Ahead of this weekend’s Bundesliga clash between with Mainz, Borussia Monchengladbach broke the news of their fifth permanent signing of this transfer window, with the arrival of left-back Nico Schulz from Hertha BSC.
The 22-year-old comes in at an interesting time for the Foals’ defence, after their 4-0 humbling at the hands of Borussia Dortmund last weekend. With their season off to the worst possible one game start, Shulz will add depth and competition to a position that Gladbach are reasonably light on, and will force Oscar Wendt to fight for his starting place.
Wendt averaged 1.3 tackles per game last season in 26 Bundesliga appearances, compared to the 1.9 per game of Schulz in a similar number of outings. The Swede lost 58% of his tackles against Dortmund last week, part of a shambolic defence that failed to play their natural game, continually penetrated by runners and searching through balls.
Schulz can also play on the left-side of midfield, but with that position already more than accounted for at his new side, his primary concern will be breaking into the fullback spot. Against Dortmund, Wendt was caught way up the pitch for their opponent’s third goal, forcing Andreas Christensen to come across and cover the gap, but he too was beaten soundly for pace by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Going forward last season, the Foals’ new signing averaged 0.4 key passes per game, along with an average of 1.2 successful dribbles each match, providing another supply line for Hertha moving up the pitch. Wendt’s attacking stats at Gladbach meanwhile, averaged to 0.5 key passes and 0.9 dribbles, but his contribution of an assist and two goals was impressive from a fullback.
Looking ahead up the pitch at the left-side of midfield, competition is fierce in a crowded position with a number of players capable of fulfilling the role. Players such as Thorgan Hazard, Ibrahima Traore, Patrick Herrmann and Fabian Johnson are all capable of fulfilling the wide role, leaving Lucien Favre with a nice selection headache. As such, with competition so fierce Schulz will stick to dueling for the left-back spot, which is far more likely to be up for grabs.
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The other major positive for both the club and player is the added depth now available across domestic and European fronts. With Monchengladbach having qualified for Champions League football this season following their third place finish in 2014-15, Favre will need to maintain a consistent and reasonable system of rotation. The key to this will be making sure to not upset the balance of the squad, while still keeping fresh legs available for all matches, particularly in the pressing & counter-attacking system that his side utilises so well.
Not likely to start this weekend, Schulz will probably watch from the stands as his new teammates battle away for their first win of the new Bundesliga season, and will relish the opportunity to get a sense of where he will fit in. Wendt will know that he is now under pressure thanks to the new €4 million signing, and his performances will need to reflect that, with Mainz unlikely to press the Foals backline quite as much as Dortmund did last weekend.
Wendt’s direct opponent should be Christian Clemens from Mainz, based on their setup in the loss to Ingolstadt last weekend. The dangerous winger saw a lot of the ball on his side of the field, and will look to press the defence back towards their own goal to create shooting chances. Monchengladbach will be confident of taking this match against Mainz. However, Favre will stress to his players the importance of not just expecting results, and that should they falter again, then spots in the side may well be up for grabs.
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