Page 67 - Soccer360 Issue 104

GOAL-DEN GUIRASSY
SERHOU GUIRASSY HAS BURST ONTO THE SCENE WITH A
TON OF GOALS, MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF STUTTGART FANS. BUT WILL HE PROVE TO BE THE REAL DEAL, ASKS MICHELLE OSEI BONSU.
Who is Serhou Guirassy? That has been the question for many as of late. The Bundesliga is no stranger to players seemingly bursting onto the scene, and this season, much of the talk has been centered around Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy. Born in France, Guirassy has been a huge part of Stuttgart’s early season form that has seen the club exceed expectations by far. The 27-year-old arrived on a loan deal from Rennes during the 2022-23 season and netted 14 times in 28 appearances for Stuttgart in all competitions - which was enough to help the club stave off the threat of relegation and opt to sign him permanently on a three-year deal. The 2023-24 term has been a breakout one
for the striker, who, despite playing his youth football for France, has switched nationalities to feature for his parents’ native country of Guinea. In his first five matches, Guirassy netted a whopping 10 goals - nearly matching the total he scored for Stuttgart last time around - and soon made it 13 in just seven appearances to break a record set by Robert Lewandowski - 11 in seven during the 2019/20 and 2020/21 campaigns. This incredible
run included hat-tricks against Mainz and Wolfsburg.
His goals also, not surprisingly, coincided with Stuttgart surging up the table to put them not just as early contenders for the Bundesliga title, but potentially securing Champions League football for the first time in over a decade. The only potential concern looking ahead in 2024, other than the prospect of transfer bids from other clubs in January, is the player’s injury record. Given his key part in this Stuttgart team under Sebastian Hoeneß, fans will hope that his prior fitness and disciplinary issues - which include long-term injury layoffs lasting over 50 days on two instances and multiple suspensions in the past three years
- are firmly behind him as Die Roten look to complete a remarkable turnaround this term.
Could Jamie Bynoe-Gittens be the next breakout English star for Borussia Dortmund - and follow in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham to secure a big money move elsewhere?
Barcelona’s forward Marc Guiu (C) celebrates with Gavi (R) and Marcos Alonso (L)
THIRTEEN STRAIGHT
As of November 27, Bayer
04 Leverkusen have won 13 competitive matches in a row
this season, setting a new club record for a single season since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963.
EIGHTEEN ASSISTS
As of November 12, Florian Wirtz has assisted 18 goals in 2023 in all comps - no other Bundesliga player has more than 12 assists in that period (Frimpong).
Players of Leverkusen celebrate
Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz in action
Munich all associated with interest in potentially making a bid for his signature. Meanwhile, the player himself has not hidden his admiration for some of the continent’s biggest clubs - most notably Barcelona - and thus it is no shock that his current club have sought to try and tie him to the BayArena for as long as possible with a contract that extends beyond his current deal, which is due to expire in 2027.In short, it has been an impressive season for Florian Wirtz and Bayer Leverkusen
- so far. However, the question is as to whether
he will be able to continue in the same vein as
die Werkself seek to ensure that their resurgence under Alonso doesn’t peter out in the second half of the season. Based on what many have seen, the potential is absolutely there, especially considering
that Leverkusen do have a solid mix of both young and experienced players in their ranks. Wirtz has been the star turn, and has formed a fascinating understanding with prolific Nigerian striker Victor Boniface both in the Bundesliga and in the Europa League. Their partnership has blossomed and was hugely responsible for Leverkusen’s imperious early season form. All in all, though, given how Bayer Leverkusen have now seemingly found their footing since Alonso’s arrival, the sky is the only limit for Wirtz and this ambitious club. Time will tell if the team’s dreams of winning some long-awaited silverware finally become a reality at the end of 2023-24, with Wirtz, as many expect, to be a key part of this exciting and developing show.
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