Kasper Hjulmand assures ‘superb’ Eliesse Ben Seghir (20) of playing time | OneFootball

Eliesse Ben Seghir (20) has struggled for minutes since joining Bayer Leverkusen from AS Monaco for €32m in the latter stages of the summer transfer window, but Kasper Hjulmand assured the Moroccan attacker that his time will come.

“Eli will get his chance,” said the Dane. “He’s a superb player. I think the time is right for Eli. It’s just a matter of time.”

The former France youth international has played just 324 minutes across 11 games in all competitions for Die Werkself this season, and is yet to return a single goal contribution.

Will Claudio Echeverri’s potential departure carve a way for Eliesse Ben Seghir?

Bit-part loanee Claudio Echeverri (19) is ahead of Ben Seghir, coming on against Borussia Dortmund when trailing 2-1 on Matchday 12 – although the Argentine is set to return to Manchester City in January with all parties unhappy with the player’s current situation in Germany.

Whether Echeverri’s return to his parent club carves a path for Ben Seghir in the first team remains to be seen as Martin Terrier, who returned from injury, started for the first time this season in Bayer’s 1-0 win over Dortmund in the DFB Pokal.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder