Union Berlin enjoyed victory in its first preseason friendly of the summer with American forward Jordan Pefok making his return to the club.
Pefok played 45 minutes in Saturday’s 4-0 friendly win over Chemie Leipzig, his first appearance for the club in 10 months. The 28-year-old spent majority of last season on loan with fellow Bundesliga club Borussia Moenchengladbach, scoring seven goals and adding four assists in 29 combined appearances.
Now he is back with Union Berlin, seeking a consistent role in Bo Svensson’s squad as the club aims to avoid a relegation scrap like last season.
Pefok has two years remaining on his Union Berlin contract and will need a strong campaign if he wants to force his way back into the U.S. men’s national team picture. Union Berlin knows Pefok’s abilities after he featured 44 times for the club since 2022 and Svensson has positive praise for the veteran striker ahead of two final friendlies this summer.
“Jordan makes a good impression, also in the conversations. He is a player who can be very valuable to us,” Svensson said in an interview with Kicker, transcribed by LigaInsider. “He is a player we are betting on. We want him to help us a lot.”
Pefok and Union Berlin will face Rangers and Real Sociedad respectively before opening their competitive schedule on August 17 against Greifswald in German DFB Pokal action.
