Werder Bremen: Construction site defense – farewell to Toprak or Veljkovic?

Defense should be in 3 weeks

In just under three weeks, SV Werder Bremen will start preparing for the 2022/23 season – by then at the latest the “complete central defense” should be in place for the newly promoted Bundesliga team, according to managing director Frank Baumann. According to several media reports, the decision about one of the last free squad places in the defensive center should fall between captain Ömer Toprak (32) and Milos Veljkovic (26).

With Amos Pieper (24; from Bielefeld) and Niklas Stark (27; from Hertha BSC), Werder have already signed two central defenders free of charge (overview of all loans and transfers), the contracts of Toprak and Veljkovic expire on June 30. As of now, the North Germans have Marco Friedl (24) – whose future was last considered open but who should ideally extend it – and youngster Fabio Chiarodia (16) in addition to the two newcomers in the coming season. According to the “kicker”, coach Ole Werner would like the center of defense for his 3-5-2 system, which is intended as a basic order, to be manned by at least five professionals.

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Discuss now in the Werder forumRight this way
“We will not comment on the course of the talks. But I’m optimistic that our entire central defense will be together until the start of training,” commented Baumann in the “picture“ the still open construction site. In the Toprak case, it was said recently that Werder was considering a strongly performance-related contract with a one-year term and manageable financial risk. Personnel matters have also been hotly debated in the Transfermarkt forum for some time – opinions are divided. “Seldom have I been so unsure about a player’s extension as I was with Ömer Toprak,” summarized user “mick116c” the situation.

Rarely have I been so unsure about a player’s extension as I was with Ömer Toprak. In my opinion, he was by far the strongest player in the entire 2nd Bundesliga last season. I calculated it yesterday: If Toprak was in the starting eleven and played at least 45 minutes, we got an average of 2.43 (about 82 points). If he were to remain in the coming season, he would also be by far the most BuLi-experienced squad. That he for mansch…

Whether in the end Toprak or Veljkovic get the possibly last free place in Werder’s next Bundesliga central defense or whether both regular players of the promotion season have to plan their future elsewhere is open. According to “Kicker”, another transfer to the position is by no means impossible for the club.

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