Bayer Leverkusen review Kasper Hjulmand future ahead of Arsenal tie
Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand faces an uncertain future at the club ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Arsenal.
The Bundesliga side plan to conduct a thorough review of the managerial position at the end of the current campaign.
Reports from Germany indicate that a change in the dugout cannot be ruled out from the summer onwards.
The 58-year-old was initially appointed to stabilise the BayArena outfit following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.
Promising start fades into recent wobble
The former Denmark boss has successfully steered his squad into the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition.
They also remain firmly within reach of the European qualification places domestically and have reached a DFB-Pokal semi-final.
However, an initially promising tenure has given way to a difficult run of form since the end of February.
The German outfit have secured victory in just one of their past five matches across all competitions.
Defensive turmoil precedes Gunners visit
Speculation surrounding the manager’s position arrives directly after a frustrating 3-3 league draw away to Freiburg on Saturday.
The visitors fought back from behind twice to take the lead before Matthias Ginter struck an equaliser four minutes from time.
That domestic stumble occurred on the same weekend the Premier League leaders secured a dramatic late victory over Mansfield Town courtesy of an Eberechi Eze strike.
Reflecting on the weekend’s defensive collapse, the Leverkusen boss expressed clear frustration with his team’s lack of control.
“It was a good game for the fans, but for me as a coach there was too much turmoil,” he admitted.
“We started very well and then showed a strong mental reaction after going behind twice.”
“We had to defend hard in the final phase. We’re disappointed with the result, but Freiburg also did very well.”
