Borussia Dortmund Takes Stock: Strengthening for the Season Ahead
Borussia Dortmund's Asian tour was a success, but also a loss. The club made around five million euros from the trip to Japan. However, six players from their U19 team were called up to the senior squad, significantly weakening the team for the journey.
Strengthening the Squad
Coach Nico Kovac emphasizes: “We are confident in bringing another strong and effective squad into the new season. This year too. We don’t always have to play beautiful football; we want to win, which is above everything else.”
Konstantinos Karetsas, an 18-year-old technical talent from Belgium, is the first new signing. He’s rumored to cost around 30 million euros and is considered extremely talented. Joane Gadou, a 195 cm tall defender with exceptional speed, comes for about 20 million euros from Salzburg.
El Mala - Dream Transfer or Not?
Borussia Dortmund would prefer Said El Mala of Cologne as the Adeyemi replacement. A transfer is difficult due to Köln’s desire to profit significantly from his departure. Offers are around 50 million euros, but Dortmund has only offered 30 million.
El Mala himself wants to join Borussia Dortmund, which the El-Mala family recently rejected in favor of more lucrative offers from England. “We will continue working hard and something will come out of it,” said Kovac in Tokyo. “It’s about who is better.”
Market-Driven Approaches
The new Sports Director Ole Book would rather act immediately: “Of course, we wished to sign an offensive player already. But at the end of the day, one must consider market rules.”
Borussia Dortmund sacrifices their U19 cup competition to focus on preparing for the upcoming season.
Sources:
- BVB Press Conference in Japan
- BVB Homepage
