Loaned by LOSC to Union Berlin, Andrej Ilic played his first minutes in the Bundesliga this weekend. News about which Bruno Genesio was questioned at a press conference this Monday.
It has now been more than six months since Andrej Ilic (24), recruited by LOSC in February 2024 when Championship clubs had expressed their interest, arrived in Germany. Third in the Lille offensive hierarchy, he set sail last summer in search of more playing time, a failed objective since he set foot on the field for the very first time in the colors of Union Berlin this Saturday (30 minutes). It must be said that this German trip is delicate from a collective point of view as Bo Svensson, his coach until now, was sacked at the end of December. The arrival of Steffen Baugmart, his successor, reshuffled the cards, to the great pleasure of the Serb.
“I can't explain this short playing time. I'm not there, I don't see what's happening in training, nor the requests from his coach. I don't know what his coach can blame him for not playing for six months. He was back there for 30 minutes, so we’ll see”commented Bruno Genesio, questioned about him at a press conference this Monday. The technician did not seem to know more about the exact situation of his protégé.
A detrimental departure?
“Lille is a team that is in a bit of difficulty because they only have one striker who has played so many games that sometimes he doesn't score. […] You only have one striker in Lille, the only scorer because Mohamed Bayo never plays”recently launched Hervé Penot, avid follower of LOSC news for The Team. The journalist highlighted the gaps in the Lille squad, in which Mohamed Bayo is unable to make a hole. The striker was even sidelined against Nantes, the first match of 2025.
Despite this lack of solution, and the injuries to Matias Fernandez-Pardo and Edon Zhegrova, the LOSC offensive sector lacks variety. The profile of Andrej Ilic, a pivotal attacker supposed to have a more killer profile, could have allowed Bruno Genesio and his technical staff to have an additional cartridge to make Jonathan David breathe, or even offer him a point of support. However, the Lille coach would not, even with hindsight, have made a different choice this summer: “We don’t regret our loanhe concedes. We had three players in this position with Jona' (David) and Momo' (Bayo) and he hadn't had much playing time since his arrival due to injuries. It was important that he could express himself, both for himself and for us, so that we could evaluate him. It doesn't go as planned, but there are no regrets about that.”confides Bruno Genesio.
