Bild reports that Union Berlin were blindsided by the departure of Robin Gosens on deadline day, a mere couple of hours before their Bundesliga game against St Pauli.
On Friday, in a matter of hours, the story went from Gosens staying at Union to him then leaving and moving back to Italy to join Fiorentina. This departure of Gosens is said to have thrown head coach Bo Svensson’s plans into disarray. The defender would go on to score in I Viola’s 2-2 draw with Monza at the weekend.
The players within the squad were also not happy with how Gosens left them high and dry. Midfielder Rani Khedira gave insight into the ordeal:
“Robin stood in front of us, completely distraught. Before lunch he still assumed that he would play. And after his afternoon nap the news came that everything was working out.”
Gosens had not attracted any serious interest for most of the summer, indicating that he was willing to leave Köpernick. However, his tune quickly changed as deadline day approached and he decided to stay. When Fiorentina came in, Union were in a difficult position and had to sell him for less than the €13m they paid last summer. It is suggested that Union should have set a deadline for when Gosens can leave. With the move happening only a couple of hours before kick-off, summer signing Tom Rothe had to step in prematurely.
On why he left Union, Gosens said on Instagram (via kicker):
“Life sometimes forces you to make difficult decisions. Leaving the club – on the last day of the transfer window and on match day at that – is one such decision. But I stand behind this decision. Giving the reasons for it would only end in a justification. And I don’t want that.”
GGFN | Jack Meenan
