Wolfsburg face major overhaul after first-ever Bundesliga relegation | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg’s first relegation from the Bundesliga is set to trigger major changes at the Volkswagen-owned club.

After 29 consecutive seasons in the top flight, Wolfsburg went down on Monday night, losing 2-1 after extra time to SC Paderborn in the play-off.

In March, Volkswagen chief executive Oliver Blume said the company’s involvement would be reviewed given the team’s poor season and the carmaker’s finances. A detailed review of the campaign and plans for the 2. Bundesliga will follow, and decisions must come quickly before a busy window.

The squad is expected to be overhauled. Most contracts remain valid in the 2. Bundesliga and relegation clauses cut many salaries by 35 per cent, yet several players would still be too expensive to keep.

Mohamed Amoura, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Kamil Grabara, Patrick Wimmer and Christian Eriksen are among those almost certain to leave, with the squad budget reportedly reduced from €80 million to €55 million.

The coaching position and the sporting managing director role are also unresolved. Dieter Hecking has been interim coach since March.

“We will certainly get together over the next day or two to first analyse the ten weeks I was in charge. I need to let it all sink in first.” He was speaking to Sky.

Hecking has been floated as a candidate to fill the sporting managing director vacancy left by Peter Christiansen’s sacking in March, though whether that remains possible after relegation is unclear. Wolfsburg now face a fraught summer.

Source: BuLi News