Last summer, when the celebrations about the team’s entry into the Champions League had not yet died down around the Alte Försterei, he was the first new signing: Alex Král came to 1. FC Union Berlin on loan from Spartak Moscow, having already gained Bundesliga experience at FC Schalke 04 the year before – also on loan. While he was still an undisputed regular in Gelsenkirchen, he was never able to establish himself in Köpenick.
Now the 26-year-old could be a candidate for a transfer due to the Irons’ oversupply in central midfield. On Saturday, Král played 45 minutes in the friendly against Olympique Lyon (0:4), but it was already clear that there are simply too many players in his position at the moment. In the last week of preparation, which starts for the team with a public training session on Tuesday (10:30 a.m.), there are seven professionals who can play in the two positions in coach Bo Svensson’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system.
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In the first summer training camp in Längenfeld (Austria), the Czech, who was not nominated for the European Championship in Germany due to his irregular playing times, even had to switch to the three-man defense in the test against Dynamo Kiev (3:2). “That’s not really my position,” he said afterwards, perhaps with a premonition in the back of his mind that Svensson would not find any use for him in the future either.
However, there is currently no movement in sight in another position in the squad. Contrary to media reports to the contrary, Bochum’s left-back Bernardo is not about to be signed, even though the Köpenickers are interested in him. After Tymoteusz Puchacz was sold to league rivals Holstein Kiel at the end of last week and Jérome Roussillon continues to work on his return to the squad after his injury, only Robin Gosens is available for the position on the wing.
The 30-year-old is still thinking about moving away, but he continues to be fully motivated and put in exemplary effort in training and in friendly matches. He doesn’t want to let himself get down, but he is still attracted to Serie A, where he once had his most successful time as a professional at Atalanta Bergamo. Even if Bernardo’s signing goes ahead, Gosens would have to receive an offer in at least a double-digit million amount.
Manager Horst Heldt, who still has just under four weeks to push ahead with the squad restructuring, stressed at the training camp in Neuruppin that there is currently no concrete offer for the 20-time national player. It therefore does not seem impossible that Gosens will still wear the 1. FC Union Berlin jersey when the team starts competitive matches.
