Thurnwald moves to Altach

Manuel Thurnwald, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the season, made his debut under former Head Coach Mike Büskens, when he was thrust into the limelight in November 2016 with a starting place in the UEFA Europa League clash with Italians US Sassuolo. He went on to make 34 further appearances but recently found playing time limited under Didi Kühbauer.

The transfer fee for Thurnwald, who joined the club as a five-year old before rising through the ranks, will remain undisclosed following negotiations between the two clubs. On the departure, Sporting Director Zoran Barisic had the following to say: "It is always a wrench to see players depart who have been at the club since childhood. But its critically important at this stage Manuel's career that he gets the playing time he needs at the top level and his chances of doing that will be increased with the move to Altach. Everyone at the club wishes him all the best for the next stop in his career. We made the decision, given that we have no European football, to trim the squad. We lost a vital cog in Boli Bolingoli but have added first team reinforcements in Thorsten Schick and Taxi Fountas. We have faith in the squad we have assembled but will also keep our eyes on the transfer market until the window shuts in September."

Manuel Thurnwald is one of a clutch of players that have emerged from Rapid's prolific academy to earn first team caps. Others include departed stars such as Louis Schaub, Max Wöber, Brian Behrendt, Dominik Wydra, Lukas Grozurek and Christopher Trimmel, and those still in Rapid ranks like Mert Müldür, Tobias Knoflach, Max Hofmann and Dejan Ljubicic,

(gw)