Paul Wanner joined PSV Eindhoven in the summer with high hopes, but the 19-year-old has hardly featured so far. Coach Peter Bosz has now commented on the situation of the top talent.
Things are going pretty well for PSV Eindhoven at the moment: the Dutch champions are unbeaten in seven competitive games, celebrating four wins in a row, including an impressive 6-2 victory over SSC Napoli in the Champions League and, most recently, a 3-2 win at the usually tricky away ground of league leaders Feyenoord. In terms of points, PSV is now level with the Rotterdam team, which, however, has a two-goal better goal difference. Nevertheless, for Eindhoven and coach Peter Bosz, it’s safe to say that things are going well.
The same cannot be said for Paul Wanner. The 19-year-old moved from Munich to Eindhoven in the summer for €15 million, one of the top transfers PSV has ever made in its club history – and not without controversy and criticism from Bayern’s sporting director Max Eberl. Wanner is not really getting a chance at PSV. Four games in the Eredivisie, only one start and three relatively late substitutions, as well as two appearances as a substitute in the Champions League are the German-Austrian’s record so far.
Apparently a lot to talk about
“Things are certainly going slower than he had hoped,” Bosz said of the 19-year-old’s development to Dutch public broadcaster NOS. “But I know that we are talking about a young man who comes from abroad and first has to adapt. That’s not a bad thing at all – and he’s doing an excellent job, by the way.”
However, Wanner’s problem also has the name Ismael Saibari. The 24-year-old Moroccan is in brilliant form, scoring six times in ten league games and adding two more goals in the Champions League. Wanner “also has Saibari ahead of him, who is playing well,” Bosz attests, emphasizing that he has by no means written off the young midfielder.
Wanner is not the first footballer to need “some time” to “settle in” at a new club, says Bosz, noting that this is actually more common than players making an immediate impact from day one. “I try to convey to him that this is completely normal,” says the 61-year-old: “I try to talk to him about it, so I sit down with him every week. He wants to know from me what he needs to do differently or better.”
PSV seeks tailor-made solutions
Bosz does not reveal what tips the coach gives his protégé, but he does say that PSV tries to “find tailor-made solutions” for players who do not get much playing time—and one thing is particularly important in this regard: “The players must always feel that they have the prospect of making it into the starting lineup at some point.”
In addition to Wanner, this also applies to Adamo Nagalo, who was signed from FC Nordsjaelland in the summer of 2024 for €7 million. In order to get more playing time, both players recently traveled to England with Jong PSV, where they played for at least 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ U21 team.
