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Former Bayern II captain Niklas Dorsch has officially left Bayern Munich, moving to 1. FC Heidenheim in the 2nd Bundesliga on a free transfer. The 20-year-old has been on the cusp of joining the first team for a few years but ultimately never succeeded in making the jump to establish himself on the first team permanently.
Niklas #Dorsch hat soeben einen Vertrag bis zum 30. Juni 2021 unterschrieben ✍
— 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (@FCH1846) May 23, 2018
Der 20-jährige defensive Mittelfeldspieler und bisherige Kapitän der 2. Mannschaft des @FCBayern kommt mit sofortiger Wirkung ablösefrei auf den Schlossberg ⚽
https://t.co/6yJYU3xqhx#NurDerFCH pic.twitter.com/4fjA6cSI6H
Dorsch, 20, moved to Bayern in 2012 from Nürnberg. He advanced through all of the youth teams and won the Fritz-Walter Medal in silver back in 2015, recognizing him as the second best U-17 player in Germany. He captained the second team to a second-place finish this season, nine points behind 1860 Munich, though they managed to win both derbys against 1860.
Dorsch made his 1st Bundesliga debut late this season against Frankfurt, starting in central midfield and playing the full 90 minutes. He even scored the opener late in the first half off of an assist from Sandro Wagner. During Bayern’s away game in the Champions League against Madrid, Dorsch was an unused substitute.
While Bayern reportedly offered him a contract extension, Dorsch rightfully declined, as his chances at regular minutes next season would have been limited, especially with Leon Goretzka coming in as well as Renato Sanches possibly returning to the club.