Kostić and Kamada are on the verge of leaving – the majority of fans consider Castro and Alario to be good alternatives

With their Europa League title win, Eintracht Frankfurt have written club history and secured their second European title in the club's history, following 1980. In addition, they qualified for the Champions League for the very first time. However, success naturally also awakens desires. Wing attacker Filip Kostić and playmaker Daichi Kamada, two key figures in the SGE's international success story, are therefore attracting the attention of other clubs. FanQ has therefore surveyed football fans in Germany on various transfer topics in the Main metropolis.

„Extend or sell“ – SGE Sporting Director Krösche demands a decision from his star players

As the 25-year-old Japanese player's contract expires in the summer of 2023, his future in Frankfurt is still uncertain. Markus Krösche, Head of Sport at SGE, is therefore not ruling out a move for his midfielder. „I don't want to enter the final year of a player's contract. If they don't extend, the situation automatically arises where we have to sell. It could well be that one or two of them will leave us,“ the 41-year-old told the Bild newspaper a few weeks ago. This also applies to Filip Kostić, whose contract is also only valid for next season, although negotiations over the 29-year-old Serbian's departure are already at an advanced stage. According to information from „Gazetta dello Sport“ and „Tuttosport“, the winger will sign a three-year contract with Juventus Turin and earn €2.5 million per year. A transfer fee of 15 million euros is being discussed. For this reason, FanQ asked German football fans whether SGE can find and pay an adequate replacement for Kostić, who was named the best player of the 2021/2022 Europa League season by UEFA. The average rating of 2.5 out of five possible stars makes it clear that FanQ users are quite divided on this issue and quite a few of them fear that your separation from Kostić will be very difficult to compensate for.

Although Markus Krösche has already been able to announce a number of new signings, the SGE managers are likely to become active on the transfer market once again due to the impending departure of their key players. In addition to the permanent signings of the previously loaned players Kristijan Jakic (25, defensive midfielder, €2.5 million) and Jens Petter Hauge (22, right winger, €12 million), the transfer of Hrvoje Smolcic (21, centre-back, 2.5 million euros), Kolo Muani (23, centre-forward, free transfer), Jérôme Onguéné (24, centre-back, free transfer), Aurélio Buta (25, right-back, free transfer) and Faride Alidou (20, left-back, free transfer). According to the Frankfurter Rundschau, Eintracht's sporting director has his sights set on 21-year-old Nicolas Castro, who is rumoured to be coming from Newell's Old Boys and feels most comfortable in the playmaker's position, as a potential replacement for Kamada and Kostić. The Argentinian is expected to attend a medical check in the next few days. On the other hand, Eintracht are also said to be on the home straight in their endeavours to sign 29-year-old Lucas Alario from Bayern Leverkusen. The centre-forward also has an Argentinian passport and can leave Bayer for the fixed transfer fee of 6.5 million euros. While Leverkusen are insisting on this sum, SGE and the attacker's advisor would like to lower the transfer fee a little. In a FanQ survey, almost two thirds (64.79 %) of respondents stated that they believe the 29-year-old is well worth the €6.5 million, with only 23.24 % disagreeing. Despite the doubts mentioned at the beginning, the majority of respondents (60.91 %) also consider the rumoured Castro and Alario to be good alternatives for the potential departures of Kostić and Kamada, while only three out of ten respondents disagree.

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Furthermore, according to information from „Sport Bild“, Eintracht Frankfurt is interested in luring a world champion to the Main. Mario Götze is currently being courted by numerous clubs from all over Europe. His departure from PSV Eindhoven is apparently as good as certain. Benfica Lisbon, where coach Roger Schmidt has already moved from the Eredivisie, currently have the best prospects of signing the 30-year-old World Cup-winning goalscorer. Although the coach would like to take the attacking midfielder with him to Portugal, the Europa League winners are now also keen to secure the services of Götze, who has already played for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. The 30-year-old is not only interesting for SGE due to his strong performances in the Netherlands, but is also a real bargain with a release clause of around four million euros. According to a FanQ survey, four out of five people (80.90 %) would like to see the world champion back in the Bundesliga, with only around one in ten (11.56 %) disagreeing. In addition, 71.34 % of respondents believe that a transfer of Götze to Eintracht Frankfurt would be a sensible move from a player's point of view, while only one in five (19.75 %) disagree.

Although he has been quite busy in the transfer market so far, there is still a lot to do for SGE Sporting Director Markus Krösche. The coming days will show who will leave Eintracht and which new signings are intended to replace the potential departures.

In contrast to his colleagues Kostić and Kamada, Martin Hinteregger has meanwhile rejected the transfer rumours surrounding him. „The transfer rumours are nonsense. I will definitely end my professional career at Frankfurt,“ the 29-year-old centre-back told the Austrian „Kronen-Zeitung“ on the sidelines of the „Hinti Cup“ he organised in his home village of Sirnitz. In a FanQ survey, more than two-thirds of the participants (68.75 %) consider this the right decision. Only 18.06 %would disagree.