Xabi Alonso builds dream team in Leverkusen.

Xabi Alonso builds dream team in Leverkusen.

Over the past week, Bayer have completed the transfer of two players who can reinforce the club right here and right now! We are talking about Benfica left-back Alejandro Grimaldo and Arsenal central midfielder Granit Xhaka.

After a solid third place in the 2021/22 season, Bayer suddenly ran into difficulties at the start of the current campaign, even briefly sinking into the relegation zone. The Pharmacists’ management decided to change the head coach, and the legendary ex-midfielder of Liverpool and Real Madrid, Xabi Alonso, took the place of the Swiss Seaone. Under the leadership of the Basque, the Leverkusen side quickly returned to their previous level and even thought about progress in the near future.

It's no secret that the main stars of the club (Frimpong, Bellarabi, Diaby, Wirtz) have every chance to leave Bayer, so the club promptly began searching for their replacements. The first transfer for the Pharmacists was 27-year-old Barcelona alum Alejandro Grimaldo, who spent his entire adult career at Benfica and won several domestic trophies there.

It's amazing how one of the best wing defenders of our time (and also the main one in the Spanish national team) remained in Lisbon for so long, and will also leave him in the status of a free agent! The brilliant work of Bayer's management, which closed the issue with the left side of the defense for several years and added to the team the variability in attack, which is what Xabi Alonso is trying to achieve. However, it is also necessary to reinforce the defense, so the purchase of Granite Xhaka is very appropriate.

The experienced Swiss gave Arsenal seven years and went from a period of stagnation with Arsene Wenger to a new rise under the management of Mikel Arteta. At the age of 30, it is becoming more and more difficult for Granit to fulfill the requirements of the Spanish manager, and with the future arrival of Declan Rice at the Emirates, he is guaranteed to lose his place in the line-up, and Xhaka does not plan to extend the contract beyond 2024. So Arsenal decided to let him go at least for some money.

After a solid transfer campaign, Bayer plan to return to the forefront in the German league. In the future, the Leverkuseners will surely lose one of the leaders, so they will have money for further restructuring. Whether it will be successful, only time will tell.