Kampl, whose team experienced a lopsided loss in Westphalia over the weekend (6:2), has been on the Spanish team’s wish list for quite some time, and Madrid’s interest in him has grown in the past weeks, according to the German soccer site Kicker.de.
The 26-year-old Maribor native drew attention to himself this year with solid performances in the group phase of the Champions League, where Bayer qualified for the knockout stages and is attempting to make it to the quarter finals by defeating Atletico, which won the first game 2:4. The return match will take place at the Vicente Calderon stadium on March 15.
Kamp has a valid contract until 2020
Bayer, which is currently ranked 10 on the Bundesliga table after a series of mediocre performances, has not received an offer from Atletico. In any case, Madrid will have to pay up if it intends to bring the second Slovenian to the Vicente Calderon stadium because Kampl has a valid contract with Bayer until 2020, and that contract does not include a purchase clause. Kampl’s manager Michael Ruhnau did not wish to comment on this matter.
The team had wanted a younger midfield since January 2016
Atletico began showing interest in Kampl last January, when sporting director Andrea Berta inquired about him. The news was broken by Germany’s Bild newspaper. The Calderon-based team ultimately decided to go with August Fernandez, who has been having problems with injuries. Atletico’s midfield is relatively old – Gabi, the captain, will be 34 years old at the beginning of the following season, while Tiago, whose contract last until the end of this year’s season, is already 36. For Kampl, a move to Spain would undoubtedly mean a step forward. After all, Atletico has made it to the Champions League finals twice, and is the third strongest team in Spain’s national championships, after Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Kampl began his soccer career in Leverkusen and then transferred to Bayer from Borussia Dortmund in August 2015 for 11 million euros. Since then, he has played 42 matches for the team and scored four goals. The website Transfermarkt has estimated Kampl to be worth 15 million euros on the transfer market.
Schmidt replaced by Korkut
After a lopsided loss in Dortmund, the managers of Bayer decided to fire coach Roger Schmidt over the weekend. Kampl had worked with Schmidt while still at Red Bull Salzburg. The 49-year-old Schmidt has been the coach of Bayer since 2014 and had a contract with the team until 2019. Bayer has decided to hand the team over to the Tayfun Korkut of Turkey until the end of the season. Korkut was most recently the coach of Kaiserslautern, and was on that job from June to December of 2016.
M. L.; Translated by J. B.
