Football Season Guide

Wolfsburg

In


Kevin Mbabu (def) Young Boys; Paulo Otavio (def) Ingolstadt; Xaver Schlager (mid) RB Salzburg; Joao Victor (mid) LASK Linz; Lukas Nmecha (att) Man City U23 – on loan;

Out


Lucas Itter (sp) (def) Freiburg; Paul Verhaegh (sp) (def) Twente; Sebastian Jung (sp) (def) Hannover; Landry Dimata (att) Anderlecht – loan made permanent; Victor Osimhen (att) Charleroi – loan made permanent; Marvin Stefaniak (att) Greuther Furth – on loan; Riechedly Bazoer (mid) Vitesse;

Wolfsburg knew they needed fresh approach after several years of stumbling on the spot and this summer they decided to change managers. Last season was decent under Hecking, but some old-fashioned football that the manager preached didn’t go very well with the supporters and, in order to really move closer to the top teams, change at the helm was required. After exceeding for 4 years in a row as manager of LASK Linz Oliver Gasner was given his first ever job outside Austria. Gasner is modern-type manager, many pundits compare him with Jurgen Klopp in terms of style he adopts, and he feels he can bring fresh ideas to Wolfsburg. Parted ways with several supporting full-backs in the summer, but nobody important has left the club just yet and the few signings Gasner made already make Wolfsburg’s squad look even stronger than last season. Health issues were major problem last term, but hopes are that these problems are behind now and, if everyone stays fit, Wolfsburg will have really good group of players to choose from. The one area that looks light on quality is the attack. Weghorst is reliable centre forward, but his only cover at the minute is the prone to constant injuries Ginczek and young loanee Nmecha, who lacks senior experience. Still the main core of 16-17 players is strong and if serious injuries are avoided the Wolves are poised for good campaign.

Target


Top 4 is desired, but even if missing on the Champions League qualifying for Europe is a must.