Krösche confirms and explains Hauge loan-out: "The Belgian league is ideal."
In confirming Norwegian attacker Jens Petter Hauge's impending loan to KAA Gent, Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krösche offer up explanations on why the club decided to ship out a player they recently paid €10 million for.
| Markus Krösche. | Photo: GEPA Pictures/Roger Petzsche |
"In Gent, Jens Petter can play regularly from the start and also internationally," Krösche explained, "The Belgian league is ideal because it is similar to the Bundesliga in terms of intensity and competition."
Hauge did make 38 appearances across all competitions for the SGE last year; a deciding factor in why the club opted to activate his purchase clause in the loan contract from AC Milan. The offseason acquisitions of Faride Alidou, Randal Kolo Muani, and Mario Götze nevertheless would have made it difficult for the 22-year-old to get playing time, even off the bench.
Hauge will have an opportunity to play internationally immediately should Gent opt to use him in their qualification match for the 2022/23 Europa League on Thursday. Moreover, as reported by Christopher Michel of German broadcaster Sport1, the Belgian club have agreed to take Hauge's salary off Frankfurt's books.
The SGE do have something of a history of sending players off to Belgian and getting good developmental results. Krösche's predecessor Fredi Bobic sent both attacker Daichi Kamada and defender Lucas Silva "Tuta" Melo out to the league before they became Rhein-Main regulars.
Krösche may nevertheless be in for some heat from SGE supporters currently worried about the squad's slow start to the season and possibly even scared that, after the Filip Kostic transfer, starting midfielder Djibril Sow might be poached by Nottingham Forest. The Ali Akman park might also leave some wondering if club management unnecessarily deprives the coaching staff of depth and options during a Champions' League year.
"Together with our analysts, we looked at everything," Krösche also notes in the interview, "We ask: Does he fit in? Can he contribute with strengths? What's the competitive situation within the squad? We never just give a player away for short-term economic benefit. It has to make sense in terms of athletic development. That's also the case with Ali Akman's loan to Göztepe."
