At his Friday press conference, SGE trainer Dino Toppmöller discussed three possible alternatives for his starting XI. Toppmöller insisted he wasn’t afraid to start 40-year-old Makoto Hasebe in Skhiri’s position.
Skhiri has played every single minute of all twelve league fixtures thus far under the new Eintracht coaching regime of Dino Toppmöller. At his Friday presser, Toppmöller acknowledged that replacing such a key player would not be an easy task. The SGE trainer discussed his options, seemingly narrowing it down to three players. Toppmöller made clear that he wasn’t afraid to start 40-year-old Makoto Hasebe in defensive midfield.
“Kristijan Jakić is an alternative, as is Makoto Hasebe,” Toppmöller noted, “I see Éric-Junior Dina-Ebimbe as more of an attacking option. If so, then in an eighth position. All three players are conceivable. We have a good impression of Makoto. We have confidence in him because he is an extremely clever player who knows exactly where to move. Despite his advanced age, Makoto is a very strong runner and totally fit.”
While Toppmöller didn’t specifically drop his name, Mario Götze could also take up Skhiri’s role as a deeper six. The German attacker did handle such an assignment well in one of Frankfurt’s recent Conference League fixtures.
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