Even if Mainz 05 don't want to go "on a shopping spree", they are still looking for a new central defender. Apparently the club is currently working on several candidates.

"We don't go on a big shopping spree," was Christian Heidel's clear statement (via image). The sports director is very reticent about the approaching winter transfer phase. And indeed: Mainz is not planning any transfers that include various positions and roles.

But the central defense should be strengthened again. That is the clear objective of the 05ers. According to Bild, a team made up of five people is primarily responsible for this: head coach Bo Svensson and his assistant Babak Keyhanfar, Christian Heidel, sports director Martin Schmidt and chief scout Bernd Legien.

While the need for the storm is currently no longer considered to be so great because it is not yet clear how the failures of Jonny Burkardt and Karim Onisiwo will go, the focus is initially on the defense headquarters.

The newspaper associates Mainz with several candidates. On the other hand, there should be nothing wrong with the rumor about Almamy Touré from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Instead, Keven Schlotterbeck is considered a possible candidate. Because he can't get past his teammates at SC Freiburg, a loan would be conceivable. Marton Dardai, Patrick Pfeiffer and Ermin Bicakcic are also mentioned.

The latter was sorted out by the Hoffenheim pros after his knee injury and could celebrate his comeback in the Bundesliga, thus saying goodbye to the fourth division. However, none of these defenders seems to be really specific. The club seems much more likely to develop an overview in order to then send the inquiries.

Heidel did not want to comment on any speculation. However, it seems possible that we will still take our time. After all, the sports director referred to the training camp in Marbella, which will only take place in four weeks.

This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as These defense candidates are under discussion at Mainz.