By Peter Weis@PeterVicey

FSV Mainz 05 attempt to re-claim former striker Yoshi Muto from Newcastle

Coach Achim Beierlorzer's thin ranks face a series of stringent tests as the return to competitive play looms in Germany. Unable to procure any solutions for the attack over the break, it appears as if the club angles for a familiar face. Former Mainz star Yoshi Muto is one of two Japanese internationals to score a hat trick in Germany's top flight.
Yoshinori Muto.
Yoshinori Muto.Photo: Fuguito, CC BY-SA 3.0
Website Ligainsider reports that top-tier side FSV Mainz 05 are among four German clubs currently interested in bringing Newcastle United striker Yoshinori Muto back to the Bundesliga. The 28-year-old Japanese international played three seasons for the Pfälzer-verein before making the jump to England in the summer of 2018.

Muto tallied 20 times in 66 appearances when stationed at the Rheinhessen carnival club. His inability to catch on in the Premiership has the magpies currently shopping him for either a transfer or a loan. Other Bundesliga clubs said to be interested in securing his services include FC Augsburg, 1. FC Köln, and FC Augsburg.

Mainz managed to avoid relegation last season in spite of the fact that a mid-November-2019coaching switch bringing in Köln’s Achim Beierlorzer yielded only six victories from the 23 league fixtures. Attacking midfielder Robin Quaison struck 13 goals over the course of the campaign. Nevertheless, none of Mainz’s strikers, or indeed any other player on the team, could manage to find the back of the net more than four times.

The Nullfünfer have not been able to bring in a single new offensive weapon over the course of the summer. The team is scheduled to begin the season against RB Leipzig, who trounced them 0-8 and 0-5 in last season’s respective fixtures.

Mainz may also be considered under significant pressure to make a huge statement against Round One DFB-Pokal opponents TSV Havelse on Friday. The club was rather humiliatingly tossed out of the opening round of last year’s competition by regional arch-rivals 1. FC Kaiserslautern, currently of Germany’s third professional tier.

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