Bornauw open to winter transfer: "I need playing time."
Speaking to Thomas Hiete of Germany's Kicker Magazine, VfL Wolfsburg defender Sebastiaan Bornauw revealed that he remained very much open to a transfer to a new club in the coming January transfer window.
Matters have not exactly worked out as hoped for Belgian international Sebastiaan Bornauw since he joined VfL Wolfsburg in the summer of 2021. The 24-year-old - after moving to Germany's green company team from 1. FC Köln - had hoped to play in the Champions League and further his international career. At present, the four-times-capped international finds himself squeezed out of VfL trainer Niko Kovac's center back hierarchy.
Competing with Moritz Jenz, Maxence Lacroix, and Cedric Zesiger, Bornauw has made just four starts in 13 matches across all competitions this season. The Wemmel-native has featured in Kovac's XI in four of the last five matches, but still been left of the Belgian national team by German trainer Domenico Tedesco. The central defender, speaking to Thomas Hiete of Germany's Kicker Magazine, recently made clear that he was considering a January transfer.
"For me, the most important thing is that I play at the European Championships at the end of the season," Bornauw told Hiete, "To be there, I need playing time. Preferably here at VfL. I'm not currently asking myself the question {as to whether that's possible] yet. I will take stock in the winter. We'll see whether I play, what clubs are interested, and how I feel."
Bornauw admitted that it "hadn't been easy" to warm the Wolfsburg bench and further noted that he had not received an adequate answer from Kovac - currently under criticisms for his heavy squad rotations - as to why he hadn't been receiving regular playing time. Bornauw did receive largely positive marks in the German press for his performance in Wolfsburg's DFB Pokal victory against two-time defending cup champions RB Leipzig.
Should Bornauw opt to push for a January transfer, a number of top-flight Bundesliga sides would potentially be interested in him. The German Wolves paid a reported €13.5 million to sign him fro Köln in the summer of 2021. At the time, there defender's estimated market worth stood at its peak of €14 million. Bornauw's current worth is appraised at half that in the latest transfermarkt listings.