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“Our path always convinced us,” Eintracht Frankfurt director of football Timmo Hardung noted, when asked about his club’s current standing in the Bundesliga, with the Eagles currently on on course for a return to the Champions League. After matchday 29, Frankfurt are in third place with 51 points, five points clear of fifth place. “It would be the first time in club history that we would qualify through the league, which shows how hard it is.” Transfermarkt recently sat down with Hardung to speak about Frankfurt’s path to the top four, developing top stars like Omar Marmoush, and walking the fine line between selling stars and staying competitive.
Finishing in the top four would be the end of a journey for a club that began when Frankfurt beat Bayern Munich to win the DFB Pokal in 2018 (3-1). Then in 2022, Eintracht won the Europa League to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in club history. Now the Eagles are in the running to finish in the top four for the first time in club history. “We are in a good position,” Hardung said. “We have worked very hard to this point and don’t want to be taken off our path. We all know how tough it can become. Everything we showed over the current season will not be rewarded if we lose steam over the last few games.”
Reaching the top four would be a major success. “Especially as there are several clubs in the Bundesliga with a far better financial framework,” Hardung said. “Those teams also have great individual players, and they are hunting us because they also want the place, maybe even have to achieve this place. You also have to remember that the football changes a bit over the last few weeks of a season. It gets more intense. More aggressive.”
Man City “was willing to invest significant amount of money” for Marmoush
The Eintracht boss knows what he is talking about. Although only 35, Hardung has worked behind the scenes at the club for over ten years. Eintracht’s director of football started his career at Hoffenheim as part of the academy staff in 2011 and worked his way up to team manager by 2015. From 2019 to 2021, Hardung was the head of first team football. It was there that he first worked with Frankfurt director of sport Markus Krösche, and the two of them headed to Frankfurt together, with Hardung initially working for the Eagles as head of first team football before being promoted to his current role in 2023. “During my ten years in professional first team football, I was involved in international football in eight seasons,” Hardung said.
At the same time there are challenges that are extremely difficult to overcome, no matter the experience. Halfway through the season, Frankfurt received a significant offer for star striker Marmoush. The Egyptian forward was having an incredible season and had scored 15 goals and 10 assists in 17 Bundesliga games. Manchester City, in the meantime, had been struggling all season and tried to rebuild on the fly. The Premier League giants moved quickly, securing Marmoush in a deal worth €75 million.
“They were willing to invest a significant amount of money,” Hardung said. “They didn’t see another player on the market with that sort of qualities.” Seeing a player like Marmoush earn a transfer to Man City underlines Frankfurt’s ability to identify and develop players for top clubs. Indeed, the Eagles have done this for some time now. Indeed, the Egyptian became just the latest player to be developed by Frankfurt and sold on for a profit. Among the record sales, Marmoush ranks second behind Randal Kolo Muani (for €95m to PSG) and ahead of Luka Jović (for €63m to Real Madrid) and Sébastien Haller (for €50m to West Ham).
Eintracht Frankfurt: Marmoush and Kolo Muani were signed on free transfers
The most remarkable part is that Frankfurt often find these players while operating on a relatively small budget. Marmoush and Kolo Muani were even signed on free transfers. The Eagles spent just €155.9m to assemble a team with a squad value of €323.05m. Only Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Stuttgart rank ahead of them in terms of the difference between squad value and purchase value. With Marmoush—whose market value was €60m by the time of his transfer—still in the squad, Frankfurt would rank third (overview).
Buying players and looking to move them on has very much become part of Frankfurt’s strategy. But how do you get better if you consistently sell your best players? “That’s not only hard, but it is also actually impossible,” Hardung said. “It would suggest that someone would be willing to pay us a significant fee, even though we already have someone better available on the market. It just doesn’t work that way.” Instead, it is about talent development. “Our job is to develop new players as quickly as possible to become their own best version,” Hardung said. “It is about talent. Our job is to find a player with talent but perhaps not quite at the top level.” In other words, is it about finding a player with a higher potential than the one sold? “Exactly,” Hardung said.
“Often those are players that haven’t been able to show their highest level, yet,” Hardung said. Sometimes, like Marmoush, they are reclamation projects. “Football is also a bit about luck,” Hardung said. “Everyone who says otherwise lies. Of course, you can minimize luck by working hard.” So, how do you identify a player like Marmoush? “We work closely with players to see how much more potential there is and what level a player can reach. Often, it isn’t fundamentals that have to be changed, but little things. It is also up to the player to make up the lion’s share of the work. We can support with our experts and coaches, but the player must walk the path and make the commitment.”
Hardung on Larsson to Man City: “You always have to be prepared”
How do you compensate for the departure of a superstar like Marmoush? “You can’t,” Hardung said. “It has to be done by the whole team. One big factor is having the next player ready and waiting.” Indeed, in Marmoush’s stead, Hugo Ekitiké has been the club’s superstar. But other players have helped to fill the void. One name is Can Uzun, who joined the club from Nürnberg last summer. Another is Nnamdi Collins, who Frankfurt signed for just €1m from Borussia Dortmund. Then there is Hugo Larsson. The Swedish midfielder arrived for €9m from Malmö in 2023 and has increased his market value to €40m. He is now heavily linked with a move to Man City as well. “You always have to be prepared,” Hardung said. “That’s the daily business of squad planning. It is part of my job to have a medium and long-term plan. After all, we invest significant resources into players that are perhaps not quite in the spotlight. Signing players with a look for the future is important.”
One of those players could be American Paxten Aaronson. Signed for €4m from the Philadelphia Union in 2023, Aaronson spent last season on loan at Vitesse Arnhem and then has made the next step in his development this season, playing for FC Utrecht, where he has scored seven goals and four assists in 31 games across all competitions. “Together we then decided to move him to a higher level this season at Utrecht,” Hardung said about the American. “Paxten had to show that he wants to walk the path of success by scoring goals and assists. His development has been very positive. Utrecht are also pleased with him, and we are really looking forward to having him back.”
When Aaronson returns, he might have to step up to a Champions League club. Reaching that goal would be a significant triumph for Frankfurt. “Champions League would make a big difference,” Hardung said with an eye on his direct competition. “You look at the likes of Dortmund, who have been in it for many years, and they are light years ahead of us financially.” What will it take to close the gap? “Ultimately, you must make more right than wrong decisions. With more money, it is easier to make up for bad decisions. Our goal is to remain greedy and humble at the same time. That’s going to be crucial.”
