Low wants Lehmann to play - 15 Nov 2007
Germany coach Joachim Low has backed goalkeeper Jens Lehmann - but wants to see him playing first-team football before next summer's European Championship.
Lehmann is out of favour at Arsenal, with Manuel Almunia currently Arsene Wenger's first-choice, and the former Borussia Dortmund man has suggested he may return to his homeland if he cannot force his way back into the side.
And while Low believes he does not need to play regularly to perform for Germany, he feels it may be better if Lehmann moves on in the transfer window.
"He is simply a class player," he said. "One could see in the match against Ireland that he can still produce world-class displays even without match practice.
"I will have a conversation with Jens in the coming days to see what the situation is like at Arsenal.
"We had agreed that we would talk about it in more detail at Christmas.
"If he doesn't play at Arsenal, we will talk about the best possibilities for Jens Lehmann.
"Of course, I would prefer if he did play, especially with next year's European Championships." |