Eberl: “We have laid some good foundations”

On the final day of the Foals’ training camp in Harsewinkel-Marienfeld, Borussia sporting director Max Eberl spoke to the media about…

…the training camp: We have had to split pre-season up into two parts, as the majority of internationals don’t return to Mönchengladbach until early next week. The first three weeks of training have been intense and the lads have worked hard. Adi Hütter has tried to instil his playing style into the players. We’ve worked a lot with the youngsters here in Harsewinkel-Marienfeld and that has given them a good chance to showcase themselves. We’re obviously not happy about the injuries to Lars Stindl, Ramy Bensebaini and Manu Koné, but we just have to deal with them. The first part of pre-season is almost complete now and I think we have laid some good foundations.

…his impression of Adi Hütter: It’s a lot of fun working with him. You can have good discussions with him. You can see what he wants to do out on the pitch and he transmits that to the players well. He also comes across very composed, commanding, direct and clear. Adi is a very experienced coach and goes about everything in a calm manner, despite the new situation for him. We’re delighted to have him on board.

…the young players at the training camp: Conor Noß has been involved in pre-season training with the first team a few times. We’ve got another U23s player on board in Luiz Skraback, while Yvandro Borges Sanches and Moustafa Moustafa from the U19s have made a good impression too. It’s been nice seeing the lads get stuck in and trying to prove themselves. Although he’s only 18 and a half years old, Joe Scally is already a step further ahead; he looks to command the right-hand side with real composure, which is really impressive.  I don’t want to pick out individual players though. The lads have had the chance to showcase themselves, and that’s the most important thing.

…the first competitive match: Lots of clubs are in the same situation where their international players haven’t returned yet. We’re hopeful that Lars Stindl and Ramy Bensebaini will be fit again by the DFB-Pokal game. The start of the season is always a little bumpy for clubs off the back of a World Cup or European Championship.

…potential transfers: The transfer market is still very quiet. I’m waiting to see what happens myself. There’s no concern that we will lose our entire squad though. There are still a good six weeks until the window closes and that’s what I’m basing things on, not on when the season starts. We already have a good squad, which means we have enough quality for our opening games. We will no doubt dip into the transfer market at some point.

…Torben Müsel and Keanan Bennetts: Both of them are only under contract until 2022. Torben is coming back from an eight-month injury, but we think highly of him; he is a very intelligent player and has made a good impression on Adi. With Keanan, we will have to wait and see how the squad situation develops in the coming weeks.