After spending seven years at Hoffenheim, midfielder Nadiem Amiri finally decided to move on and pursue a bigger challenge. He knew that joining Bayer Leverkusen this season will be a huge step in his career.
But the 23-year-old realized he needs to keep working hard in order to be in the first eleven. After all, Leverkusen ended up signing another two midfielders, Hoffenheim teammates Kerem Demirbay and Argentinian midfielder Exequiel Palacios.
Amiri also faced competitions from current Leverkusen midfielders, twin brothers Sven and Lars Bender, Julian Baumgartlinger, Charles Aranguiz and the emerging Leverkusen star Kai Havertz.
But after 25 Bundesliga matches, Amiri has played 23 games and 33 appearances in all competitions, becoming the third midfielder to play most games for Leverkusen, behind Sven Bender and Kai Havertz.
That is enough to convince Amiri that he has settled well in Leverkusen.
“A lot of players need half a year to settle in. For some it’s faster. I think in my case I’m one of the faster ones. I’ve integrated well into the club, the team has welcomed me really well and the fans too. I’m very happy. It was definitely the right decision to come to Leverkusen.”
Amiri believes he has improved a lot as a player this season, and he played consistently well.
“You see that in games I make the right decisions, the quick decisions. Perhaps before I would have run into the second player or wanted to play that killer pass there or nutmeg another player. You see now that I’m playing well more consistently.
“Of course, there are games where it doesn’t work so well. But one of my strengths now is being consistent, keeping at it and then playing better again a week or three days later.”
Bundesliga has been receiving good news these days, as German authorities most likely will allow the league to resume early next month. For Amiri, he can’t wait to kick a ball again.
“I just hope that it can start again soon and we can play in the Bundesliga. Then, the fans and the spectators have something to do and can sit in front of the TV and watch some Bundesliga. But, of course, I hope that there will be a title this year because we’re doing well in all three competitions and everything is still possible.”