September 1, 2023 has not been forgotten in Frankfurt football to this day. It was a special late summer day with a crazy twist late at night. When the transfer period in Germany ended at 6 p.m. that Friday, the sought-after Randal Kolo Muani was still in Eintracht’s service. And it should stay that way.
But a few hours later, the star striker’s employer changed – because the transfer window in France was open longer, the national player, who was willing to move, was able to leave Frankfurt for Paris St. Germain at the last minute after turbulent hours.
A final and very valuable bang that brought the Bundesliga club a gigantic transfer fee of around 95 million euros. And that caused Kolo Muani to fall to rock bottom in the favor of the Eintracht supporters.
No new offensive force
However, a replacement for the then exceptional attacker was not available in Frankfurt. In the weeks before, the club’s financial leaders had been afraid to take an economic risk with a strong new signing without corresponding income. Probably to the great disappointment of the sporting leadership, who had seen the need for reinforcements in order to be competitive.
Sports director Markus Krösche has had four months to find a promising striker for the second half of the season. When Eintracht started the new year full of energy last Tuesday on the second day of the winter transfer period, no new offensive force enriched the squad – even though speed of action is necessary because the Hessians had already arrived on January 13th (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) start the second half of the season with the away game against Leipzig.
Then the Egyptian Omar Marmoush, who is Eintracht’s most successful attacker with twelve competitive goals so far, will not be at the forefront of the Africa Cup of Nations due to his national team commitment.
And the new target player would have to be integrated and familiarized with the ideas of coach Dino Toppmöller before his first test. Seen in this way, every day counts in match day preparation. That’s why there is a slight grumbling and a certain lack of understanding around the Eintracht area about the protracted transfer activities in the attack.
It is not obvious to outsiders that the Frankfurters are working hard and under high pressure on the matter. In addition, in the interests of Eintracht, Krösche must exercise moderation and common sense when it comes to spending – despite the 95 million euros collected by the club, the Frankfurters are not prepared to pay any price for a player. Not to forget that the salary structure must also remain in balance in order to avoid animosity within the squad.
Sasa Kalajdzic from Wolverhampton Wanderers has been in discussion for days. And on Friday there were increasing signs that the 26-year-old Austrian would be the solution to Frankfurt’s search for a striker. The contract modalities are expected to be finalized this weekend.
Not often used
Kalajdzic had already committed to unity early on. Eintracht, in turn, would like to secure a purchase option for Kalajdzic, whose market value is currently eleven million euros, at the end of the loan deal in the summer. In addition to other English clubs from the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg is also said to have vied for the national player, who is aiming for better chances of playing at the European Championships in Germany this year by changing jobs.
Kalajdzic hasn’t played too often for Wolverhampton Wanders over the past 18 months. However, he was already able to demonstrate his executioner qualities in Germany; During his time at VfB Stuttgart, he scored 22 goals and provided eight assists in 51 matches in his three first division years.
He had his head on the spot eleven times. Eintracht, who only have two goals in this category in the first half of the season, can use such heading power. All in all, Kalajdzic would bring a lot to be the urgently needed emergency help in the orphaned Frankfurt storm.
Striker Sasa Kalajdzic (right) was also in action against Eintracht. : Image: EPA
Lucas Alario, who has now joined the Brazilian first division club Internacional Porto Alegre, would no longer have been a candidate for a job there anyway. The Argentine has remained without a minute of playing time this season. The striker has done far too little to change that. What remains is the realization that Alario was an expensive misunderstanding for Eintracht. Coming from Bayer Leverkusen in 2022 for around six million euros, he was one of the top earners in Frankfurt with an annual salary of an estimated 2.5 million euros.
Nigerian Rafiu Durosinmi from Viktoria Pilsen was also on Frankfurt’s list of possible new signings. But the 21-year-old attacker, who has been hotly talked about for weeks, is no longer an issue at the moment; A medical examination reportedly revealed problems with his injured knee. The group of candidates, however, also includes 21-year-old Arnaud Kalimuendo (Stade Rennes) and Hugo Ekitiké from Paris St. Germain.
Marc Heinrich Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Daniel Theweleit Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10 Marc Heinrich and Alex Westhoff Published/Updated: Recommendations: 6
Eintracht had already considered the 21-year-old Ekitiké as a replacement for Kolo Muani before the season. Various reasons prevented a transfer at that time. Now Eintracht has made a second attempt. Which, due to Frankfurt’s needs, should also soon lead to the goal.
