Werder sports director
©IMAGO
At SV Werder Bremen it’s all about staying in the league until the end of the season. Despite the open outcome, those responsible have to think about the sporting future and push forward with personnel planning. “We are on the market and see what can be implemented. But of course we are also preparing for the worst-case relegation. It would be grossly negligent if we didn’t do that,” explained sports director Clemens Fritz to “Bild”.
In the event of relegation, the club’s income would be reduced by 40 million euros and the player budget would fall from 40 million to 18 million euros, the paper calculated. With seven game days to go, the Green-Whites are in 14th place in the table – four points ahead of the relegation zone. A mixed situation that doesn’t make it any easier in contract negotiations with professionals and possible newcomers. “Of course there are players who want to wait and see which class we will play in next season. Overall, the discussions are good, but it remains to be seen what the candidates decide,” said Fritz.
To make matters worse, Werder is reportedly parting ways with squad planner Johannes Jahns. Corresponding reports from “Bild” and “Deichstube” have not yet been confirmed. Managing director Fritz made the decision and the supervisory board was informed. It is said that Jahns is seen as primarily responsible for the loan breakdown in the winter. Werder had assumed that they would no longer be able to sign any more players on loan due to the regulations, even though they needed a striker. Transfermarkt then clarified why Bremen were wrong in this assumption. In fact, another loan was possible and VfB attacker Jovan Milosevic was brought to the Weser.
In terms of squad value, Bremen are in 10th place in the Bundesliga with an estimate of 176.3 million euros, followed by Hamburger SV (168.8 million euros). The most valuable players in the squad are defender jewel Karim Coulibaly (18/MW 22 million euros) and midfielder Romano Schmid (26/MW 15 million euros). Both professionals, just like goalkeeper Mio Backhaus (21/MW 12 million euros), could leave the club for a high fee. However, this would be significantly lower if Werder had to move to the second division. Under coach Daniel Thioune, successor to the dismissed Horst Steffen, the team has stabilized and, after initially losing three times, has recently achieved three wins from four games.
