Due to Exequiel Palacios’ muscle injury, Bayer 04’s absence list has been extended to include another important player. This has consequences for one of the Argentine’s teammates.
Bayer Leverkusen will miss Exequiel Palacios for the next few weeks. IMAGO/MIS
It is obvious that the loss of Exequiel Palacios has significantly worsened the personnel situation at Bayer 04. With the six-man sidelined to be sidelined well into February after a thigh muscle injury suffered in the 3-2 win in Leipzig, the number of missing players for Saturday’s game against Gladbach is expected to rise to seven.
In addition to the Argentine world champion, coach Xabi Alonso has to do without Victor Boniface and Arthur, who are also injured. The same goes for defense chief Jonathan Tah, who has been suspended. Also on Edmond Tapsoba, Amine Adli and Odilon Kossounou (all at the Africa Cup), although the tournament could already be over for the latter after hosts Ivory Coast lost 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday.
There is no new six
The bottleneck is of course a problem against Gladbach. But what consequences does the loss of Palacios, who could also miss the entire month of February, have for Bayer in the long term?
None on the transfer market – at least as far as the access side is concerned. Leverkusen will not sign a new six-man after Palacios left in January. There are several good arguments for this. On the one hand, Robert Andrich has been waiting since the beginning of the season for a permanent chance in the starting eleven, which Palacios and the equally outstanding Granit Xhaka have so far been absolutely guaranteed to have.
Amiri will probably have to stay
Bringing in a replacement now would be a slap in the face for the German international. On the other hand, the squad also offers alternatives suitable for the Bundesliga: Firstly, Gustavo Puerta (20), who is considered a hot candidate for the place next to Xhaka against Gladbach, as Andrich is needed as head of defense in place of Tah. On the other hand, Noah Mbamba (19). In addition, Nadiem Amiri (27), who is usually used more offensively under Xabi Alonso, has already proven his suitability in the double six.
There is therefore no threat of an absolute bottleneck. And a replacement at Palacios’ level would hardly be financeable or even tangible anyway. However, the Palacios exit has an impact on the exit side. This massively reduces the chances of Amiri, whose contract expires in the summer, being able to leave the club in the winter.
In principle, Amiri would move to a club in January where he would have greater opportunities to play. This chance would have arisen, at least in principle, if the goal had been to sign a striker who was supposed to be an immediate help. If it weren’t for Palacios’ injury, Bayer might have agreed to an early exit.
Now Amiri has to stay so that the ceiling of players doesn’t become too thin. This applies even if a new striker comes. Unless Bayer also adds a (prospect) player for the offensive positions behind the nine.
2024-01-22 21:35:07
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