Yes, injuries pushed Caleb into central defense and he responded well. Freiburg have also made an offer for Kaiserslautern's Robin Koch to sure up the position http://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/f...ld.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Freiburg has a Europa League qualification game today at home against NK Domžale. I can't find anything in the local paper on who will be in the 18. http://www.badische-zeitung.de/sport/scfreiburg/sc-freiburg-empfaengt-zum-auftakt-nk-domzale
At least Caleb is on their roster for this stage of the tournament: http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2018/clubs/club=59880/squad/index.html
Transfermarkt is showing an extended contract till 6/30/18 however cant seem to find any other info https://www.transfermarkt.com/caleb-stanko/profil/spieler/190269
Starts friendly vs. Torino. AUFSTELLUNG #SCF | #SCFSFTDas ist unsere Startelf im Testspiel gegen den @TorinoFC_1906! pic.twitter.com/eUbaSoBtJ9— SC Freiburg (@scfreiburg) August 6, 2017
Stanko went 82' in a 1-2 loss. He apparently speaks pretty fluent German: Florian #Kath und #Caleb Stanko über die Atmosphäre bei der heutigen Saisoneröffnung💬Alle Stimmen gibt es hier ➡️https://t.co/9x0BpvL2HQ pic.twitter.com/eD45fmmvtB— SC Freiburg (@scfreiburg) August 6, 2017
http://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/caleb-stanko-ready-to-shine-for-freiburg-456642.jsp Caleb Stanko ready to shine for Freiburg American defender Caleb Stanko is gearing up for what he is hoping will be a breakthrough year at Freiburg. The 24-year-old, who has been at the Black Forest club since 2011 after impressing on a three-month trial from Vardar Soccer Club in Detroit, is a defensive midfielder by trade but has been filling in at centre-back during pre-season owing to injuries to Manuel Gulde and Georg Niedermeier. He played the full 90 minutes of Freiburg's last friendly before the Bundesliga re-start, a 2-1 defeat to FC Torino, and has played in the position regularly this summer. Stanko lined up against Feyenoord, Atiker Konyaspor, Sandhausen and Lörrach in central defence, demonstrating his versatility having previously featured in midfield in tests against Schutterwald and Freiburger FC in early July. "It's definitely an advantage for a player to be flexible," the Michigan native told Kicker magazine. "I just want to play, that's the important thing for me." Stanko made a handful of first-team appearances for Freiburg in their promotion-winning 2015/16 campaign in Bundesliga 2 and was even handed his first full international cap by former USMNT head coach Jürgen Klinsmann in September last year. He was loaned to FC Vaduz last season with a view to gaining more playing time and experience. It was a successful stint, and he made 26 outings in the Swiss Super League and has returned eager to take his chance in Christian Streich's side. Competition is fierce at Freiburg, with Caglar Söyüncü, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Real Madrid loanee Philipp Lienhardt all vying for berths at centre-back, while Amir Abrashi and Nicolas Höfler are Streich's preferred midfield pairing. And although Stanko is shorter than most modern central defenders - he stands at 1.80 metres (5'11") – that has not dulled his confidence: "I've got a good leap and get a lot of cover from the two defensive midfielders." All of which has given him faith he can be a factor in his coach's planning this term: "We're all fighting for a place and it's tight. I had a good pre-season, I've trained well and I believe in myself."
Stanko developing into a GCam-lite utility guy over the next couple years would be a pleasant surprise
Take it as being true then. Transfermarkt's player valuations aren't much use, but they're pretty accurate about other things. It's part of the Axel Springer publishing house, which includes Bild, which is a rag tabloid but takes its football seriously. I doubt they'd get something like this wrong.
New kicker article: (in German): http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...kel_stanko-setzt-auf-seine-flexibilitaet.html Stanko relies on its flexibility In the last test match against FC Torino, Caleb Stanko has played as a right-wing defending champion, as has often been the case in previous friendships. The position unfamiliar to the American could offer him a new chance at SC Freiburg. After his one-year loan to FC Vaduz, the 24-year-old was actually considered a candidate for another loan or a change. In this position, however, the competition at SC Freiburg is currently much larger than in the internal defense, where two players, Manuel Gulde and Georg Niedermeier, have failed since the training start with back problems. Not only that, Stanko sees chances of coming into the Bundesliga, even if he has "not so much experience as others". "We're all fighting for a place and I think it's tight," says the 24-year-old, "I had a good preparation, I was well trained and believe in myself."
AUFSTELLUNG #SCF | #HBSSCF Unser Team für das @DFB_Pokal-Spiel gegen @vfbgermania ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/qCuSLRWvRb— SC Freiburg (@scfreiburg) August 12, 2017 Not in 18.
Starts in friendly: AUFSTELLUNG #SCF | #SCFRCS Unser Team für den Test gegen @Rcstrassburg! pic.twitter.com/cFFVhPAZsE— SC Freiburg (@scfreiburg) October 5, 2017
Stanko feature: "I'm really focusing on Europe; I believe I can make it here," said Stanko, who is taking online courses at Liberty University. "I believe I am close. “MLS is a league I believe that is getting better and better each year and it's very attractive, but my dream is to first play in the Bundesliga, in a top league in Europe, and I want to achieve that dream before I move back to the U.S. Not to say anything negative about MLS, but first dream is to play here." http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sp...leb-stanko-forges-path-german-game/106641248/
Well I hope he starts making the bench, at least. I thought he would have a higher standing with the first team based on his preseason.