sehr gutes Gesamtpaket mitbringt. Wir sind überzeugt, dass er das Zeug dazu hat."

Guttau has already been through several stations in his career to date. Before his move to Aue last summer, he was active at TSV 1860 München, and before that he was under contract at SC Freiburg. In the third division, he has amassed 238 appearances in total, scoring 29 goals and laying on 32 more. He played 106 third-division matches for Hallescher FC alone, before moving via Munich to Aue and now to Cottbus.

With the step up to the 2. Bundesliga, the 1.80-meter-tall attacking player is entering uncharted territory. „Nach 238 Einsätzen in der 3. Liga ist es für Guttau der erste Anlauf im Unterhaus", the club statement says. His market value is listed at 350,000 euros.

Background: Aue's relegation and Cottbus's squad

At FC Erzgebirge Aue, who were relegated to the Regionalliga under coach Khvicha Shubitidze, Guttau was unable to prevent the drop to the fourth division on the pitch. In his 26 appearances for the club, he scored seven goals and assisted four more. The total market value of the Aue squad is given as 7.85 million euros; the Saxons' last transfer was Vincent Ocansey.

Energie Cottbus are going into life after promotion with a squad of 28 players. The most recent new arrival before Guttau was Mladen Cvjetinovic. The Lausitz side, who secured promotion from the 3. Liga last season, see themselves as more broadly set up in attack in order to hold their own in the higher division.

With the move, the circle closes for Guttau as he returns to eastern Germany. Born in Halle, he has moved via the third division and stops in Saxony and Munich to ultimately decide on a club from Brandenburg that, after years in the second tier, is now embarking on the second division.

Outlook on the second-division season

The signing is part of a phase of targeted squad planning at the Lausitz club. With Nergiz responsible for squad construction and Wollitz on the touchline, the club is pursuing the goal of broadening the sporting basis for the 2026/27 season in the 2. Bundesliga.

The squad planner had previously stated that the profile of the new arrival fits exactly the previously defined requirements. This statement underlines that the transfer is less a short-term reaction and rather the result of longer-term scouting.

With an eye to the upcoming task in the second division, Guttau is likely to play a role above all in build-up play and in the final third. He brings his experience from 238 third-division appearances as an additional component into a team that is asserting itself in this competition for the first time.