Former Manchester United coach Ten Hager interferes hard in the transfer: prevents core players from joining Premier League promotions

Eric Tenhager, now heading Leverkusen coach, made it clear that he would never sell Granit Zachar to Sunderland this summer - although the Premier League team has agreed with the players on personal terms to try to bring the Swiss midfielder back to the Premier League.

Zha joined Leverkusen from Arsenal in 2023. Last season, under Xavi Alonso, the core of the team's first Bundesliga championship. Now the contract with Leverkusen is still three years. After Sunderland was promoted to the Premier League, he spent more than 100 million pounds to sign. Zach's agent Jose Nogra Rodriguez once said confidently: "A principled agreement has been reached with Sunderland. Zach is eager to return to the Premier League and hopes that Leverkusen respects his wishes."

But Tenhager directly refuted: "What the agent wants to say is up to him, but the club has let go of the three core members of Wilz, Flynnon and Tah, and will not let anyone go." The former Manchester United coach emphasized that Zach is "the team leader, and the contract has three years left, which is crucial to us and it is absolutely impossible to let go."

Leverkusen sports director Simon Rollfies also stood on the stage: "I have said many times that Zach is an important leader, and the coach and I agree. The transfer must be agreed by three parties (clubs, players, new owners). His contract will be three years away, and in principle it will not change easily. It is normal for such topics to trigger discussions, and we are not surprised."

For Sunderland, losing Zach is a blow to the forward strengthening. They have signed Enzo Lefee, Habib Diyala and other players this summer, hoping to use Zachar's Premier League experience (Arsenal's 7 years) to improve the hardness of the midfield, but Tenhager's tough attitude makes this transfer almost hopeless.

Tenhager's performance was affected by the loss of core players (such as Ronaldo and De Jong did not join). Now in charge of Leverkusen, he obviously does not want to repeat the same mistake - keeping a "spiritual leader" like Zachar can not only stabilize the locker room, but also continue the team's Bundesliga competitiveness. For Zachar, even if he wants to leave, he may have to stay in the Bundesliga under the dual constraints of the contract and the club.