On executive board chief Axel Hellmann's birthday of all days, Eintracht Frankfurt collapsed in spectacular fashion on Saturday. In their final pre-season friendly, Eintracht lost 7-0 to English mid-table club Brentford. They offered nothing going forward, while one error followed another at the back.
Goalkeeper Kaua Santos made a dreadful error for the 2-0. Captain Robin Koch was at fault for the 3-0 and had to go off injured shortly afterwards. "He took a blow to the cervical spine and then felt dizzy," said coach Adi Hütter. "He was no longer able to continue playing." According to Bild , the 30-year-old did not travel back to Frankfurt with the team and was examined in London instead. A diagnosis is still pending.
Before the humiliation against Brentford, Eintracht had won all five of their previous friendlies. But three of those came against lower-division opposition. The 3-0 win over Trabzonspor at the start of pre-season carried little weight. A week ago, they at least produced an eye-catching 2-0 win over promoted Premier League side Hull City. Frankfurt start the new season on Friday in the DFB Cup against fifth-tier side SC St. Tönis. Their Bundesliga opener is away to Union Berlin on 29 August. Until then, sporting director Markus Krösche in particular is under pressure in the transfer market.
Adi Hütter increases the transfer pressure at Eintracht Frankfurt
"The squad is not yet how I imagine it," Hütter said last week. So far, only four new signings have arrived: Noel Aseko (12 million euros from Bayern Munich) and Raphael Onyedika (nine million from Club Brugge) for defensive midfield, plus centre-back Otavio (4.5 million from Estrela Amadora) and Malik Pimpong (3.5 million from FC Midtjylland's Under-19s). None of the four is seen as an immediate reinforcement.
Against Brentford, Onyedika and Otavio both started. Otavio partnered Koch in central defence, played a part in the first goal conceded and still looked short physically. "He is not yet in the condition I imagine," Hütter said last week. Krösche is already searching intensively for a new centre-back, and after Otavio's display and Koch's injury, the pressure is even greater.
Eintracht also want to add an attacking player. For a long time, they hoped to sign last season's loanee Arnaud Kalimuendo from Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal, but talks are currently at a standstill. Nottingham are allegedly demanding 35 million, too much for Eintracht. Louey Ben Farhat of Karlsruher SC is considered an alternative. The 20-year-old striker recorded eight goal involvements in 20 appearances for KSC in last season's 2. Bundesliga. Ermedin Demirovic of Stuttgart was also recently mentioned as a vague possibility.
Getty ImagesEintracht Frankfurt want to get rid of numerous deadwood players
Meanwhile, Eintracht are trying to offload a number of unwanted players from a squad that is far too big at 31. On Saturday, at least Noel Futkeu joined SV Elversberg on loan. Still on the list of players to be moved on are Arthur Theate, Michy Batshuayi, Ellyes Skhiri, Jessic Ngankam, Niels Nkounkou and Elye Wahi. Batshuayi could soon move to Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia, while Skhiri could return to Cologne.
Above all thanks to the extremely lucrative sale of Nathaniel Brown to Bayern Munich (50 million), Eintracht have generated a clear transfer surplus so far this summer. Income of 77.25 million euros compares with spending of 30.3 million. However, because Frankfurt missed out on qualification for international competition under former coach Albert Riera, they still need to make savings overall.