1. FC Köln: Sebastian Andersson rejected more than 20 offers – surgery instead of transfer

Surgery instead of change

Already at the beginning of the transfer period it became apparent that Sebastian Andersson’s future would not lie with 1. FC Köln. The Bundesliga club quickly made it clear that a buyer was being sought for the 31-year-old attacker. A move to Brondby IF failed at the beginning of August and there was no other option by the end of Deadline Day, which is why the injured Swede is still part of the “Effzeh” squad. Apparently, a transfer did not fail because of a lack of interest and not because of the people of Cologne, but solely because of the player himself.

“There weren’t so many offers for any other player – we had over 20 offers for Sebastian Andersson,” said sporting director Christian Keller (quoted via “goat blog“) on Friday. “Even yesterday, on Deadline Day, we were approached by clubs that hadn’t even contacted us before. Even with some really high numbers. We would have come to an economic agreement, guaranteed – both the clubs and the players with the respective club.”

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Have a say about Andersson’s behavior hereTo the Cologne Forum
The reason for Andersson’s lack of intention to look for a new club is the decision to have an operation on his knee on Friday – in Cologne. The striker’s advisors approached Keller with this project last week, which surprised the 43-year-old: “He has had the tear (in the inner meniscus; d. Red) for two and a half years. So there is a medical indication, but it hasn’t handicapped him during training so far.” The Cologne team’s doctors saw no need for an intervention, but they couldn’t refuse Andersson it.

With the knowledge that he would be operated on the day after the transfer phase and that he would be out until at least the end of the year anyway, Andersson blocked all offers from other clubs. For Cologne, this means having a player with a monthly salary of 170,000 euros in the squad at least until the end of the contract on June 30, 2023, whose already low chances of being used should not exactly increase after the operation. Keller said with regard to Deadline Day: “I was very surprised and learned a lot yesterday.”

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