It was the news Bayer Leverkusen were dreading.
Patrik Schick will be missing for ‘several weeks’ after tearing a calf muscle during the 3-2 defeat to Mainz last weekend. The rotten cherry on top of an already rather bitter cake.
“It’s obviously very annoying,” sighs sporting director Simon Rolfes (BILD). “Because he is a top player.”
He’s not just a ‘top player’. He’s also Leverkusen’s top scorer.
Hitting his 20th goal in just 20 Bundesliga games before limping off against Mainz, this is already comfortably the most prolific season of Schick’s career, taking his outstanding form for the Czech Republic at last summer’s European Championships back with him to the Bay Arena.
In December, the former Roma, Sampdoria and RB Leipzig frontman became the first player in Leverkusen’s history to score four goals in a single league game. At one point, he had six in just 63 minutes, a stunning run of form spread across two separate games.
In fact, only one player in Germany’s top flight has scored more than Schick in 2021/22. And there are no prizes for guessing the identity of that mystery marksman.
Could West Ham still end up with Patrik Schick?
How Leverkusen perform in Schick’s absence remains to be seen.
Gerardo Seoane’s side are hardly suffering from a dearth of attacking quality in other areas. And, after Schick departed down the tunnel, grimacing and holding his calf in pain, Lucas Alario stepped off the bench to offer a timely reminder of his own finishing ability.
In short, Leverkusen are in a much better position than, say, West Ham would be if they lost their own first-choice centre-forward for an extended period of time.
There’s only been two games in which Michail Antonio has not started this term. And it’s no coincidence that West Ham lost both of them – against Manchester United and Southampton.
Jarrod Bowen has performed admirably when stepping into a more central role but he is far more effective out wide. And the less said about Andriy Yarmolenko, the better.
After missing out on a whole host of strikers during the last two transfer windows, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what West Ham’s priority will be heading into the summer.
Who will be West Ham’s big summer signing?
If money was no object, the Hammers would certainly be tempted to call for Schick again. Just like they did back in 2020.
”(Moyes) asked me about Patrik Schick,” his agent, Pavel Paska, said at the time.
West Ham made an enquiry about his availability again in January, per The Guardian. Unsurprisingly, with Leverkusen chasing a Champions League spot, it was made clear that offers below £70 million would not be considered.
These days, life without Schick doesn’t bare thinking about as far as Bayer Leverkusen are concerned. But they’ll have no choice but to struggle on without him for the next couple of weeks at least.
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