Sport Bild reports that both Alassane Pléa and Ko Itakura are rethinking their futures at Borussia Mönchengladbach and may end up staying at the club.
Both Pléa and Itakura have previously been linked with moves away from Gladbach, most recently Itakura has attracted interest from Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur. However, both have now decided to stay at the club for at least another season.
Itakura had a strong first half to the season in his debut campaign in the Bundesliga, but like the rest of the Gladbach squad he tailed off and his form dipped for the rest of the season. While for Pléa, he failed to perform for most of the campaign in front of goal only scoring twice in 31 games. However, he did perform when it came to assisting his teammates with 13 assists.
The futures of Nico Elvedi and Florian Neuhaus have also recently been brought into question, as both are currently not leaning towards a contract extension. Speaking to Sport Bild, sporting director Roland Virkus confirmed that the club do not want to lose either at the current moment: “According to the current state, we do not want to hand over either of them this summer.” Gladbach have already lost key players in Marcus Thuram, Ramy Bensebaini, Lars Stindl and Jonas Hofmann this summer.
However, Virkus made it clear that there are conditions when it comes to Elvedi and Neuhaus staying at Gladbach beyond the summer: “However, it is clearly communicated with them that they will not be on the 29th. August and then say: We don’t go this way. We need planning security there.”
GGFN | Jack Meenan
