Hopes for a fresh start: Who’s aiming to make their mark at SGE now

Trainer Dennis Schmitt and club legend Alex Meier have temporarily taken charge at Eintracht Frankfurt and are now facing the last Champions League home game at Deutsche Bank Park against Tottenham. It's quite possible that they might give a few new hopefuls a chance.

Schmitt and Meier have already shown that they are not afraid of bold decisions, as they demonstrated against Qarabag Agdam when they moved midfielder Can Uzun to the center forward position. An experiment that was quite successful, as the 20-year-old scored the equalizer in the tenth minute and was the best Frankfurt player on the field.

He is visibly beneficial to SGE and is fully fit again after his injury at the end of 2025. He is likely to remain a key player in the Bundesliga second half and also act at the forefront against the Spurs.

The offensive newcomers Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab and Arnaud Kalimuendo, who joined the team in winter, would also be helpful, as they immediately showed that they enhance Eintracht's offense. In two Bundesliga appearances, Amaimouni-Echghouyab, who came from Hoffenheim in January for 200,000 euros, already collected two scorer points (one goal, one assist). Kalimuendo, on loan from Nottingham, even scored one more goal, as he also scored against TSG over the weekend (1:3; two goals and one assist).

Unfortunately, both could not be registered for the Champions League, but in the coming months, they are likely to shake up the Bundesliga defenses together with Uzun. However, against Tottenham, a few youngsters might get the chance to prove themselves at the highest level.

📸 Stuart Franklin - 2026 Getty Images

The 17-year-old striker Alexander Staff was already thrown into the deep end in the important match against Qarabag. Additionally, center-back Fousseny Doumbia (20 years old) and midfielder Marvin Dills (18) made it into the matchday squad again. They had managed this several times this season under Dino Toppmöller, but without playing time so far.

Since the match against the Spurs is no longer about advancing, the time might be ripe for a few experiments. Schmitt and Meier should at least have the necessary courage for that.

Perhaps at this highest level, a few young alternatives will emerge, who can then push themselves into the new coach's plans.

The fact that the coaching change could also be seen as an opportunity for youngsters is shown by a report from the 'Frankfurter Rundschau'. According to it, defensive jewel Elias Baum has decided not to seek a transfer this winter but to assert himself with the Frankfurters.

Under Toppmöller, despite the many games and a temporary injury to Rasmus Kristensen, he only collected 13 minutes of playing time. Baum is currently still out, but his return is imminent, and he could become an alternative to give the established players a breather.

At Eintracht, several new faces are raring to go, wanting to positively shape the new beginning together with long-term key players like Uzun & Co. Perhaps some of them will get to start doing so in the home game at Deutsche Bank Park against Tottenham.

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

📸 THOMAS KIENZLE - AFP or licensors