Werder Bremen coach Ole Werner wants striker Niclas Füllkrug to stay in the last week of the transfer deadline. But he also wants at least one more reinforcement for the left-back.
I really enjoy working with Niclas Füllkrug,” said 35-year-old Werner about the national striker on Thursday in the press conference before the Bundesliga game at SC Freiburg. “He’s a player who gives us a lot – on and off the field the place. He is a very central person for us. I hope that he stays with us because he has this role.” According to the Bild newspaper, both AC Milan and Eintracht Frankfurt have recently expressed an interest in the filling mug. However, there are big differences in the clubs’ price expectations – Bremen are said to be demanding around 20 million euros transfer fee for their striker.
The Bremen team had actually assumed that they would sell one or two top performers at high prices this summer in order to use the income to finance several newcomers. Werder’s squad planning is also so sluggish because Füllkrug’s future is still open a week before the September 1 transfer deadline.
Despite the limited financial options, the Bremen team definitely want to sign a left-back. “It’s a position that’s important to us and that we still want to do something about,” confirmed professional football manager Clemens Fritz. Werner added: “Exercise in a team is always good. It can come from outside, but also from within. We have always said that our squad planning is not yet complete. Improvement is a process that we always have.”
So far, the only departures for newcomers Naby Keita (Liverpool FC, still in training), Dawid Kownacki (Fortuna Düsseldorf) and Senne Lynen (Union Saint-Gilloise) are Niklas Schmidt (FC Toulouse), Lee Buchanan (Birmingham City), Fabio Chiarodia ( Borussia Mönchengladbach) and Manuel Mbom (Viborg FF). The previous transfer surplus of around five million euros is still below the club’s expectations for this summer.
Central defender Milos Veljkovic will not be available in Freiburg due to a respiratory illness. Niklas Stark is likely to be used in Breisgau for the Serbian international. “We aim to always play at our performance limit. If we get there, we can also beat SC Freiburg. We’re up to the challenge and want to score the first points accordingly,” said Werner about the away game in southern Baden. The Werder coach said of the disappointing striker Marvin Ducksch against FC Bayern: “He scored the opening goal against Viktoria Köln and was our most accurate player in the second half of the season. That’s why he’s a clear starting XI player for me, but of course there are still players other options ahead.”
By the way, it’s been quite a while since Bremen won against Freiburg. Bremen’s last win was on May 23, 2020. The 1-0 win in the Dreisam Stadium was a ghost game after the restart during the Corona period, and not a single fan was allowed into the stadium at the time. This time it’s different: The Europa Park Stadium is sold out – Bremen have to be prepared for a loud home crowd.
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