Rangers loan star Malik Tillman has been used as an example by German bosses of top talent they don’t want to lose in future after seeing another starlet switch international allegiance.
The Ibrox ace, born in Nuremberg, represented the country of his birth right up to Under-21 level before moving to the USA, who he had turned out for in the Under-15s, and has won four caps for the senior American team, although having only recently returned from injury he hasn’t been called up for matches against Grenada and El Salvador this week.
And Tillman was mentioned during a DFB press conference after Berlin-born Udinese stopper Lazar Samardzic has declared himself for Serbia despite also playing for Germany until Under-21 level under legendary Serbian Dragan Stojkovic and is involved for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Lithuania and Montenegro.
At the German national team press conference, Samardzic’s name was mentioned alongside Tillman and Bayern Munich team-mate Josip Stanisic with the later having been a Croatian international since October 2021. Another Allianz Arena teenager, Paul Wanner, is close to committing himself to Austria.
Germany boss Hansi Flick tried to persuade Samardzic to stick with Germany but has failed in his attempt and, along with sporting director Rudi Voller, they want to stop losing rising stars. Under-21 boss Antonio Di Salvo said: ”One or the other player has left us lately, everyone has the right to decide which country they want to play for. It’s a shame and disappointing for us because we care about the players. If a player decides against the DFB, it hurts because you build trust and a bond with the player.
At the time of Rangers star Tillman’s decision, Di Salvo said: “We regret Malik’s decision and it surprised us very much. We encouraged him as a younger player in the U21s, placed a lot of trust in him and gave him match practice. We were also in intensive contact about his prospects up to the senior national team.”
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