Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche is hard at work and has already brought in four new ones. Arnaud Kalimuendo’s winter royal transfer should follow soon. This does not reduce the pressure on coach Dino Toppmöller.
So the ink is not yet dry and the deal, which has already been reported as fixed by various media, has not been completely completed. And so Arnaud Kalimuendo, the French striker from Nottingham Forest, was allowed to play again for his future ex-employer on Saturday. The last nine minutes of the Premier League game at Aston Villa, which was disappointing from Forest and Kalimuendo’s perspective. 1:3 defeat, relegation battle, no joker goal. Like it has been all season long.
And so Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany’s seventh-placed club, is actually attracted to a striker who has managed to score fewer league goals this season than a certain Elye Wahi. A nasty cross-comparison, no question, was achieved by just von 23-year-old loaned from Frankfurt to Nice But there was only one goal, but it came in the first appearance after eight minutes for the southern French. Wahi beat an opponent on the edge of the penalty area and slammed the ball into the far corner. If you didn’t know better, you would have wanted to shout to Frankfurt’s chief buyer Markus Krösche at that moment: That would be one for you! Well, yes.
At best, Kalimuendo should storm against BVB
The plan is for Arnaud Kalimuendo to complete his medical check-up in Frankfurt as soon as possible. It is said that there are also other candidates for the orphaned striker position in Hesse. It is very, very unlikely that something should go wrong again in what feels like the 136th Eintracht-Kalimuendo attempt. Eintracht has agreed with the player and with Nottingham also on a loan with a subsequent purchase option. There is a loan fee of around 1.5 million euros in the room, as well as a possible transfer fee in the summer of around 25 million. A lot of money.
If everything goes according to Frankfurt’s plan, the beefy striker with the XXL thighs is already a candidate for the squad and even the starting eleven for Friday’s game (8.30 p.m.) against Borussia Dortmund. Some joint training sessions between Kalimuendo and the new comrades would therefore make sense.
Four new ones and more on hold
In any case, it can be assumed that a new attacker will be allowed to start against BVB. If Kalimuendo surprisingly doesn’t work out in time, that would be the case Younes Ebnoutalib as the first option. The new signing from SV Elversberg has been training since the turn of the year, is said to be in excellent physical shape and is said to have made a committed and good (first) impression. Left-back Keita Kosugi (Djurgardens IF), 17-year-old midfielder Love Arrhov (IF Brommapojkarna) and right winger Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab (TSG Hoffenheim II), on the other hand, are not planned as emergency aid.
Four permanent newcomers and an approaching fifth addition – and that already on January 5th: sports director Krösche has delivered so far. The hype train, especially among the fans, has long since gained momentum, although one or two pessimists among the observers may still be slowing down a bit, after all, the newcomers have one thing in common: they have never played in the Bundesliga. Instead, players from Sweden, from Germany’s third and second divisions, as well as from the substitutes’ bench of the English seventeenth team.
Champions League without new entries for the time being
It will now be up to Dino Toppmöller to quickly integrate the additions into ongoing operations and achieve success at the same time. The pressure on the coach has certainly not become less due to the transfer activities than it was before the turn of the year. On the contrary. In addition, the tasks in January could hardly be more concentrated. Eintracht will play seven games – five in the league, two in the Champions League.
Some of the newcomers will certainly get their start, but these will have to be limited to the local competition. They cannot be nominated for the premier class pairings in the league phase against Qarabag Agdam and Tottenham Hotspur. This would only be possible in three cases if the knockout games were reached.
With Burkardt it will take some time
In mid-January in Baku the center forward will probably be called Ansgar Knauff or Jessic Ngankam again. The second named is still a candidate for departure, a loan to the second division is conceivable, but for the reason just mentioned, it will probably only happen towards the end of the transfer phase. Ngankam was called up for the Champions League in December to replace the injured Jonathan Burkardt.
Speaking of Burkardt: The team will be missing the number one striker due to injury for quite some time. According to reports, a timely return in January is quite unlikely, almost impossible. Accordingly, according to Sky, Eintracht should still be thinking about signing a third center forward. It is said that William Osula, who has been traded for a long time and is employed at Newcastle United, is still an issue at Eintracht. However, like Burkardt (and Michy Batshuayi), Osula is currently injured.
We are also currently missing an African Cup driver, the Algerian midfielder Farès Chaibi. Six-man colleague Ellyes Skhiri, who was eliminated with Tunisia at the weekend, will also probably get some time off. A game against BVB is at least questionable.
