Virkus understands fan concerns
With Marcus Thuram (25; Inter Milan), Ramy Bensebaini (28; BVB), captain Lars Stindl (34; KSC) and Jonas Hofmann (30; Bayer 04), Borussia Mönchengladbach lost four mainstays this summer. The quartet scored 39 of the 52 goals in the last Bundesliga season, so a suitable replacement is needed – no one was there when training started on July 9th. “I understand that some fans are currently worried,” said sports director Roland Virkus in an interview with “sports picture‘ but also announced: ‘But we’ve only just started to rebuild the squad. You can only evaluate the transfer period when it is over.”
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The “foals” initially focused on highly sought-after talents. Gladbach secured the services of Fabio Chiarodia (18; Werder), Lukas Ullrich (19; Hertha) and Grant-Leon Ranos (19; FC Bayern). “First of all, we have taken care of signing young players. Our clear goal is to create value with players like that,” Virkus said. “We will not be able to replace the regular players who have left us one-for-one. It’s more about taking care of talent and promoting it. A few years ago we were still playing in the European Cup and contracts were based on that, that’s not an issue at the moment. We can only spend what we earn. But it’s clear that we also want to sign one or the other base player.”
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This was achieved on Tuesday with Franck Honorat (26), who is to replace Hofmann, who has moved to Leverkusen for 10 million euros, and for whom the majority of this income, 8 million euros, goes to Stade Brest 29. Since the other top performers went on a free transfer and otherwise only Burnley’s purchase option for Jordan Beyer (23; 15 million euros) has brought money into the coffers, it is likely that Gladbach will give up more regular players. The “foals” are said to be hoping for around 40 million euros for Manu Koné (22), who is the focus of attention in the Premier League, but there is still no offer. In addition, Nico Elvedi (26) and Florian Neuhaus (26), who are entering their last year of contract, should not be lost for free.
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“As things stand at present, we don’t want to give up either of them this summer. But it’s also the case that we don’t want to let any valuable players go on a free transfer in the future, and we made that clear to the players. There have already been initial talks with both of them about extending their contracts, we want to convince them of our path. But it has been clearly communicated to them that they cannot come to us on August 29th and then say: We are not going down this path. We need planning security,” emphasized Virkus.
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The sports director can already breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to the personal details of Alassane Plea (30) and Ko Itakura (26), who, according to “Sport Bild”, have shelved any thoughts of emigration. Virkus could have done without the departure of Hofmann, who drew an exit clause: “We could only extend the contract with him with an exit clause, that was his wish, not ours. Otherwise there was no chance. Jonas Hofmann made a commitment that no longer counted after almost a year. It’s clear that we’re disappointed. These are emotions that are part of football. Not only do we lose a lot of quality, but also a personality.”
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