United States international Josh Sargent is moving closer to a senior debut for Werder Bremen, with coach Florian Kohfeldt confirming that the 18-year-old is "competing for a squad place."
Sargent, who joined Bremen earlier this year, has been playing for the under-23s since the summer, scoring six goals in 10 appearances.
The 18-year-old forward, who has played for the first XI in friendlies, last week linked up with a senior squad flying high in the Bundesliga after taking 17 points from nine matches.
"We'll see about that," Kohfeldt told reporters when asked whether Sargent could make the squad for the DFB Pokal match at Weiche Flensburg on Wednesday. "Josh is now someone who is competing for a squad place.
"We wanted him to find his rhythm [in the U23s], and you can see that he has his qualities."
Kohfeldt warned that Sargent faced "prominent competition" from players including Max Kruse and Claudio Pizarro for a place in attack.
"If Josh does not win minutes with us in the next two, three weeks, he will play for the U23s again," he added.