Glasner discusses possible starts for Paciencia, Hauge, Knauff, and Lenz
With Filip Kostic officially ruled out for Eintracht Frankfurt's weekend clash away at Stuttgart with a non-corona flu-like infection, SGE head-coach Oliver Glasner hinted at a possible deployment for Christopher Lenz.
A Bundesliga head-coach not necessarily fond of radically altering his tactics also discussed the absence of lead-striker Rafael Santos Borré at a Thursday media round.
A Bundesliga head-coach not necessarily fond of radically altering his tactics also discussed the absence of lead-striker Rafael Santos Borré at a Thursday media round.
| Oliver Glasner. |
"We have a large and very good roster," Glasner told reporters on Thursday, "We'll take that with us to Stuttgart and grab the first [three] points of 2022."
Asked specifically about Borré's absence, the SGE gaffer noted that he considered Gonçalo Paciencia an option. The Portuguese attacker has scored four goals off the bench across all competitions this season. Glasner even went so far as to suggest that Jens Petter Hauge or newcomer Ansgar Knauff might get a start up front too.
The slumping Sam Lammers, whom Glasner noted "prefers to play the half-nine" position, seemed the least likely option.
As to who might replace Kostic, moving Timothy Chandler over to the left-wing could be once again be an interim solution. The USMNT emeritus player idn't do especially poorly filling in for Kostic a couple of rounds back. Alamy Touré in Chandler's position on the right didn't yield the best results, but Knauff's arrival could cancel out that problem.
Glasner noted that Knauff had "fit in very well" to the squad training regimen. Eintracht's trainer also praised Hauge for "training very well".
Left wing-back Christopher Lenz, brought in this off-season from 1. FC Union Berlin, hasn't been able to go the full 90 since September because of injury problems. Glasner nevertheless let it be known that he was prepared to give the left-footer a crack at 70 or possibly 80 minutes as a starter.
"One time always has to be the first time," the coach noted, "He's been in full training for two and a half weeks and had no problems in our rest test match. If we have a left-footer, we'd prefer a left-footer at that position."