From being the forgotten man at Bayer Leverkusen, Mitchell Weiser has become a man Ole Werner cannot leave off his team sheet at Werder Bremen. The fullback has rescued a career that looked to be on the rocks.
The 2020-21 season at Bayer Leverkusen began much like the previous two with Weiser in the middle of a five-year contract with the Werkself and looking forward to helping them challenge for a top four spot.
For whatever reason, he suddenly fell completely out of favour with the Dutch coach and when he was sacked in March 2021 found no favour with new trainer Hannes Wolf either. A total of five appearances was all he managed all season and it became abundantly clear it was time to move on if he wanted regular first team football again.
However, as the summer transfer window of August 2021 entered its final day there was just one offer on the table for Weiser- from newly relegated Werder Bremen and a loan deal. As the clock ticked down it became apparent that his Bundesliga days were over and that he was going to have to follow the Grün-Weißen into the second tier taking a step backwards in his career.
After a difficult start at the Weser Stadion, where he found it hard to rediscover his rhythm after a year on the subs bench at the Bay Arena, Weiser enjoyed an upturn in form which coincided with Werder’s charge for instant promotion back to the Bundesliga. Initial difficulties with Weiser not being immunised against Corona virus past and he got back to his best.
He was a key performer for Ole Werner in the Rückrunde and in the summer following promotion the club pushed to make his loan into a permanent transfer. A free transfer was concluded with Leverkusen and this season has seen Weiser once again shine as Werder have made a positive start to life back in the topflight.
Lining up as the right wing back in Werner’s 3-5-2 system, he has provided three assists already this season and capped an excellent team and individual performance in the 5-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach with a goal.
Speaking after the demolition of Gladbach both Ole Werner and Marvin Ducksch spoke about the importance of Weiser to the team. “I’m glad Mitch is here. He showed how important he is in the final stages of last season” the trainer explained. “He is also an exceptional footballer in terms of his technical skills and game intelligence.”
“Mitchell knows what his standing in the team is” striker Ducksch added. “Of course, not much is said about him from the outside. But within the team we know what a role he plays. He is indispensable. Irrespective of his goal, he had an outstanding game again today.
“He wanted to play again. He’s been doing it for a year now and you can see his qualities. It is great fun to train with him, he always makes us laugh. We just need someone like that.”
