In RB Leipzig’s midfield, a rethink is needed in a broader sense. Assan Ouédraogo is known to be out until the end of March due to a knee injury and will need to be replaced for that period. The load should be distributed across several shoulders.
Head coach Ole Werner made it clear on Monday that Ouédraogo’s loss hurts both in terms of performance and profile. At the same time, however, he referred to internal options to compensate for the failure. “We obviously have fundamental alternatives,” said Werner, who particularly mentioned Ezekiel Banzuzi and Andrija Maksimović.
Chance for Banzuzi and Maksimović
Both actors could slip into the role and thus receive more playing time. For Banzuzi and Maksimović in particular, this will give them the opportunity to show their worth and take on responsibility in Leipzig’s midfield in the coming weeks.
Regardless of the current failure, Werner also made it clear that the club was also looking externally as usual. Opportunities for reinforcement would generally be examined in the transfer window – “regardless of failures,” as the coach emphasized. In the short term, however, the focus is clearly on internal solutions.
In the last duel with Heidenheim, both Banzuzi and Maksimović came on in the final phase to take some of the pressure off the team after they had taken a comfortable lead.
