Leverkusen’s offensive in the fall was led by Nigerian forward Victor Boniface. Across all competitions, he scored sixteen times and provided eight assists. But in January came bad news. Boniface was injured before the Africa Cup of Nations and will be out for weeks, possibly months.
Coach Xabi Alonso suddenly had only one typical striker left, on the contrary, the recovered Patrik Schick. He is joined by Adam Hložek and Amine Adli, but neither of them is a pure-blooded nine.
“We’ll see if Leverkusen reacts and adds to the squad. Boniface is expected to jump in sometime during April and of course you don’t know what form he will be in. Without wanting to call anything out, if Patrik Schick were to be absent for some reason, they will not have a typical replacement,” says coach and former Hamburg player David Jarolím, who regularly reports on Bundesliga events for Sport.cz.
Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes has confirmed several times in recent days that Bayer’s management is looking for a solution that will be the best in terms of workload, quality and well-being in the cabin.
“Our team spirit is an important factor. Therefore, it would have to be a player who will bring us both sporting quality and not stir up resentment in the squad. We’re looking carefully and we’re certainly not going to bring someone in without a thorough vetting,” Rolfes told Transfermakrt.com.
Mainly two names fall. Moise Kean from Juventus has appeared in Leverkusen’s crosshairs, but this move is rather unlikely. Kean is reportedly headed to Atlético Madrid.
🚨Excl. News: Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis have achieved a breakthrough in the negotiations for Borja #Iglesias now!
➡️ The 31 y/o striker is on the verge to join Bayer 04 immediately
➡️ Verbal agreement is done. Contracts not signed yet.📍6-months-loan with an option… pic.twitter.com/hgZWyT97XC
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 23, 2024
The hottest candidate is the Spanish striker from Betis Borja Iglesias. Sparta footballers remember him from the basic group of the European League, for example. His shooting “form” is particularly noteworthy. He has not yet made his mark in La Liga, he scored once in the Europa League and once in the cup. What a difference compared to previous seasons. Last year he scored a total of 15 goals, 19 before that and a respectable 13 in the 2020/2021 season.
“Tough choice. In addition, they have to decide whether to bring him on loan or transfer. He is already 31 years old, Boniface and Schick have long-term contracts. But hiring another striker would probably be a logical step, in Leverkusen they can’t rely on just one striker with such a heavy load,” explains Jarolím.
It is necessary to realize that it is not easy to find a player who has enough quality on the one hand, is available already in the winter and will move to Leverkusen with the prospect that he will most likely be the number two striker and maybe three after the return of Boniface.
“It shouldn’t be an obstacle for Borja. Even in Betis, he doesn’t start that much at the moment. The only catch is that Betis wants to sell the striker, but Bayer is looking for a loan, at most with an option,” write journalists from the German website Kicker.de. It should be clear in the next few days.
2024-01-23 20:12:10
#striker #Leverkusen #logical #step #expert #Reinforcements #coming #Spain #Sport.cz
