Augsburg head coach speaks on Steve Mounie loan: “He has big goals with Benin at AFCON.” | OneFootball

FC Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner has spoken on the recent loan out of Benin national team captain Steve Mounie.The move surprised many Bundesliga journalists after Mounie’s exceptionally strong training camp appeared to leave the 30-year-old poised for a successful season in the German top flight. Wagner made clear that it was Mounie who requested the transfer in order to better abet his national team ambitions.

Mounie’s West African nation prepares to contest the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The team formerly referred to as the Squirrels (now re-christened the Cheetahs) have qualified for their first AFCON since the summer 2019 continental championship in Egypt. Mounie helped his country punch through to the AFCON knockouts for the very first time that year.

This year – working under famed German head coach Gernot Rohr – Benin is hopeful of another successful tournament campaign. Rohr has already guided Gabon, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria to success in international competitions. Speaking at a pre-match press conference yesterday, Wagner went into great detail about his relationship with Mounie.

“I told him how I wanted to play football in the Bundesliga,” Wagner said. “He thanked me for being candid and said he hadn’t experienced that before. From the very beginning, we had clear communication channels. I’m very glad that we made it clear to him from the outset that it would be difficult.

“He has big goals with the national team and needs playing time,” Wagner continued. “So this is the best situation for everyone. Now we hope he scores lots of goals and stays healthy. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for him.”

Mounie remains under contract with Augsburg through 2027 and the loan deal with Turkish club Alanyaspor does not contain a purchase option. Mounie has seen his estimated market value decline from €6m when he joined Augsburg on a free in the summer of 2023 to €2m today.

GGFN | Peter Weis