Tag: Tella

Like his new Bundesliga club, Bayer Leverkusen, Nigeria latest invite Nathan Tella wouldn’t have wished for a better start of the season than what he has experienced within weeks of putting pen to paper for Bayer 04.

Becoming the second Nigerian to join the Werkself this season, after hotshot Victor Boniface signed up at the beginning of the 2023/24 term, Tella has hit the ground running.

LIKE BAYER 04, LIKE TELLA

Bayer 04 beat Union Berlin 4-0 last Sunday to claim their 16th win out of 17 competitive fixtures in 2023/24 and defend top spot in the Bundesliga by equalling Bayern Munich’s record start after 11 games of 31 from a possible 33 points.

Leverkusen ran away with a resounding 4-0 victory with Alejandro Grimaldo, Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah and Nathan Tella getting on the scoresheet at the BayArena.

Head coach Xabi Alonso made five changes to his team from Thursday’s UEFA Europa League victory away at Qarabag. Lukas Hradecky, Kossounou, Jeremie Frimpong, Exequiel Palacios and Jonas Hofmann came back in, with Matej Kovar, Josip Stanisic, Tella, Robert Andrich and Amine Adli dropping to the bench.

On a run of 11 straight wins in all competitions, Leverkusen started with confidence and their usual dominant possession play. Union sat back in their own half to form a defensive wall. The first chances came after around 10 minutes when Victor Boniface missed the target from a Florian Wirtz delivery. Moments later, a poor Frederik Ronnow clearance went straight to Boniface, who tried to slip in Wirtz, but he had his path to goal blocked. Tah then met a corner unmarked at the far post but saw his header cleared by Paul Jaeckel.

A moment of magic from Grimaldo gave the Werkself a deserved lead, with Wirtz pressing to win back the ball before the Spaniard, who has just been called up for the national team for the first time, fired into the far top corner on his left foot for his sixth goal of the season.

Two more goals from Kossounou, who headed in a Hofmann corner on 57 minutes for his first-ever Bundesliga goal, and the third also came from a corner. This time it was Grimaldo’s delivery, which Tah acrobatically finished with just over a quarter of an hour to go.

Leverkusen weren’t done there, though, as substitutes Tella and Adli finished off a counter moments after coming on thanks to a thumping effort under the crossbar from the summer signing, who marked his maiden senior Nigeria call-up with his first Bundesliga goal. It rounded off the Werkself’s 10th win in 11 Bundesliga outings this season as they equalled the best start in history, set by a Bayern team featuring Alonso under Pep Guardiola in 2015/16.

TELLA’S FIRST GOAL

Tella had a lot to celebrate after receiving his first Nigeria call-up in the two-headed World Cup qualifying matches.

“Adli was quick to pick me out and scoring my first Bundesliga goal feels great. I’m happy that we are playing fine and I’m here to keep up the tempo.”

BEST ATMOSPHERE I’VE EVER EXPERIENCED

That Tella has settled in nicely is to put it mildly. The winger said he has been enjoying himself since he made his debut for Leverkusen in front of the fans. 

For Tella it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment – and he was soon sure he wanted to make the most of it: In spite of the many changes on and off the pitch bound up with his move to Bayer 04, the 24 year-old opted to sign for Bayer 04 in August. And with full conviction as the winger, brought through the youth ranks at Arsenal, explained.

“The daily routine in Germany was and is obviously a change for me as I’d lived in England for the whole of my life up to the summer. And I was always very happy there. Whether that was in London, Southampton or Burnley. But I just had to take up the option of signing for Bayer 04. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for me. This club has a great history and is almost always in Europe. I wanted to come here from the moment I first heard Leverkusen were interested in me.

“I started watching the team play from the first point of contact – Marseille, West Ham, Ottensen. I closely analysed my possible positions and the style of play. After my medical I went back to the hotel and watched the game against Mönchengladbach – (3-0). It felt great to know that I would soon be part of this team.

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“The atmosphere for my debut against Darmstadt (5-1 home win) was the loudest and best I’d ever experienced as a player. I asked my teammates after the game if it was always like that. They just said to me it can be even louder and more crazy at our stadium. (He laughs) It was incredible how many fans supported us in the last game away at Mainz. They sang from the first to the last minute, jumped up and down and spurred us on – it was like having an extra player and they gave us a crucial boost.

XABI ALONSO

Tella added that Bayer 04 head coach Xabi Alonso also played a crucial role in his making up his mind to transfer to Bayer 04.

“Of course, Xabi played an important role in my decision to move to Leverkusen. He is the coach at the end of the day. Xabi loves details and always prepares us as best as possible. That helps a lot. So we all know what we have to do if you are in the starting line-up or on the bench. For me it’s important that every coach remembers working with me and can say something positive about me and my development.”

GRANIT XHAKA

The former Arsenal player said reuniting with former captain Granit Xhaka is also helping him.

“When he (Xhaka) left Arsenal in the summer it really upset me as a fan of the club. He was incredibly important to the team. Then suddenly playing alongside him four weeks later – crazy! That was a fast emotional change for me. (He laughs) He really helped me a lot from my first day and told me all about the team and the players. His approach and that of the other lads made it easy for me to quickly feel at home in this new environment and I haven’t regretted taking this big step.”

PROFILE

Tella, who wears the number 19 shirt for the Werkself, left England for the first time for his move under the Bayer Cross. The young forward grew up in Stevenage, a town 43 kilometres north of London. He moved to the UK capital when he had the opportunity to play in the Arsenal youth system. Tella progressed through all the youth teams at the Gunners from 2007. The 1.73 metre tall winger then joined the youth set-up at Southampton in 2017.

TOP-FLIGHT DEBUT

Tella later moved up to the first team squad at the Saints and he soon made his debut in the Premier League. He came on as a substitute against Norwich City in the 2019/20 season on 19 June 2020. The then 19-year-old had his first taste of top-flight football in England – his first minutes proved to be successful as Southampton won the away game 3-0.

Tella made 18 league appearances the following season and 14 in the campaign after that. The versatile wizard on the wing then moved on to gain more time on the pitch in 2022/23 in a season-long loan to Burnley, relegated from the Premier League the previous season, in the EFL Championship, the second tier in English football. A stroke of fortune for the Clarets as it turned out. Burnley, with Tella, went straight back up as second division champions and the attacking all-rounder made a significant contribution with his 22 goal involvements in 39 league games. His impressive performances earned him a place in the EFL Championship Team of the Season.

MOVE TO LEVERKUSEN

Burnley were promoted back to the Premier League for the 2023/24 season – but without Tella. The 24-year-old returned to Southampton in the summer at the end of his loan with the club now relegated from England’s top flight. Tella played three league games for the Saints this season, scoring once and providing one assist, that is before he answered the call of the Bundesliga and Bayer 04.

He can now look forward to once again playing in the top-flight at Leverkusen.

Bayer Leverkusen are top of the Bundesliga heading into the November international break. Bundesliga.com takes a tactical deep dive into what Xabi Alonso is doing right.

Leverkusen are two points clear of Bayern Munich after 11 games played. They held the champions to a 2-2 draw in September, and that was the only time they’ve had to share the spoils, with the other 10 games victorious.

Alonso replaced Gerardo Seoane last October, so he is in his first full season as head coach, and last summer’s transfer window was the first in which he could recruit a full suite of players he wanted – in conjunction with sporting director Simon Rolfes.

Among the new arrivals were Granit Xhaka, Álex Grimaldo, Victor Boniface and Jonas Hofmann, and they have fitted in seamlessly to what has become Alonso’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.

In each of Bayer’s 11 Bundesliga games so far, Alonso has used the aforementioned system. In front of Lukáš Hrádecký there is a three-man central defence, supported by a double-pivot midfield in Xhaka and, invariably, Argentina World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios.

Grimaldo on the left flank and Jeremie Frimpong on the right patrol the wings, covering the wide areas defensively but also getting involved in the attacks. Hofmann and Florian Wirtz pull the strings as a double 10 operating behind Boniface at the point of the attack.

In short, it is a 3-4-2-1 in which everyone knows their roles. The centre of the pitch is packed with bodies, leaving room for the pacy wide men to advance.

As can be evidenced from Bayer’s average positions in the recent 4-0 win over Union Berlin – in which Grimaldo was one of four different scorers – the wide men played high when in possession. But when the ball was lost they pulled back to around the halfway line.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the aforementioned new boys have adapted so well – they have been given ample time to bed in without interruption. Indeed, Alonso has only made seven changes to his typical starting XI since the start of the season – which is by far the fewest in the league. Bochum and Heidenheim are second by this measure with 15 each.

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The Spaniard has used an identical starting line-up in eight of Die Werkself’s 11 Bundesliga games this season. Seven squad members have started every game, and a further three have started nine times.

Despite Boniface’s impressive start at Bayer – seven goals and five assists – they don’t have individuals far outperforming their individual xG such a Harry Kane at Bayern Munich or VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy.

Instead, the goalscoring load has been shared. Against Union, Odilon Kossounou and Nathan Tella bagged their first Bundesliga goals. As well as Grimaldo, Jonathan Tah was on target last Saturday, and Leverkusen are now up to 11 different scorers this season – a record league-wide.

That’s not to say Bayer lack attacking quality. Only Bayern (33.5) and Stuttgart (28.3) – with Kane and Guirassy respectively – have a higher team xG than Leverkusen (26.7), and only RB Leipzig (9.5) and Bayern (8.5) have a greater xG efficiency – how close they come to achieving their expected goals – than Bayer (7.3).

For all of Leverkusen’s attacking prowess, they have also been impressive defensively. Only Bayern have conceded fewer goals (nine to Leverkusen’s 10), and Die Werkself have kept four clean sheets.

Due to their tactical discipline, Leverkusen are one of only two teams yet to have conceded a goal on the counter-attack – an incredible record for such an attacking team. Although they defend from the front, they are rarely offside, with players only flagged eight times so far – another league-best mark.

Bayer Leverkusen attacker, Nathan Tella is relishing the chance to star for the Super Eagles in  the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Tella, who played for England at youth levels , has changed his allegiance to Nigeria for a chance to represent the country at next year’s African Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire and the 2026  World Cup scheduled for the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The former Southampton player said he was thrilled to be given a chance to play for Nigeria and that having played with top players at club level, he would be delighted to feature along with Super Eagles top players in the World Cup qualifiers.

“It was good. Obviously I have come to a very talented team with a lot of good players and it is nice to be part of them. They welcomed me well. I am happy and I am looking forward to the upcoming games,” Tella told NFF TV.”I am happy to be in the midst of the best players the country can boost of. I always like to push and challenge myself to play with and be among the best.

“I have the opportunity to do it at club level and will like to replicate that at national team level.”

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Tella who has featured in eight German Bundesliga games and two in the UEFA Europa League said he.

 Was at the ready to do his best for the super Eagles. 

“I will offer a direct approach to the game and will like to put myself in a situation to be in one on one,” he added.

Meanwhile, Club Brugge midfielder, Raphael Onyedika has described the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and  Lesotho as a must win fixture.

“It was good to be back and to train and prepare for the game with Lesotho. It is a must win game,” Onyedika said to NFF TV. “We must put all our efforts together to ensure we win their game because our fans and everyone is counting on us to deliver.”