Bochum suspends top earners
The “biggest” transfer mistake of this season
1/10/2023 7:13 am
VfL Bochum and new signing Lys Mousset will go their separate ways again. The Frenchman, who was signed on a free transfer from Sheffield United in the summer, is now training “only individually” and is given the opportunity to look for a new club. Too often he had upset the club.
There are things that sound really unbelievable. Lys Mousset, VfL Bochum’s hopeful forward, who has become smaller and smaller, made a faux pas on Sunday that cost him dearly in sporting terms. Which is actually nonsense. More on that in a moment. He was late for a practice session at the Bundesliga club’s training camp in Jerez, Spain. Yes, actually, in the training camp! Crazy. At the club from the Ruhr area, which was threatened with relegation, this was seen as the final provocation of the 26-year-old – and he was suspended. “It’s pretty disappointing because we had a lot of hopes from him in terms of sport,” said manager Patrick Fabian according to “Kicker” and confessed: “At some point the time has come when you have to protect the group.”
People who have not previously dealt with Lys Mousset could find this a bitter punishment. But here’s the thing: the Frenchman hasn’t played a second for VfL so far, so in principle nothing will change in his situation. He earns well, the “Bild” newspaper reports an alleged annual salary of one million euros, and does his rounds without any pressure to perform. In the coming weeks it could be a little easier for him than it was last year, when he was carrying a few kilos too much with him almost all the time. In Jerez, it is said that he was visibly slimmer last time.
“For me, the Lys Mousset issue is over”
New hope had sprouted among the unshakable in the Bochum area that the striker might still be a late king transfer. But this hope was plucked out of the ground faster than the seed of good faith was planted. “Now he was late again, so I don’t have any more trust. For me, the Lys Mousset issue is over. It would make sense for him if we found another solution there,” said coach Thomas Letsch . Means: The Frenchman should look for a new club and thus relieve the salary structure. The problem: he is tied until 2024.
But things shouldn’t be that easy. Because the Frenchman does not have a good reputation, and not just since his engagement at VfL. Even in England, he was previously under contract with Sheffield United, they quarreled with the indiscipline of the highly gifted striker. He was once hailed in the English press as one of the club’s most talented players of the past decade. A “deadly goalscorer”, a nightmare for opposing defenders. But those laurels withered faster than the 26-year-old’s sprints. After all, he played 99 times in the Premier League and scored nine goals. Disposition alone does not make a professional, attitude is just as important. And Mousset is obviously struggling with that. In Bochum, despite having his own fitness trainer and diet plan, he was unable to get into a condition suitable for the Bundesliga.
Not only was the manager’s and coach’s trust exhausted, several media reports that Mousset’s eternal laissez-faire was also an issue in the team. But they should concentrate fully on the mission to stay up.
King transfer with zero minutes
In the Ruhr area of all places, where they still hold the pennant of labor in the wind with love and passion, despite the long-closed collieries. That the Frenchman also showed more commitment to regular trips to the hairdresser (well documented on social networks, as well as other swanky activities) than on the pitch (running gag among VfL fans, although gag might not be the right word) , angered many followers. They were hoping to have landed a transfer coup for the relegation battle in the 26-year-old. The truth reads differently, frustratingly: zero minutes, one game day nomination.
In Bochum, they should of course have known about the background and still have decided on the player. Perhaps also in the confidence that ex-coach Thomas Reis had earned the reputation of being able to handle and develop difficult types well. But both Reis, now under contract with FC Schalke 04, and Mousset are now history at VfL.
It is unclear whether Bochum will react to the suspension and hit the transfer market again. With Philipp Hofmann, Simon Zoller and Silvere Ganvoula, who is also not always easy, there are only three trained attackers in the squad. Whereby Zoller is mostly used on the wing and Ganvoula has long been considered a candidate for change. So far, VfL have loaned out Keven Schlotterbeck (central defender, SC Freiburg) and Pierre Kunde (central midfielder, Olympiakos Piraeus).