Will Mitchell Weiser play for Bayer Leverkusen again next season without having a chance to play? According to the club, the ball is with Weiser, who has to decide between money and stakes.
If you are currently looking for the squad page on the homepage of Bayer Leverkusen up, Mitchell Weiser laughs at you first. The 28-year-old is currently listed by the Bundesliga club with the shirt number “00”, a double zero, and is thus the first player displayed in the chronological squad list. Weiser’s previous number, 23, was passed on to new signing Adam Hlozek at the beginning of June.
Mitchell Weiser on the Bayer 04 Leverkusen club website
A clear sign that the club is no longer planning with the former German U-national player Weiser. But when the preparations started in Leverkusen at the end of June, Weiser was back on the training ground and trained with the team, and leaving seems unlikely at the moment.
Successful loan to Bremen
In the past season, Weiser, who had been on the sidelines in Leverkusen for a long time but had not found a club for a long time, played on loan at Werder Bremen – and quite successfully. After a mixed start to the season, the right-back became a regular on the wing under coach Ole Werner, contributing two goals and two assists to the Hanseatic League’s rise in 24 appearances.
After the season, everyone involved agreed that a permanent move to Bremen is the best solution for all sides. For a long time everything looked like the transfer could work, until last week. “With Mitch, the tendency is very clear that it won’t work,” said Werder managing director Frank Baumann on Thursday. “In this respect, we will now pursue other options there.”
Weiser demands compensation
According to consistent media reports, Weiser is said to be demanding a severance payment from Bayer, which the club does not want to pay. “Several parties are always involved in such transfers. Now there have been further talks between Leverkusen and Mitch’s representatives – and no agreement has been reached,” said Baumann. “A solution would definitely have been found between Leverkusen and Werder.” Because Bayer would not put any obstacles in the player’s way despite the current contract and would even give him away for free.
Strong words from Rolfes
Leverkusen had given the winger a lavish five-year contract when he signed from Hertha BSC four years ago. With a salary that Bundesliga promoted Bremen neither wants nor can pay. The situation is “actually very simple,” explained Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes. “Of course he has a better contract here than he might get in Bremen. But he knows that he can leave for free. So he has to decide between a sporting perspective and serving out the contract.” The player and the management were told “that he has no perspective in our sporting considerations”.
Bayer is betting on Weiser’s position with Dutchman Jeremie Frimpong (21) and has Frimpong’s compatriot Timothy Fosu-Mensah up his sleeve as a substitute. Weiser has no future at Bayer, at least not on the soccer field. If there is no change by the end of the transfer period, the former Bayern player will sit in the stands for his last year of contract. He doesn’t need a return number for that.
