On Friday, Rot-Weiss Essen presented Jannik Mause as their new striker. Will he already be playing against Alemannia Aachen on Sunday, August 31, at 7:30 p.m.?
What a story that would be! After a disastrous 2024/25 season at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, following which Jannik Mause was relegated to the second team in the Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar in the current season, the 27-year-old has been loaned to Rot-Weiss Essen. He could make his debut against his former club Alemannia Aachen.
“I don’t want to think about it too much until the final eligibility has been confirmed,” said his new coach Uwe Koschinat at the press conference on Friday afternoon, August 29. Because one thing is clear: Mause can only start if RWE gets him eligible in time.
“Besides, I’ve only spoken to Jannik briefly once so far. We’ll have to clarify on Saturday how the past week has gone. Jannik got the signal early on that he no longer had a role to play for the pros at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. But then it quickly became clear that he is, of course, too good for the Oberliga,“ explained Koschinat. Accordingly, he is seeking a conversation with Mause to gauge how far he currently is. ”It’s clear that it would be a huge emotional moment for him to play here in front of a sold-out crowd against Alemannia Aachen.
Jannik only speaks positively about Aachen. On the other hand, it has to be in reasonable proportion to the other players.” Accordingly, Koschinat wants to wait for the eligibility decision before he gets more specific about such scenarios. And yet, a gap could open up for Mause right away.
Ramien Safi, one of Rot-Weiss Essen’s best players, is doubtful due to illness. “I can’t say yet whether he will return to training on Saturday. For me, that’s the basic prerequisite for him to be a serious alternative for the lineup on Sunday,“ said Koschinat. Although he was no worse on Friday than he was on Thursday, his health has not yet improved significantly. ”In that respect, we’ll have to wait and see. Otherwise, there have been no new injuries this week.”