Just a few months ago, Eliesse Ben Seghir was considered one of the great hopes of Moroccan football and, before his choice of selection, of French football. Revealed at AS Monaco, the 21-year-old winger quickly attracted attention before joining Bayer Leverkusen to succeed on paper Florian Wirtz transferred to Liverpool. But since then, his rise has been slowed down by numerous physical problems and the Moroccan has gradually become more discreet. To the point of missing the 2026 World Cup with the Atlas Lions, while his adventure in Germany did not necessarily take the turn he hoped for. Last winter, a departure was even considered.
This summer, however, the change in discourse was clear at Bayer. The new coach, Carles MartĂnez Novell, who worked for Toulouse, was indeed counting on Ben Seghir for this new season. The Moroccan finally had the opportunity to experience a complete summer preparation, without an international competition to compete in since his absence from the World Cup allowed him to start the season with his club from the start, for the first time in his young career. But just when he seemed to be able to finally continue, he was injured during one of Leverkusen’s last preparation matches. The German club then decided not to take any risks and let their player fully recover before considering his return.
Bayer asked him to gain muscle
This finally came this Thursday, with his first appearance of the season against NK Celje in the Europa League. A new important step for the one that Leverkusen now seems to consider almost as an additional recruit. “Carles knows him from France. He wondered why Eliesse hadn’t played with us much. He asked the question »explained general director Simon Rolfes recently. According to BILDRolfes had also advised the Moroccan last season to intensify his bodybuilding work in order to become denser and better withstand the demands of the high level. A job that takes on its full meaning as Bayer currently lacks creativity at his position and is counting heavily on his return.
At 21, Ben Seghir therefore finds himself faced with a new opportunity to relaunch his adventure in Leverkusen. His creative profile could meet a need identified by the club, while Carles MartĂnez Novell seems to want to give him a real place in his project. But after several months disrupted by injuries, the challenge will now be to confirm over time and above all to continue the meetings. He will already have a great opportunity to gain momentum this weekend in the championship against Leipzig, before the international break, which could allow him to continue his work and gradually regain all his sensations.
