Union Berlin has set a new club record with the sale of Ilyas Ansah and is navigating a coaching change for its women's team. The developments around the Bundesliga side also include a season-opening defeat for the women and a look at the challenges ahead.
Where is Ilyas Ansah moving to?
Ilyas Ansah is leaving Union Berlin for the Premier League. According to Bild, the 21-year-old striker is moving to Hull City for a total fee of 22 million euros. The attacker said goodbye to his teammates at the Alte Försterei on Wednesday morning before departing for the airport. This makes Ansah the most expensive departure in the history of the Iron Ones.
The sale gives sporting director Horst Heldt financial flexibility for the transfer market. Union had only signed Ansah from SC Paderborn for four million euros the previous year. A first attempt to find a replacement in Phil Harres from Holstein Kiel reportedly failed due to the financial demands of the Kiel club. The search for a new attacking player is ongoing.
How did the women's team start under Marie-Louise Eta?
The Union Berlin women started the new Bundesliga season with a defeat. Under new head coach Marie-Louise Eta, the team lost 4-1 to reigning champions Bayern Munich on the opening matchday. The game was detailed by Sports.Yahoo.com. Bayern led at halftime thanks to a free-kick goal from Klara Bühl.
The Munich side maintained control after the break and added further goals. Union managed a consolation goal ten minutes from time, but a late strike from new signing Sophie Proost secured Bayern's victory. For Eta, it was her first match as head coach of the women, after she had previously taken interim charge of the men's first team.
Who is the new women's head coach?
Marie-Louise Eta has taken over as head coach of Union Berlin Women. The New York Times reported extensively on this historic move. Eta was already the first woman to coach a men's team in one of Europe's top five leagues when she took interim charge of the men following the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart in April 2026.
Her official unveiling as women's head coach took place on August 18. Eta promised a brave, high-intensity style of play. The women's project is ambitious: professionalization only began three years ago, with promotion to the Bundesliga achieved in two consecutive seasons. Players like Lisanne Grawe and Jella Veit have been specifically targeted for reinforcement.
What is Union Berlin's Bundesliga standing?
Union Berlin's men finished the 2025 season in 11th place in the Bundesliga. From 29 games, they collected 32 points (8 wins, 8 draws, 13 losses) and had a negative goal difference of -17, having scored 33 and conceded 50. In the table, this left them 44 points behind champions Bayern Munich.
The current personnel situation is strained, as our injuries list shows. Robert Skov, Aljoscha Kemlein, Livan Burcu, Frederik Ronnow, Lucas Tousart, and Diogo Leite are currently unavailable. The next competitive fixture is not until November 21, 2026, with a home match against RB Leipzig, which is listed on our fixtures page. Until then, the team has time to utilize the funds freed up by the Ansah sale and compensate for injury-related absences. The current league situation can be viewed on our Bundesliga standings page.
