Germany U21 star Nelson Weiper leaves door open for Albania switch | OneFootball

Antonio di Salvo’s Germany U21 squad continue to cruise through the current U21 European Championship in Slovakia. As most of the footballers under di Salvo’s aegis shine in the spotlight, another Bundesliga professional has revealed that he could switch national allegiances. Mainz 05 striker Nelson Weiper – like his club teammate Paul Nebel – has attracted interest from another country’s FA.

In Weiper’s case, his mother’s Albanian lineage enables him to represent the Balkan state. The same option actually exists for another rising Germany U21 talent, former Mainz man Brajan Gruda of Brighton & Hove Albion. Weiper spoke on his future for both club and country after scoring the winning goal in Wednesday’s 2-1 group stage win over the English U21s.

Weiper received his chance to grab some extra attention when di Salvo rested high-flying Stuttgart striker Nick Woltedmade. Weiper spearheaded the heavily-rotated squad. Interestingly enough, Weiper’s winning tally served as his first ever tally for Germany at the highest youth level. His Mainz teammate Nebel also accomplished this long-sought-after milestone in Sunday’s group stage victory over the Czech Republic.

“[Nick Woltemade] is a super striker,” Weiper remarked in the mixed zone after the match. “Of course one always wishes to play. [The question of competition] is a shit question. The lads are all great. We’re not here to suppress one another. We stand behind one another and support one another.“

“It was great to start and score,” Weiper added later, noting that he was also proud to do so in front of his parents in attendance.”It’s great that they [my parents] came today. They picked the perfect game. I hope that they can play until the end [of the tournament].“

Weiper remains only 20-years-of-age. He represented the Germany U21s in the 2023 UEFA U21 European Championship and could even theoretically represent the U21s in 2027 as well. Naturally, with his club teammate and former Germany U21 captain Jonathan Burkardt likely leaving Mainz, Weiper might hope for more Bundesliga playing time and potentially a crack at Julian Nagelsmann’s Nationalmanschaft.

“My goal is to become a regular player if Jonny [Burkardt] leaves,” Weiper said. “I’ve talked to the club about it, they see it the same way, and I’ll give everything to achieve that.”

As for his future for country?

“They [the Albanian national team] have been in touch and already want me for the senior national team,” Weiper noted. “It makes you proud when the senior team of a country wants you.

“I want to prove myself in the German U21 team and play for Germany for as long as possible,” Weiper concluded. “If it doesn’t work out for Germany at some point, I see that [Albanian] as a very good option.“

GGFN | Peter Weis