In this David Yeldell thread (in the Yanks Abroad forum: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24449474&postcount=287) there is discussion about what Leverkusen might do with their goalkeepers, including Bernd Leno, on loan from VfB. What do you all see happening to Leno? Is he better than Ulreich and will he come back to be #1 at Stuttgart? Is he better than Adler, so that Leverkusen would want to sell Adler & keep Leno? Assuming he won't come back to be #2 behind Ulreich, would Stuttgart sell him? I haven't seen that many VfB or Leverkusen matches to be able to truly evaluate the two (I guess 3, incl. Adler for Leverkusen) GKs. Your evaluations will be greatly appreciated.
Here is the thing. Leno has a 5 million euro departure clause which, should he choose it, could allow him to leave in the summer for that price. The only way we could get more money would be by selling him this Xmas. Leno has said he wants to stay in Leverkusen. So that's bad. But if we choose, he must come back this winter. I think if he returned, he would most probably take over Ulreich's spot. He is a greater prospect than Ulreich, perhaps already a better keeper (though I do believe Ulreich has his qualities). In this case, and if we played a good season and finished in a strong spot, he would likely change his mind and choose to stay at VfB. My wish: that we under no conditions sell him at Xmas. Bring him back, give us an excellent keeper, hope that he changes his mind. If not, we still get 5 mil. If we sold him at Xmas, we would not get all that much more. So my hope is he returns, and we will see then what happens. But it will clearly be entirely up to Leno himself it appears.
Is that departure clause common practice, or only for higher quality players? How would you compare Leno to Ulreich vis a vis shot-stopping, controlling the area, organizing his defense, or penalty kick stopping? How would Ulreich react to being #2 to Leno, or is Leno being #1 predicated on Ulreich leaving? Thanks for answering! Enquiring minds want to know!
1) Some players have a buyout clause, others do not. When Leno signed his current contract he was the third choice keeper and playing regularly for VfB II in the 3rd league. So, in his case he was no major player, which also explains a clause that I suppose seems pretty cheap at this stage. 2) I have seen much more of Ulreich than I have of Leno. I think Leno seems to have better organisation of the defence and a calmer natural aura, which also helps. Leno seems to have more confidence on punching than Ulreich, who sticks to his line far too often. On shot-stopping, both are capable of the odd incredible save. Ulreich especially so, though from what I saw of Leno against Chelsea he has got it in him as well. Ulreich has a penchant for unforced errors however - in particular when parrying shots. I have not yet seen Leno commit blunders similar to one that say gave Leverkusen the victory away to us on game 3 of the season. 3) Leno and Ulreich cannot both stay at the club long term. Both are young and have lots of potential, neither would be willing to sacrifice playing time at this stage with little perspective on how to move past the other, if they are indeed chosen to be second string. I think Leno would beat Ulreich in a 1-1 duel, and I think Ulreich would naturally be very bitter about being relegated to the bench. Herein lies a risk with Leno. If he comes back, unseats Ulreich but then decides he wants to leave the club in the summer, he can do so easily as there is a clause that I figure many clubs would be very happy to pay. Simultaneously, if Ulreich loses a first team spot now, that is surely the end of his time in VfB. He is not here to be a substitute again after he waited patientily for the post-Lehmann era for his chance. So a Leno return I predict would ultimately lead to an Ulreich departure. In worst case scenario both players would leave, and that would be very disappointing.
Got it, I think. Although they are both very good young prospects, it would appear the edge would go to Leno. However, rather than upset team chemistry (and possibly piss-off and lose BOTH GKs), it might be better to let Leno leave at the end of the season and get at least €5M for him, unless Leverkusen (or some other team) wants to offer something better in December.
