No major personnel changes are expected at VfL Bochum before the second half of the season. A midfielder, however, might reconsider his status in the squad.
Things aren’t going well for him in Bochum: Philipp Förster. IMAGO/Revierfoto
Six points ahead of relegation place 16 after 16 match days: Bochum’s officials should be very confident at the turn of the year despite the 4-0 defeat at the end of the year in Leverkusen.
Major changes in the squad are therefore not expected in the upcoming transfer phase. One topic recently was another loan for defender Tim Oermann, who was convincing when he had to step in, but is unlikely to get much match practice in Bochum in the next six months.
More departures? Jordi Osei-Tutu plays no role at all in the squad, perhaps a change for the winger will become an issue. Philipp Förster is also likely to be quite dissatisfied. In his first year, he occasionally impressed as a precise set-piece shooter and fine preparer, but hardly played a role in the past half-year and was only in the starting line-up once.
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Förster’s highlight in Bochum: On the 34th matchday of the previous season, he scored what was probably his most important goal for VfL, the 1-0 win against Bayer Leverkusen in the decisive relegation game. Previously, he had repeatedly been out due to Achilles tendon problems and he wasn’t in the best physical condition for the new season either.
Even when the deficit was cleared up, Förster didn’t find his way back into the team. The places in midfield are basically taken, especially since Matus Bero returned to the starting line-up after his knee injury.
Patrick Osterhage has now also established himself in the center; There is currently hardly any room in the team for Förster, who takes on a slightly more offensive role. The truth is also: Förster hasn’t really arrived in the area. In addition to some highlights of the extremely strong midfielder with the fine left foot, there were also games in which Förster almost disappeared and had no effect whatsoever.
Overall, the former Stuttgarter is in a dead end; So it’s not out of the question that he’ll be looking to change clubs this winter to get his career back on track. In addition, his contract expires in the summer, and an extension should not be an issue from the perspective of those responsible in Bochum.
Förster can recommend itself from January 2nd
VfL will resume training on January 2nd; Then Förster will try to present himself in the best condition, but possibly also in order to recommend himself to another club.
The first opportunity for Förster and everyone else in the Bochum squad to present themselves outside of the training sessions is the first weekend of 2024. Then there will be a double test for coach Thomas Letsch’s players: first on Saturday, January 6th against FC Groningen, then on Sunday against Letsch’s former club Vitesse Arnhem.
2023-12-29 08:12:20
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