" There's no point in running, you have to start on time. " Even with a 350-year gap, the opening sentence of Jean de la Fontaine's The Tortoise and the Hare applies perfectly to the Borussia Dortmund transfer window . On June 10, the German club announced the signing of Jobe Bellingham for €30.5 million. The English midfielder was already seen as the star signing of the summer. After that, Yan Couto (€20 million) and Daniel Svensson (€6.5 million) arrived, in addition to experienced goalkeeper Patrick Drewes (€200,000). €57 million was spent all the same, which is no small amount, especially since BvB sold for €68 million, mainly thanks to the departure of Jamie Gittens to Chelsea for €56 million.
There are still quite a few positions to fill, particularly in attack, where Sébastien Haller has left, as has Youssoufa Moukoko, who has permanently transferred to Copenhagen. Facing third-division Rot-Weiss Essen in the first round of the German Cup, Niko Kovac was forced to bring out the full force of the squad. Serhou Guirrasy was partnered by Maximilian Beier up front, with Marcel Sabitzer in support. "I'm optimistic about our ability to improve. We need to expand this squad, even improve it a little. We still have a few days to do that," sporting director Sebastian Kehl tried to reassure on Sky Sport on Monday evening.
Rejections and failures in every direction
This squad is desperately lacking creative midfielders and an additional striker. Everyone at the club knows this, except that for the past few weeks, it's been a series of refusals and failures. Just in recent days, Bayer Leverkusen will welcome Claudio Echeverri on loan from Manchester City . Compared to their neighbors, B04 did not offer a purchase option. Before that, Ethan Nwaneri had been listed as a potential target before ultimately extending his contract with Arsenal. Negotiations also broke down with Chelsea for Carney Chukwuemeka due to a €20 million loan with an obligation to buy that did not satisfy the Blues.
Wolverhampton were too greedy for Fabio Silva (€30 million) even though he only has one year left on his contract. Regarding Facundo Buonanotte, Brighton only wants to loan the Argentinian to an English club in order to prepare him for the Premier League, as was the case with Leicester last season. These failures also demonstrate BvB's lack of resources, despite a Champions League final played 15 months ago and participation in the Club World Cup this summer. The initial budget was only €30 million, reinforced by the €11 million positive balance generated by the summer transfer window. The coincidence is a bit mocking. This is the same sum required for the complete renovation of the stadium's kitchens .
BvB also fears for its defense
Dortmund is limited and is being offered many players by agents and intermediaries beyond its means, such as Christopher Nkunku and Matias Soule. Maghnes Akliouche, once targeted, is also far too expensive, while Eliesse Ben Seghir is at the limit of its investment capacity. Will the club take this risk? In hindsight, Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl regret not having insisted on Rayan Cherki last winter. Adding to their misfortune, Yan Couto and Julian Ryerson have suffered knocks in recent days . Even if these bruises are a lesser evil compared to what was feared, it showed how quickly things can change.
The management felt vulnerable in the defensive sector. An agreement had been reached with Rosario Central to recruit Juan Gimenez, but the 19-year-old Argentinian hopeful has just torn his cruciate ligaments… He will miss several months of competition and his transfer has been canceled. “ We all agree that we still have to do something, and we will do it ,” insisted Niko Kovac after the German Cup victory. “ We need at least two more players. ” The coach only has 14 confirmed players at the start of the season. According to Sky Sport , he would rather have 18 players at his disposal. There are only about ten days left to achieve this objective.
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