Long courted by Olympique Lyonnais, Sardar Azmoun finally joined Bayer Leverkusen this winter. Where is it?
Olympique Lyonnais dreamed of it day and night. At 27, Sardar Azmoun turned the heads of Les Gones, who wanted to recruit him during the two previous transfer windows. Last summer, the Iranian had stayed at the Zenit Saint-Petersburg, rather greedy. Six months later, the residents of Groupama Stadium had a flashback, especially since the player had the advantage of being at the end of his contract in June 2022. But Les Gones were overtaken in the home stretch by Bayer Leverkusen who paid 2.5 million euros.
A terrible disappointment for the club of Jean-Michel Aulas. Azmoun flew to Germany, where he signed a contract until June 2027. But we had to wait a bit to see him in action, as Tristan Bernert, journalist for Fussball Transfer. “I think it’s too early to have a final judgment on him. When he arrived he tested positive for covid and had a minor ankle injury. So it took a while before he was healthy enough to play.”. On March 5, he was able to take his first steps in his new colors.
Tricky first steps
He entered two minutes against Bayern Munich (1-1). A smooth recovery for the player who continued with entries against Atalanta on March 10 (6 minutes, Europa League), Cologne on March 13 (27 minutes) and again Atalanta on March 17 (30 minutes) . On March 20, Azmoun was started for the first time. It was against Wolfsburg. But the Iranian had remained silent. He took advantage of the international break to find playing time and rhythm, he who was notably a scorer against Lebanon. Back in Leverkusen, he returned to the bench in the game against Hertha Berlin. Came into play 26 minutes, he failed to be decisive. Ditto against Leipzig this weekend (3 minutes).
In 7 appearances in all competitions (1 tenure), the former Zenit has a record of 0 goals and 0 assists. An insufficient return certainly, but it is necessary to be patient for Tristan Bernert. “With Schick, Alario and Azmoun, Bayer have 3 good strikers. But the first 2 seem to be ahead of Azmoun right now. Which was predictable. I think Bayer’s initial plan was to anticipate his arrival this winter so that he would have a real chance next season. With the injury of Florian Wirtz, who was the team’s best attacking player, he may have a bigger role to play.”.
Leverkusen want to take their time
He pursues : “The first game where he played the most, against Cologne, he had three very big chances to score. But he missed them in a rather embarrassing way. If he had ever scored in the derby, he probably would have been a hero. Now fans are more skeptical. But he has good potential. His first steps were not very good, yes. But in the game, he showed despite everything that he was a very intelligent player. He seems to have no problem adjusting to his new team. He’s not a usual number 9, he’s more of a player who will move around another striker. It could be complementary to Schick or Alario”.
Top scorer in the history of the Iranian selection with 40 goals, Sardar Azmoun has yet to make his mark. An opinion shared by his trainer Gerardo Seoane, seduced by his atypical profile as he explained to Kicker : “Azmoun takes the depth well. He’s not an eye-catching player with dribbling and hooking, but he’s very efficient and technical with a crisp finish. He is different from other attackers.. Different, he was also different in the eyes of OL, who have long done everything to win his heart.
