The crux of the matter is Argentina’s dismissal
©fotobaires.com
“I would like us to get guys who can help us straight away. That hasn’t necessarily been the case in recent years,” said Leonardo Bittencourt last week in reference to Werder Bremen’s slow transfer efforts (to the news). Even though the 30-year-old emphasized on Sunday that he had not questioned the quality of the Green-Whites’ squad, the message to the management team was clear. Frank Baumann and Clemens Fritz will most likely introduce Julián Malatini as the first new addition – immediate help?
| rumor | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | J. Malatini |
 | ||||||||
Central defender | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Malatini is 22 years old and will move to Weser from Argentine first division club Defensa y Justicia. “We are trying to make a commitment and are in good discussions, but nothing is fixed yet,” confirmed Fritz on Saturday. The “Dike room“ also reported on Monday that the defender was already in Bremen and would soon undergo a medical check in order to then sign his contract.
Sancho, Elmas & Co.: New additions to the Bundesliga clubs in winter 2024
The right-footer is primarily planned as a replacement for Amos Pieper (25), who has been suffering from a broken ankle since the beginning of December and will miss large parts of the second half of the season. Milos Veljkovic (28) is also currently missing with knee problems. In addition, Malatini can also act on the right defensive side, where Werder only has two players in the squad with Mitchell Weiser (29) and Felix Agu (24) whose contracts expire in the summer.
“Malatini is somewhat similar to Juan Foyth (Villarreal FC; editor). Maybe not so much tactically, but in terms of being a tall centre-back who has been used as a full-back for a significant period of his career. In my opinion he is more of a central defender. He is strong and, with his height, very good at long balls,” explains Scott Christensen, Argentina area manager at Transfermarkt.
“In my opinion he is a good player, but not a great player,” Christensen continued. “He had a mixed start at CA Talleres, but the club was going through a difficult period at the time he played, so it wasn’t easy for a young player. He was then loaned out to Defensa y Justicia and later signed permanently – a club that can find and train talent.”
Füllkrug in front of Arnautovic: The most expensive Werder additions
Among other things, the club from Florencio Varela in the province of Buenos Aires was the springboard for Enzo Fernández (22) and Lisandro Martínez (25). A similar steep development to that of the two world champions, who currently have a market value of 80 million and 50 million euros respectively, is not expected for Malatini. In his youth he was not one of the country’s greatest talents and never played in the Albiceleste’s youth teams. Nevertheless, one can hope for a player with great potential in Bremen.
Werder Bremen: New signing Malatini gone for Argentina international matches?
The fact that the development of the last few years is correct was shown not least by the first nomination for the Argentine selection, which will take part in the pre-Olympic U23 tournament in Venezuela from January 20th to February 11th and will be coached by Javier Mascherano. The Argentine association officially announced Malatini’s departure from the team camp at the weekend, but emphasized that this only took place in consultation between the club and the player, but without that of the association.
Important for Werder: There is no obligation to park for the tournament. If Bremen finalize the transfer and plan Malatini as immediate help, Argentina would have to do without the defender. In this case, “the Argentine squad would unfortunately only consist of 22 players as there is no possibility of replacing them,” the association said.
From Bremen’s point of view, there are several reasons to insist that Malatini stays. Should Argentina reach the final round, the newcomer would definitely miss the games until matchday 21 and could only start training afterwards. Playing the following weekend would be questionable, as twelve of the original 18 Bundesliga games would remain after the winter break. With Marco Friedl (25), Niklas Stark (28) and Anthony Jung (32), there are currently only three players available for central defense.
history
All foreign Werder professionals sorted by nation
About statistics
This decision alone should show whether Malatini, who becomes the fourth Argentinian in Werder’s club history after Rodolfo Cardoso, Franco Di Santo and Santiago García, is planned as the emergency aid requested by Bittencourt or not. Either way, the hope in Bremen lies in medium-term development and the associated replacement potential. According to the “Deichstube”, the Green-Whites have to pay around 2 million euros themselves, and a four-year contract is being considered.
For Christensen, the move to Bremen seems quite logical and promising, especially since bigger talents from Argentina are usually courted by bigger clubs from Europe. “I think he is a player who can still improve a lot. He needs more self-confidence and will gain in quality and charisma as he gets older.”
To home page