After leaving Bayern: Aseko gets off to a rocky start in Frankfurt | OneFootball

Noel Aseko left FC Bayern in the summer to join Eintracht Frankfurt. His start there has been rocky—yet the DFB could call him up soon.

Noel Aseko was one of the players who helped FC Bayern rake in a tidy sum this summer. About three months later, however, the 20-year-old is still waiting for his definitive breakthrough at Eintracht Frankfurt. At the same time, a surprising opportunity with the German national team could arise for him soon.

According to information from Sport BILD, national team coach Jürgen Klopp is considering Aseko as a potential candidate for the international matches in November. However, a prerequisite for his first call-up to the senior national team is that the central midfielder be back in peak physical condition by then.

That was precisely the problem after his move to Frankfurt. Knee problems slowed Aseko down during preseason, and he reportedly still had some catching up to do physically. On the first two Bundesliga matchdays, the former Bayern Munich pro sat on the bench for the full 90 minutes in both games.

Recently, however, things have been looking up. Eintracht coach Adi Hütter started Aseko on both the third and fourth matchdays, though he substituted him early in both games.

Klopp already has Aseko on his radar

The fact that Aseko has caught the national team coach’s eye so quickly isn’t entirely surprising. Last season, while on loan at Hannover 96, he developed into one of the most impressive young midfielders in the 2. Bundesliga.

Hannover subsequently signed him permanently via a buyout clause for one million euros. FC Bayern, however, exercised a buyback clause worth 2.5 million euros. At the time, the Munich club had two options: Aseko was either to take on a role in the Bayern squad following the departures of Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro, or to be sold at a profit.

In the end, they opted for the second option. According to *kicker*, Eintracht Frankfurt transferred up to 13 million euros to Munich. Hannover reportedly secured a share of 950,000 euros.

Photo: IMAGO

Before his transfer, Aseko had also discussed his prospects at FC Bayern with Vincent Kompany. It became clear during that conversation that their visions did not fully align. “He was honest with me, and I was honest with him, which is why the move to Eintracht came about,” Aseko explained later. He described his own playing style as “N’Golo Kante-like.”

Currently, the 20-year-old is gaining more playing time with the German U21 team. Aseko has already played five matches for Antonio Di Salvo’s squad and is currently helping the team compete for qualification for the 2027 European Championship.

The next step in his career could come as early as November. That’s when Germany will play the return matches against Serbia and the Netherlands to wrap up the Nations League group stage. If Aseko is back to 100 percent physically by then and has established himself at Eintracht, Klopp’s first call-up could come—ironically—after his difficult start in Frankfurt.