Jan-Niklas Beste (born 4 January 1999) is a German professional footballer who plays as a left-back or winger for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 January 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Hamm, Germany[1] | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | SC Freiburg | ||
| Number | 19 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| VfL Mark 1928 | |||
| –2007 | Hammer SpVg | ||
| 2007–2018 | Borussia Dortmund | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2018 | Borussia Dortmund | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2022 | Werder Bremen | 0 | (0) |
| 2018–2022 | → Werder Bremen II | 28 | (2) |
| 2019–2020 | → Emmen (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2020–2022 | → Jahn Regensburg (loan) | 42 | (6) |
| 2022–2024 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 65 | (20) |
| 2024–2025 | Benfica | 13 | (0) |
| 2025– | SC Freiburg | 41 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014–2015 | Germany U16 | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Germany U17 | 15 | (2) |
| 2017–2018 | Germany U19 | 6 | (3) |
| 2018 | Germany U20 | 2 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:30, 16 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 October 2018 | |||
Club career
editAfter joining Borussia Dortmund at the age of eight, Beste made his competitive debut for the senior squad on 12 August 2017 in a 2017–18 DFB-Pokal match-up against Rielasingen-Arlen.[3] Despite appearing for the senior squad in pre-season friendlies that summer as well, he spent the rest of the 2017–18 season on the Under-19 squad.
On 4 July 2018, Beste moved to Werder Bremen, where he also was assigned to the reserves squad for the first season with them.[4]
On 18 June 2019, he was loaned to FC Emmen in the Netherlands for the 2019–20 season.[5] He made his Eredivisie debut for Emmen on 24 August 2019 in a game against Willem II.[6]
In July 2020, he again left Werder Bremen for a loan spell, joining SSV Jahn Regensburg for two seasons.[7]
On 15 June 2022, Beste signed a three-year contract with 1. FC Heidenheim.[8] On 26 August 2023, he scored his club's first ever goal in the Bundesliga from a free-kick in a 3–2 home defeat against Hoffenheim.[2]
On 11 July 2024, Beste signed a five-year contract with Primeira Liga club Benfica.[9] On 19 September, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 2–1 away win over Red Star Belgrade.[10]
In January 2025, Beste returned to Bundesliga, signing with SC Freiburg.[11]
International career
editBeste was a youth international footballer for Germany.[12] In March 2024, he was called up for the Germany national team for the friendly matches against France and the Netherlands.[13] However, he suffered an adductor strain during training which forced him to withdraw ahead of the aforementioned fixtures.[14]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 20 May 2026[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Werder Bremen II | 2018–19 | Regionalliga Nord | 28 | 2 | — | — | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| Emmen (loan) | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Jahn Regensburg (loan) | 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 5 | |||
| Total | 42 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 46 | 7 | ||||
| 1. FC Heidenheim | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 34 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 12 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 31 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 8 | |||
| Total | 65 | 20 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 68 | 20 | ||||
| Benfica | 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 22 | 2 |
| SC Freiburg | 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 28 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 15[d] | 1 | 48 | 3 | ||
| Total | 41 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | 61 | 3 | |||
| Career total | 195 | 30 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 232 | 34 | ||
- ↑ Includes DFB-Pokal, Taça de Portugal
- ↑ Includes Taça da Liga
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ↑ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
editSC Freiburg
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2025–26[16]
References
edit- 1 2 "Jan-Niklas Beste". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- 1 2 "Jan-Niklas Beste: Who is Heidenheim's bearded wonder with a Germany call-up?". Bundesliga. 14 March 2024.
- ↑ "Rielasinger Arlen vs Borussia Dortmund 0 - 4". Soccerway. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Beste moves to Werder from Dortmund". Werder Bremen. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Beste joins FC Emmen on loan". Werder Bremen. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Willem II vs. Emmen 2 - 1". Soccerway. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Jahn Regensburg leiht Jan-Niklas Beste von Werder Bremen aus". Kicker (in German). 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
- ↑ "Jan-Niklas Beste erhält einen Dreijahresvertrag beim FCH!" (in German). Heidenheim. 15 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ↑ "Jan-Niklas Beste joins Benfica!". S.L. Benfica. 11 July 2024.
- ↑ "Gelungene CL-Premiere für Beste" (in German). Sport1. 19 September 2024.
- ↑ "Niklas Beste joins SC Freiburg". SC Freiburg. 31 January 2025.
- ↑ "Jan-Niklas Beste Personenprofil" (in German). German Football Association.
- ↑ "Start ins EM-Jahr mit sechs Neulingen und sechs Rückkehrern" (in German). German Football Association. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ↑ "Team-Ticker: Beste vom DFB-Team abgereist" (in German). German Football Association. 21 March 2024.
- ↑ Jan-Niklas Beste at Soccerway. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
- ↑ "SC Freiburg 0 - 3 Aston Villa (May 20, 2026) ESPN". www.espn.com. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
External links
edit- Jan-Niklas Beste at Soccerway
  | This biographical article related to association football in Germany, about a defender born in the 1990s, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |