York United FC can confirm forward Ronan Kratt has joined Bundesliga club Werder Bremen on loan until 1st July.

The 19-year-old – a native of Ottawa, ON – only arrived at The Nine Stripes midway through the 2022 season but hit the ground running.

In just his second game for the side – a home clash with reigning Canadian Premier League champions Pacific FC – Kratt had a first professional goal inside the opening minute, keeping his calm to neatly side-foot the ball to the bottom corner.

Kratt grabbed his second goal for the club just a few weeks later, once again in front of the home fans. Facing FC Edmonton, he latched onto an incisive through-ball from Osaze De Rosario before steering the ball to the net.

In the following fixture, a local derby at Forge FC, Kratt conjured his first assist of the season. Using his electric pace to keep Mo Babouli’s raking cross-field pass alive, he recycled possession before teeing up Chrisnovic N’sa for a spectacular strike to the top corner.

He finished the season with 14 appearances in the CPL to his name (11 starts) and accumulated 857 minutes of action.

“We are very happy to have agreed this with Bremen,” says Angus McNab, York United FC’s CEO/President and GM.

“It’s a great situation for Ronan and we truly believe it is the best pathway for him. An initial loan makes sense for all parties but there are various triggers within the agreement that would see a move made permanent. Ronan took advantage of an injury crisis when he arrived and just got his head down and worked. He was with us for a relatively short time period but he made a big impact.”

Kratt is immensely familiar with German domestic football having joined York from SSV Ulm 1846, where he made 19 appearances in all competitions for the Under-19 side, scoring four times in the Bundesliga South/Southwest. While there, Kratt was called into the Canada Under-20 camp and was named in the provisional squad for the 2022 CONCACAF Championship last June