The first post of the new transfer window! Quite a bit has happened since my last article, at least in terms of Simon Rolfes' stance on how he will approach the new transfer window. Whilst before he seemed adamant that nothing would happen, it now seems like we could have at least some movement whether it be in terms of exits or, more likely, arrivals in anticipation of departures in the summer.
Arrivals
First, Eddie Nketiah. Leverkusen are still said to be looking at the Arsenal forward and are even keen to sign him on a precontract as early as this week according to The Sun. The Daily Mail also picked up on this story and claim negotiations are already underway between player and club. The main rivals for the young Englishman's signature are Crystal Palace who made attempts to sign him last summer. The 22-year-old is frankly desperate for game time and wants to leave Arsenal sooner rather than later. As a result, the Werkself may have to resort to paying a transfer fee to avoid losing out but unless one of our current strikers leaves unexpectedly, I believe we would much rather wait and have him join for free in the summer.
Staying in England, Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim and Nottingham Forest are all interested in Leeds United's Cody Drameh reports the Daily Mail. The Championship side are the team to beat in the race for the 20-year-old right back however as they are already in advanced talks for a loan deal with an option to buy. A loan move to Leverkusen would make little sense for both us and the player. With Frimpong we have one of the best fullbacks in the Bundesliga and a capable replacement with Timothy Fosu-Mensah coming back soon - Drameh is unproven at the senior level and would stand little chance.
Yet another young English fullback, Leverkusen are once again looking at Zak Sturge of Brighton. We were loosely linked with the 17-year-old left back late last summer and are rumoured to be interested again, along with Wolfsburg, according to The Sun. Sturge plays currently with Brighton's U18s and recently turned down an offer to extend his contract there.
Bayer Leverkusen have held talks with the agent of the highly rated 'Austrian Messi' Yusuf Demir of Rapid Vienna, tweets Ekrem Konur of Fichajes. He was signed by Barcelona on loan at the beginning of the season but a lack of game time has seen his development slump. The Catalan club, with all their well-known financial difficulties, are set to terminate his loan early so he will return to Austria where they are said to be willing to sell for a fee of €10m. His playing style is very similar to Wirtz and like our superstar, plays his best as a 10 but can also play on the right wing. Eintracht Frankfurt and Dortmund are the competitors, with the latter being the favourites as the Schwarzgelben are most willing to pay the sum. Personally I would love to see him with us - he is a player who has an extremely high ceiling - but in order for him to come, one or two of Amiri, Paulinho or Bellarabi would need to make way.
Departures
There are so many candidates, but Patrik Schick, for me, is our player of the season so far. With 16 goals in just 13 games, only Lewandowski in all of Europe's top 5 leagues can claim to have scored more. His unbelievable run in December in which he was our sole goalscorer for 8 goals in a row was legendary. But could we see his great time here cut short? Ever since the Euros, the talent of Schick has been made clear for all the world and now Manchester City, Dortmund and West Ham in particular have been linked with a transfer, either for this window or the summer. Manchester City have long sought a classic centre forward but with no avail, Dortmund are looking at options to potentially replace Haaland and West Ham like Man City also lack options up front and have a Czech owner and a small Czech contingent in the team already. Potential fees range from €40m to more than €60m. Given his long contract and how disruptive such a transfer would be to our season, Leverkusen are being understandably resistant to listening to any offers for our top scorer.
Whilst Schick has had the season of his career, Lucas Alario has had to watch it from the bench. He has been a reservist for a while of course, but could now be his time to change? Everyone seemed to know that when he signed his new contract in August it was for the purpose of maximising a transfer fee rather than for keeping him at the club long-term. 'River El Mas Grande' claim that Palmeiras is having conversations with the Argentine over a potential move. However, his agent Pedro Aldave was quick to extinguish the rumours saying: 'There's nothing. The player does not want to leave Europe'. Torino in Italy are another team that have allegedly shown interest.
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