Eintracht Frankfurt head coach strikes French flop Elye Wahi from squad for performance reasons

Eintracht Frankfurt striker Jonathan Burkardt’s injury may have constituted the perfect chance for French transfer flop Elye Wahi to finally establish himself at his Bundesliga club. Unfortunately for the former Marseille professional, SGE head coach Dino Toppmöller opted not to nominate Wahi for his matchday squad. Toppmöller confirmed Wahi was absent for performance-related reasons.

Toppmöller called upon both Wahi and his fellow transfer flop Michy Batshuayi to step up their game during a Saturday pre-match press conference. Batshuayi – who cost the RheinMainAdler only €3m last January, was at least able to score three Bundesliga goals last spring. Wahi – who cost Eintracht an astronomical €26m during the January 2025 transfer window – has managed no goals and only one assist in 18 Bundesliga appearances.

“Now’s not the time for cuddling and petting,” Toppmöller said of his two strikers yesterday. “At the end of the day, it’s our job to demand results. That’s what we’ve done and that’s what we’re doing now. We expect a certain level of commitment.“

It did appear that Wahi – after a solid training camp and a goal in Eintracht’s opening round Pokal victory – might be poised to take flight this year. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old fared rather poorly in three league starts. Signs have been pointing to a separation this January and the fact that he was a healthy scratch against Wolfsburg this weekend certainly doesn’t help to mend matters.

Toppmöller opted to start Ansgar Knauff as his lead striker. Batshuayi and long-injured German striker Jessic Ngankam dressed above Wahi on the bench. Batshuayi came off the bench to score a late equalizer from the penalty spot and rescue a point for Wolfsburg in what ended a 1-1 draw. Toppmöller emphasized that his strikers needed to compete for their matchday roles yesterday.

“This was performance-based,” Toppmöller emphasized shortly before kickoff this evening. “We nominated Michy and Jessic as our strikers and that’s enough for our squad.“

GGFN | Peter Weis