Rising FC Augsburg youngster Mert Kömür appears in line for Bundesliga start this weekend | OneFootball

There were many interesting aspects to Augsburg head coach Jess Thorup’s press conference yesterday. For starters, Thorup revealed that Fredrik Jensen’s reported move to MLS club St. Louis SC may have collapsed. Thorup confirmed that the Finland international was back with his Bundesliga side.

“Freddy is back in individual training and we’ll see what happens over the next few days,” Thorup said. “He’s been given the opportunity to talk to another club due to his expiring contract. In such cases, one always wishes to figure out where one goes and what is possible.“

German footballing publications treated Jensen’s transfer as a given this week. As such, a lot of Augsburg-related chatter has focused on 19-year-old phenom Mert Kömur. The teenage talent – who plays Jensen’s position – scored the game-winning goal against VfL Bochum last week.

Kömur has now scored two goals and registered one assist in 15 league appearances this season. He featured in Thorup’s starting XI once before this season, but was yanked at the half on matchday 14 against Bayer Leverkusen.

That performance nevertheless seems totally forgotten after Kömür became the third Augsburg player to make club history this year. Kömur – having scored a goal against Leverkusen on last season’s final matchday – became the first FCA teenager to ever score three Bundesliga goals.

It’s been a record-breaking season for Thorup’s Fuggerstädter. Alexis Claude Maurice became the first Augsburg player to record a flawless hat trick on matchday 23. Keeper Finn Dahmen also passed the all-time club record for scoreless Bundesliga minutes.

The entire team made history last weekend, clinching Bundesliga safety at the earliest stage of a season since their historic first-ever promotion 14 years ago. Thorup indicated that he was eager to see more history from Kömür against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

“If a player comes out of a game with a goal – like Mert – then that’s obviously an advantage,” Thorup remarked on Thursday. “He has momentum and confidence. I have a lot of good players, but he [Kömür] is close to the starting XI. That’s clear.”

“He’s wanted to get more appearances and play from the start,” Thorup continued. “And he’s on the right track. Mert is a top footballer. He has technical skills, he can score goals. Now we have to make sure that he also works as hard as possible when he’s not on the ball.”

GGFN | Peter Weis