Bremen sign Austria prodigy Prödl

Austrian international defender Sebastian Prödl will join German Bundesliga high-fliers Werder Bremen from SK Sturm Graz in the summer.

Easy decision
The 20-year-old will leave the Austrian league leaders for an undisclosed transfer fee after agreeing a four-year contract with Bremen. The towering centre-back, part of the Austria team that reached the semi-finals of last summer's FIFA U-20 World Cup, said: "I made up my mind early to join Bremen, because I immediately felt at home here." Prödl has six senior caps for the UEFA EURO 2008™ co-hosts. He has been with Sturm Graz since the age of 15, making 31 top-flight appearances over the last two campaigns.

'Big talent'
"Sebastian is one of the biggest talents in Austria. It is great we could convince him to come to Werder," said general manager Klaus Allofs. Coach Thomas Schaaf added: "We have been watching him for a while. He played very well at the Under-20 World Cup and we are sure he will continue his development here at Werder." Prödl will link up with fellow Austrian international Martin Harnik at Bremen, who face SC Braga in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 in February and sit level on points with Bundesliga leaders FC Bayern München.