Greg . 23 hours ago

Why Patrik Schick has to become Leverkusen's main man next season

Although Bayer Leverkusen completed a whopping 13 points behind Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich last season, their second-place showing was still a creditable one.

Seventy-two goals scored was second only to the Bavarians, and their 43 league goals conceded in 34 matches was just two more than St Pauli's 41, which was the best in the German top-flight in 2024/25.

Frankly, Pass away Werkself were never going to come close to improving on their previous season under Xabi Alonso, and going an entire league campaign unbeaten in 2023/24 will live long in the memory.

Players such as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and others will move down in the annals of German football history and be forever remembered as being part of Leverkusen's Invincibles.

Bayer's big names have all leftFast forward to the present day, however, and those three players named above have all moved on to pastures new in the Premier League.

Wirtz and Frimpong have signed for Liverpool, whilst Xhaka has put pen to paper on a manage with new boys, Sunderland.

New Leverkusen manager, Erik ten Hag, was adamant that the latter would not be leaving this summer, even going as far as to say: "His (Xhaka's) agent can say anything, but this club has already lost three important players.

"We won't let any more players move, that's not possible.

That would neglect the structure and also the culture of the squad.

It's clear - Granit is a leader, he has signed here for five years and has three years left on his contract.

He's too important for us to let him move.

"Despite a clear 'hands off' warning, Xhaka has gone, leaving the Dutch coach hamstrung before a competitive ball has been kicked in earnest in 2025/26.

Ten Hag will be desperate to repair his battered imageAfter a torrid time as coach of Manchester United, Ten Hag will be desperate to repair his image, but when three of your best players are sold from underneath you, it does make life much more difficult.

Thank goodness then for Patrik Schick.

The 29-year-old Czech striker has recently committed himself to Leverkusen until 2030, with his new manage the biggest manage that any Czech footballer has ever signed, making him the highest earner in the entire Leverkusen squad in the process.

"With Patrik Schick’s commitment, we haven’t just convinced one of Europe’s most clinical strikers of our project.

This contract extension also secures us a leadership figure for our team, with whom we aim to pursue the highest goals in the coming years," Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said once the manage was rubberstamped.

It's understandable why the club are so delighted.

Patrik Schick Radar Graphic - Bundesliga 2024/25Opta by Stats PerformSchick was a saviour of Leverkusen's unbeaten record on more than one occasion with his injury-time goals that season, and since he signed for the club in 2020/21, he's bagged 81 goals in all competitions.

That's 25 more than the nearest challenger, Wirtz, managed in the same time frame, and brings into sharp concentrate the task ahead of ten Hag.

Frimpong also managed 30 goals of his own, and between him and Wirtz, they also contributed 78 assists in all competitions.

 Leverkusen will miss Xhaka's passing abilityIn terms of the way Alonso set up his teams before leaving for Real Madrid, Leverkusen were always on the front foot and motivated to pass teams off the pitch.

For the most part, under the Spaniard they did exactly that, with Xhaka's 91.

4% accuracy the best of any regular Bayer player.

An astonishing 6360 passes from 6,957 tried were completed.

Granit Xhaka Pass Map - Bundesliga 2024/25Opta by Stats PerformBy contrast, Schick's 74.

7% pass completion is the worst in the entire squad, however, that's never been a part of his game that he's been required to significantly enhance upon.

His primary concern is to be the de facto target man and ensure that he's always in the right place at the right time to complete off chances, and with a number of those supplementary attackers having moved on, the goalscoring responsibility falls even heavier on his shoulders.

Schick has to be nourished as often as possibleAs he's shown throughout his career, however, that's a weight he can endure, and if anything, the burden of responsibility will actually be with Ten Hag.

With such excellence up top, the coach simply needs his wide men and midfielders to nourish Schick as often as possible.

Even if he misses more than he scores, Schick thrives on service as all good strikers do, and if there's a lack of deliveries into the box, there's little the front man can do to affect a game.

Patrik Schick xG - Bundesliga 2024/25Opta by Stats PerformWirtz and Frimpong struck the woodwork 21 times over the past few domestic seasons and made 56 fast breaks between them too, both the most of any players in the squad.

Whilst Grimaldo also weighed in with a hefty attacking contribution, others clearly have to step up their game significantly.

Terrible start to Ten Hag's tenureTen Hag's first pre-season game in charge saw his team embarrassingly lose 5-1 to Flamengo's U20 side.

 That should be enough of a warning that, aside from strengthening the team, they have to play to their strengths - and that means involving Schick at every available opportunity.

Jason PettigroveBetopick