Austria loans Reinhold Ranftl from Schalke 04

Reinhold Ranftl: "I am happy about the change, it is a great step for me. The talks with the coach and the sporting management convinced me that Austria has a clear plan that fits well with my style of play. I want to play as many games as possible this season, play football with fun and passion and get back to my old strengths."

Sporting director Manuel Ortlechner: "Reinhold Ranftl is a leader who brings an incredible mentality to the pitch and can act as a role model for our youngsters. He can play several positions on the right side, is enormously strong on the run and certainly an absolute reinforcement for our tasks in autumn. He has a highly professional approach and is also a good character off the pitch. He simply has many of the qualities that we expect from an Austria player. I'm pleased that he chose us because he also had offers from some other clubs."

Ranftl left LASK for Schalke 04 in the summer of 2021 as an absolute top performer. In Gelsenkirchen, he helped the Knappen to immediate promotion back to the German Bundesliga with 15 appearances, but recently did not make as many appearances as he had hoped.