Leverkusen is fighting to stay at the top in the game against VfB Stuttgart (click here for the live ticker). Coach Xabi Alonso‘s team is already five points behind FC Bayern Munich after the eighth matchday.
Before kick-off, everything revolved around Alonso’s future in Leverkusen. Bayer’s sports director Simon Rolfes has avoided a clear denial of rumors that Sebastian Hoeneß from VfB Stuttgart is the preferred candidate to succeed current Bayer coach Xabi Alonso.
It is his job “to look, to try, to see. That’s completely normal,” said Rolfes on DAZN shortly before the home game against VfB. “But as long as there is no need – neither from players nor from the coach – it’s all a good theory.” The “Kicker” had previously reported that Bayer was interested in Hoeneß should Alonso leave the factory club at some point. The Spaniard has repeatedly been linked to Real Madrid, where he could succeed Carlo Ancelotti.
The fact that Hoeneß has an exit clause in his contract, which runs until 2027, would make possible negotiations easier for Bayer. According to “Sport Bild”, he can go in the summer for a fee of between five and six million euros – but only to a club that plays internationally. “I know the name Hoeneß,” said Rolfes, but there are “so many subjunctives that it makes no sense to speculate about it.”
Will Alonso stay until 2026? “At the moment, 100 percent,” says Rolfes
When asked what percentage he expects Alonso to fulfill his contract at Leverkusen until 2026, Rolfes replied: “At the moment 100 percent because he has a contract and there are no signs that it will change into another Alonso led Leverkusen to the first championship in the club’s history last season and won the DFB Cup.
