Who is Kevin Schade?

Stats correct as of 7 November 2025

Kevin Schade

Age: 23 (born 27 November 2001)
Club: Brentford
Position: Forward
Country: Germany (four caps)

Key stats

Born in the Berlin suburb of Potsdam to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Schade started out with local team Babelsberg before joining Energie Cottbus in his early teens. Consistently impressive displays in their youth team, including seven goals and two assists in 23 appearances for the U17s, caught Freiburg's eye, and he moved to the Black Forest in 2018.

The goals continued to flow, as Schade registered 11 goals and nine assists in 43 U19 games between 2018 and 2020. He followed that up with 11 and six in 31 outings for the reserves.

Watch: All of Schade's Bundesliga goals

All of that earned him a top-flight debut as a 71st-minute substitute in a 2-1 victory at home to Borussia Dortmund in August 2021. Schade quickly became a key member of head coach Christian Streich's side that season, making 21 league appearances and scoring his first senior goal in a 6-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in December 2021.

The nimble forward was already a Germany U21 international at that point, having found the back of the net on his debut in a victory over Israel. Schade missed six months of action in 2022 with an abdominal injury but returned in September 2022. He scored one goal in eight Bundesliga outings in 2022/23 prior to joining Premier League club Brentford in January 2023.

Two months after leaving for London, Schade made his senior Germany debut under Hansi Flick, replacing Kai Havertz in a 2-0 win over Peru in Mainz. He then went on to make two further substitute appearances against Belgium and Japan in 2024.

His last cap came in a 1-0 triumph over the Netherlands last year, although he was recalled to the Germany squad in October 2025 before having to pull out due to injury. This latest call-up is his next chance to show how far he has come during his time away. After all, since joining Brentford, Schade has continued to grow in stature, despite missing several months of 2023/24 with adductor injury. He was particularly impressive in 2024/25, netting 11 times in 38 Premier League games.

Plays a bit like: Michael Owen

Standing at 6'0" and weighing 74 kg (163 pounds), Schade isn't the type of forward who can hold off big burly defenders and bring teammates into the game, but he comes alive in the penalty box. Much like former England forward Michael Owen, his pace and movement make him almost impossible to mark, while his knack of being in the right place at the right time leads to plenty of goals.

Did you know?

In November 2024, Schade scored a hat-trick against Leicester City, his first in senior football. He took the match ball home, which now has pride of place on top of his PlayStation at his home. He has even admitted to letting his friends use it for a kickabout when visiting.

What they're saying

"He's a self-confident young guy. He's got a great leap and is really good in the air. He's talented and his speed is a great weapon." - ex-Freiburg coach Christian Streich

"Kevin's path from the youth academy through to becoming a Bundesliga player has brought us immense joy. Kevin has developed very well and very quickly in this time, and showed the potential he has. We would like to thank Kevin for our time together and view him as another example of what young people can achieve at Freiburg." - former Freiburg sporting director Jochen Sauer

"We knew pretty quickly that we wouldn't be able to keep him here for long because he had too many of the qualities that other clubs look for." - Matthias Boron, head of the youth academy at Schade's former club SV Babelsberg

“He’s grown a lot this season. Scoring 10 goals – not many players have scored 10 goals in the Premier League in their career – and he’ll most likely become even better next year. With his pace going in behind, his threat in the box on headers, but also if we go longer he’s one that can win a flick-on and, with set pieces in both boxes, he’s working hard.” - former Brentford manager Thomas Frank