Rolfes explains why Ben Seghir has yet to break through at Bayer Leverkusen

Simon Rolfes has shared his thoughts on why Eliesse Ben Seghir has yet to really click at Bayer Leverkusen.

Following his reported €32 million switch from AS Monaco to Bayer Leverkusen, Eliesse Ben Seghir is still searching for his breakthrough at the BayArena, having played just 167 minutes of Bundesliga football. 

In the past three games in all competitions, Ben Seghir has been limited to just 25 minutes.

For Bayer Leverkusen managing director for sport Simon Rolfes, it’s a matter of strengths and weaknesses. 

The 43-year-old noted that Ben Seghir is a strong combination player, but to truly shine, he needs to have strong good chemistry with his teammates. 

At the same time, he isn’t as fast as many of his competitors such as Ernest Poku, who has played significantly more.

“When he played a lot, the team was still searching for structure. Speed is an isolated weapon that you can use better separately. With a combination player like Eliesse, you depend more on the team’s play. Creative moments rely on mutual understanding – and that takes time,” Rolfes told Kicker.

The Leverkusen boss sees no reason to be overly concerned, though.

“It’s common for young players to struggle in the first six months,” he explained.

“He needs to integrate into our tight combination play to utilize his qualities. He’s away from home for the first time and has to adapt socially and football-wise, as well as to the intensity of the Bundesliga. He was also injured during pre-season.”

Rolfes added that one area the Moroccan international needs to improve is his physicality.

“We are working intensively with him to make him a more complete player. We’ve faced this challenge many times before.”