Saturday in Magdeburg (8.30 p.m. / Sky) Fortuna will probably not unpack the Holland tackle yet! The start of the season is apparently too early for Jordy de Wijs (27).
Coach Daniel Thioune (47): “He came to us very late, and he has a lot of competition. Jordy is not quite competitive yet and at the level I would like him to be.”
So it’s likely that Christoph Klarer (22) is defending next to Andre Hoffmann (29) in the middle. De Wijs (signed from Queens Park Rangers for 1.1 million euros) only joined in the training camp, had to step back after muscular problems – and is now still behind.
Thioune hasn’t made a 100 percent commitment to de Wijs, but he did in the second Fortuna transfer of the summer: “We have a group of 14 or 15 players who could be in the starting XI. We also have a lot of talent who still have to get used to the pace. This also includes Benjamin Böckle, who also came to us after suffering from corona.”
The left-back (signed from FC Liefering for 250,000 euros) does not yet have what it takes to oust Nicolas Gavory (27), it still needs time. Fortuna will therefore probably start in Magdeburg without a new signing.
However, it could also be an advantage because the team is well-rehearsed and apart from Khaled Narey (27) has not left.
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Thioune: “I’m often confronted with the fact that we should therefore be among the promotion favorites. I always wonder what the indicators are? Bremen and Schalke were promoted with new teams last season that weren’t well-rehearsed. Consistency in the squad is always good and we have a lot of players who know the challenges at Fortuna. We’re also brutally ambitious, but we mustn’t unload those expectations on these players – although we’re trying to meet them.”
It’s finally starting on Saturday!