The German national team has had a longstanding striker problem.
Since Miroslav Klose’s retirement, Die Mannschaft has seen Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Serge Gnabry, Niclas Füllkrug, and Deniz Undav all have a go at the centre forward position. Heck, even Thomas Müller was frequently moved from attacking midfield to function as a false 9, with limited success.
To sum it up, there has been a drought of world-class German strikers.
What the German National Team desperately needs is a traditional no. 9,
like a Robert Lewandowski or a Harry Kane. There is a reason Bayern Munich’s front line hasn’t been led by a German striker in ages. And now NT coach Jürgen Klopp may have found the answer.
According to a report by @SkySportDE (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Klopp visited Eintracht Frankfurt, where he “held a long conversation with 22-year striker Younes Ebnoutalib. Ebnoutalib was born in Frankfurt to a German mother and a Moroccan father and would therefore be eligible for both countries.”
Looks like coach Klopp has his sleeves folded and is ready to put in the work to convince Younes to play for Germany. In the past, this might not have needed much effort, but at present, Morocco is a stronger footballing nation than Germany. They’ve enjoyed way more success both in the World Cup and in their continental cup competition, AFCON.
If this works out in Germany’s favour, though, will Die Mannschaft finally have the star striker they have been longing for?
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
