Thorup lists Kabadayi and Maurice as potential Vargas replacements
Fifteenth-placed Bundesliga side FC Augsburg were hit with more bad news midweek when it was revealed that attacker Ruben Vargas would be sidelined for at least a month due to an ankle ligament injury suffered in training. The Bavarian Fuggerstüadter open up the 2024/25 Bundesliga's sixth round of play against Gladbach on Friday evening.
Coming off a back-to-back losses against Mainz and Leipzig, FCA trainer Jess Thorup already had enough headaches to deal with. Thorup must already make do without his leading scorer Samuel Essende; still serving a suspension from the Mainz fixture in which Thorup's team were widely panned for defending horribly in a match they statistically dominated.
In Essence's absence, Thorup turned to Philipp Tietz to spearhead the attack. The former Darmstadt man remained ineffective against Leipzig. More concerning still, the Bavarian Swabians defended very poorly against Marco Rose's German Red Bulls. The FCA trainer finds himself in need of quick solutions on both sides of the ball.
Interestingly enough - whilst speaking on Vargas' absence at his Wednesday presser - the Danish head-coach hinted that he may be prepared to give two new summer additions their first start for their new clubs as a means of re-invigorating the attack. Thorup does have a plethora of promising fresh faces to turn to.
Bayern loanee Yussuf Kabadayi has already scored once off the bench this season and registered an assist in the Pokal victory. Deadline day signing Alexis Claude Maurice - per Thorup - is now up to speed with regard to his personal training standards.
Thorup mentioned Kabadayi and Maurice before getting to more established names such as Arne Maier or Frederik Jensen. Both Kabadayi and Maurice could conceivably start behind Tietz in Vargas' old position. Striker Steve Mounié - following inconspicuous performances off the bench - probably isn't an option.
"Ruben is a key player," Throup somberly noted on Wednesday, "He's an X-factor that just about any team would miss. [Maurice] has trained very well and is on the right track. We have to improve on small things which feel like big things for us at the moment. I'm optimistic [ahead of Gladbach]."