After 18 of 22 rounds, Salzburg is 14 points ahead of the closest pursuers Puntigamer Sturm and Pellets WAC – worries look different. The start will be on Sunday (4.30 p.m., live ORF1) with the quarter-finals in the Uniqa-ÖFB-Cup against LASK Bavaria is coming. “We have two difficult games ahead of Bayern,” said Freund. “It’s a great story that we’re really challenged right away. These are correct location determinations.”
According to Freund, Salzburg has already achieved the first goal. “It was the big goal to keep the team together,” said the 44-year-old. For example, the club could afford to turn down a €20m offer for Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson that had been rumored in the media. Mohamed Camara had also previously been linked with an immediate move to Atletico Madrid.
“Boys want to keep going”
“Due to this extraordinary autumn, many boys want to continue to be there,” said Freund, citing one reason for the stability in personnel. The other: “We have created a very, very good basis in recent years through our successes and above all our transfer income and are not under so much pressure.”
The 18-year-old Ivorian midfielder Oumar Diakite (“Very exciting and interesting”) and the Belgian Ignace van der Brempt have come. The right full-back will later slip into the role of Rasmus Kristensen, who will probably already be Salzburg history in the summer – as well as Karim Adeyemi, Camara and Aaronson. “Rasmus played a really good six months and showed a lot before that. There are certainly some interested parties,” said Freund.
path is consistently continued
Van der Brempt wasn’t a regular at Club Brugge, but he did prove his skills in six CL games. “He is very fast and robust, someone who plays football very aggressively. We have high hopes for him in the next few years,” said Freund. “Perhaps it’s unusual when someone changes from the Belgian to the Austrian champions. But the way he sees football and the way he works makes him a perfect fit for us.”
In any case, the refusals of various offers for the “bulls” show a certain strength. For Freund, however, it is unthinkable that one moves away from the youth track. “We will not be less consistent on the path we have taken in recent years, but perhaps even more so. Our goal in the future will continue to be to be the best U22, U23 in Europe.”
