Coach Gerardo Seoane firmly believes that attacking star Moussa Diaby will stay with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen.
“We know that things can happen in football that we cannot influence. But I am convinced that Moussa will stay with us,” said the Swiss after the first team training session before the new season.
“Moussa is very happy here. He knows what he has at the club and gets the right appreciation from all of us,” Seoane said. “So I’m not worried that there’s something we don’t know about.”
The France international is said to be being watched by several top European clubs, but Bayer would certainly not sell him for significantly less than 100 million euros.
In the case of Chilean Charles Aránguiz, who is willing to emigrate, Seoane also expects to stay. Mitchell Weiser, who was last loaned out to Werder Bremen and surprisingly trained on Monday, will probably still go.
“It is in the interest of the player to be able to continue playing,” said Seoane: “The next two or three weeks will show where his path is going.” Ex-national player Nadiem Amiri, who was there for individual training after the end of the loan in Genoa, could and should still go.
Start with no newcomers
Meanwhile, the start took place without any new signings, as the only newcomer, Czech attacking talent Adam Hlozek, is still on vacation due to his international appearances. His compatriot, top scorer Patrik Schick, was also out for the summer break after a minor groin surgery, but is expected to start in the near future.
Meanwhile, season-ending injured Jeremie Frimpong, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Karim Bellarabi and Kerem Demirbay were all there for the opener. According to Seoane, Amine Adli should start team training in two to three weeks.
The South Americans Paulinho and Aránguiz were not there yet. The Brazilian has not yet been able to return home due to illness, the Chilean due to transport problems.
No pressure with an injured Wirtz
No pressure should be exerted during the rehabilitation of the injured national player Florian Wirtz. That assured Seoane. “The most important thing is that he gets well again. That’s the most important thing for his career. And also for us,” said the coach.
The Swiss had previously stated that after suffering a cruciate ligament rupture on March 13, he no longer expected the 19-year-old exceptional talent to play this year. “If he plays two more games in November, okay. But it’s important that he’s set up correctly,” Seoane said now. The winter break starts in mid-November this time because of the World Cup in Qatar.
“If he’s in top health after six months, we won’t artificially delay anything,” said the coach: “But after such an operation you can’t predict much. Maybe four months everything will go well and then there will be a point where something causes problems . It wasn’t like that until now. But at the beginning it’s not that stressful. When the build-up comes, it can be something else.”