In the summer, Borussia spent a lot of money on Nathan Ngoumou. The lightning-fast offensive man has not been a factor so far. Coach Daniel Farke explains what needs to be improved.
Hardly a factor in Gladbach: Nathan Ngoumou.
IMAGO/foal photo
It should have been clear to everyone that Ngoumou would need some adjustment time. Before moving to Gladbach, the nimble winger, who mainly gained his experience in the French Ligue 2, had only made three Ligue 1 appearances in his CV.
Borussia transferred eight million euros to FC Toulouse for Ngoumou. It was certainly an investment in the future, but in view of the high transfer fee one could expect a little more than what the 23-year-old in the foal jersey has shown so far. His quality flashed occasionally, especially the immense speed (a top value of 36.17 km/h was measured this season) is a trump card. But: Ngoumou never became a real factor in the Gladbach game. His record: In twelve league appearances he was only three times in the starting XI. He managed neither a goal nor an assist.
In the new year, too, the next development step will not take place for the time being. In the past seven matchdays, coach Daniel Farke Ngoumou has only used it twice as a joker, in the last two games against SC Freiburg (0-0) and at RB Leipzig (0-3) he didn’t use it at all.
“It’s about showing yourself in training and earning every effort. There were phases where we had the feeling he was on the right track. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to translate that into the games. Recently we had the feeling that he hasn’t always reached his performance limit in training,” says Farke critically, emphasizing: “No assignments are given away. You have to earn every Bundesliga assignment.”
Ngoumou knows what is expected of him. “We talked to him and told him that he had to show himself more and be more present,” says Farke. In the current training week “he presents himself really well”, says the VfL coach. “But it’s always about consistency there, too. One or two good training sessions aren’t enough to get your chance. You have to prove consistency. That’s Nathan’s job for the next few weeks.”
