Kovac & co. are delighted with Karetsas and will give him time | OneFootball

Coach Niko Kovac put his arm around Konstantinos Karetsas, then gave him a light pat and a friendly look as he made his way to the bench. The new signing had received repeated applause from the fans for individual moments. Only the crossbar denied him a goal, and only a strong foot save by the opposing goalkeeper (against Samuele Inacio) prevented him from getting a direct assist. Even so, he was involved in both BVB goals in the match against Roma: before Julian Ryerson made it 1:2, he played the second-to-last pass, and for Serhou Guirassy’s equalizer for 2:2, he was involved in a clever free-kick routine.

“You could see the composure he has on the ball,” Kovac praised the 18-year-old, taking particular pleasure in “what it means to have someone who can draw one or two players toward him and in doing so free up others. And he has really good vision.” Sporting director Ole Book also said: “He showed a lot of things, brought a lot of joy into the game, he was a goal threat. It was a good game from him.”

Karetsas is capable of making an immediate impact, no question. But he will not be able to play 60 matches for club and national team. “We will all be very happy with him, but we also have to say this very clearly: he still needs time. He certainly won’t be able to play 90 minutes every three days; he doesn’t have that in the tank,” said Kovac, adding: “And we also have to be careful not to push him into an injury. But if he plays the way he played today, then we’ll all be very happy.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.