I hope that, like last season with Stark and Pieper, we’ll be able to sign good free players (eg Kownacki) again. If Ducksch and or Füllkrug go, you have to replace them adequately, which will certainly not be easy.
A new trunk 6 would be enormously important, so that Groß is only planned as a backup. Woltemade is coming back and should have the right to get more playing time. Maybe he’ll take the Burke/Philipp slot next season.
Potential departures for me are Dinkci on loan, Schmid, Veljkovic, Bittencourt and Mbom.
In general, none of us is unsaleable and we would deal with it when we make offers. There could be a bigger upheaval than is now suspected.
Should that happen, you could actually plan the descent. Replacing the filling jug and Ducksch (if both go) is a mammoth task.
I had already seen Kownacki as the better target with the rumors about Glatzel. If that works, that would be a great step in the right direction. To be honest, I don’t see Philipp as a regular player. Should you get him on a free transfer – Super, good squad player. Woltemade and Dinkci have no Bundesliga potential for me (also in perspective). Honestly, you can sell both without a guilty conscience. As you pointed out, Woltemade could possibly be kept as a “substitute” for Philipp, should he not be available on a free transfer. But I would be really worried if a regular player were to be out for a long time.
As a second striker, it would be worth trying to look at the (potential) relegated players in England. Adam Armstrong is definitely interesting. Could imagine Southampton would be willing to negotiate here due to relegation and problems from him in the PL. However, it would probably still be an absolute top transfer with a lot of risk.
Chris Wood could be safer. There is only one year left on the contract, Newcastle want to get rid of him and have shown that he can play in the PL. The only drawback is their age, so we would probably have invested 4-5 million in a player that we can no longer sell for profit. If our two strikers go, I think that would be justifiable for the mission of staying up.
Veljkovic can actually be sold without replacement, then Werner can’t set him up week after week despite underperformance and maybe give Chiarodia playing time again…
There is a lot of need in midfield, but to be honest you won’t be able to make as big a change as would be necessary. As big as he is, he’s just not a Bundesliga player, Bittencourt has always been too expensive for what he delivers, Schmid very mixed performances, Mbom is practically permanently injured and Schmidt isn’t a factor at all (I also assume he’s what you meant by selling?) .
Personally I would also prefer that we get a real six, on the other hand I trust Gruev at least to become a Bundesliga player. I think an 8 that creates a better bond between defense and attack could bring us a lot more in the game than someone who destroys at the back. I would now spontaneously only be able to think of a few candidates who would be affordable, but they also depended very much on who we actually get sold.