Christian Falk has now revealed that Bayer Leverkusen could be subject to an exodus of players this summer.
Xabi Alonso’s men could yet lose highly-rated young centre-half Piero Hincapie to Premier League interest (as has been reported here).
The Ecuadorian may be followed by further exits amid hefty interest in key stars from England and beyond.
“Edmond Tapsoba (25) can decide for himself whether to change: He has an exit clause in his contract, which he extended until 2028 last September. The central defender has the highest fixed sum of all Bundesliga players: €100m! However, Leverkusen is firmly planning on Tapsoba,” the Bundesliga journalist informed CaughtOffside in his exclusive Fact Files column.
“Likewise, Alonso and sporting director Rolfes are working on a shared future with Jeremie Frimpong. His contract until 2028 also contains an exit clause. The wing player can go for €40m. The clause would have to be activated before the start of the European Championship in June. Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United have registered their interest in the Dutchman. The management of Frimpong is already in concrete talks with United and Bayern.
“The strong midfield with stars like Florian Wirtz, Granit Xhaka (31), Exequiel Palacios (25) and Robert Andrich (29) stays together. In attack, however, there is at least one exit.
“Loan striker Borja Iglesias (31), who was brought in in January after the now-recovered Victor Boniface (23) was injured, is returning to Betis Sevilla. Adam Hlozek (21), who was unable to assert himself at Bayer in his second year, is a candidate for sale.”
The BayArena-based outfit find themselves now only a single game away from etching their names into history with a first league title win for ‘Die Werkself’.
Top Leverkusen players up for grabs
Xabi Alonso’s commitment to Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season will have provided a major boost.
Not least of all when it comes to clarifying the futures of a number of their key players who may have feared the uncertainty of life in North Rhine-Westphalia without the Spanish head coach.
That said, with interest from the likes of Spanish giants Real Madrid, not to mention Manchester United and Bayern Munich, in Jeremie Frimpong, you could forgive the Dutchman for having his head turned.
Only time will tell who will remain faithful to the cause ahead of a likely even more demanding season next year.