Borussia Dortmund 17/18 | Sky Germany: Lucien Favre to be next manager

Starting the new season quite well with severe injuries for Reus, Weigl and Guerreiro who are all a few months out.

Signings so far:
- Dan Axal Zagadou (who?)
- Mahmoud Dahoud
- Maximilian Philipp
- Omer Toprak

Out:
- Matthias Ginter
- Sven Bender

When will Guerreiro return?

Haven't they also signed Toprak?

He's out for 3-4 months. I reckon somewhere around November...

Oh yeah forgot, added him.

Reus should just retire at this point.

He's so so unlucky. One of the most elegant players I've seen with a complete skillset (passing, finishing, vision, he has it all).

Dahoud is a good addition to the midfield and in Dembele and Pulisic they have two of the best young players in Europe while Mor is another exciting young prospect. The main thing for Bosz is going to be what happens with Aubameyang, if he stays they are looking in great shape and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to get Dolberg there eventually.

Did they sell/loan out anybody? They seem to have too many players.

Ginter is gone to Gladbach and I reckon Jo Hoo Park will leave too.

True. Forgot about Ginter. Toprak replaces him, but I still think they have too many bodies in midfield/attack. Mor, Merino, Isak need game time.

Defense: Sokratis, Toprak, Bartra, Bender, Subotic, Zagadou, Guerreiro, Schmelzer, Park, Piszczek, Durm, Passlack
Midfield: Weigl, Dahoud, Castro, Rode, Sahin, Merino, Götze, Pulisic, Kagawa
Attack: Reus, Schürrle, Larsen, Dembele, Mor, Philipp, Aubameyang, Isak

It's madness. They need to sell/loan out 5-7 people or speculate on having a lot of injuries...

I think Rode/Merino will leave, and Isak is still too young to have any significant impact at all, the kid is 17. Philipp will be higher in the pecking order than Isak. Reus is injured anyway, so is Schurrle regularly. It also remains to be seen how Götze returns from that weird thing he had.

Guerreiro and Reus are basically out for this year. And Weigl will need at least till october, to get fit.tricky start into the season...

Park is already downgraded to the second team in the fourth division. Around Subotic are many rumours, that he will leave if Bosz isn't convinced by him. Many rumors about connections to HSV in his case. It seems likely that our new coach wants to see the players in person, before he decides who makes his squad. Rode, Durm, Mor and Merino could be out too. Time will tell.

Well yes, that's what I mean. They have to (massively) trim down the squad. They now sold Bender as well, so they might move in the "correct" direction.
What do BVB supporters think about the Toprak/Bender flip?

Well I'm sort of a BVB sympathisant in the sense that it's one of my favorite clubs and I regularly follow the club's news and matches. I'm not too fond of Toprak but Bender was quite injury prone so he was a bit of a liability. A few years ago he was an excellent DM in my opinion but I think Leverkusen is a good move for him.

That Japanese fella extended his contract until 2020.

I am a BVB-supporter and it brakes my heart. Bender is just a player who fits the ethos of the Ruhr Valley. Incredible hard working, No nonsense defending, teamplayer and he lets actions speak, not his mouth. And in a city, which was heavily influenced by the coal mining and steel industry, this resembles the values of the people. Club legends like Zorc, Günter "Kutte" Kuwoski, Jürgen "Fußballgott" Kohler and Wolfgang Paul are pretty much like him. And storys like the game against Napoli, where after a hit he bleeded so much that they had to change his jersey three times, are unforgettable.

But the transfer is understandable. In his time at BVB he could only play 58% of the games, because of his injury history. So we couldn't really rely on him. But his presence in the locker room and when available on the pitch was very important. His save against Bayern in last years semi-final basically gave us the Cup win. He goes as a club legend.

Toprak had a very bad last season. Like basically the whole Leverkusen team. But when at his best, he is the maybe the 3rd best defender in the league after Hummels and Boateng. So business wise it is a steal. We got 5 Million plus Dahoud for Ginter and Toprak plus 3 Million for Bender.

Is Reus ever fit? He seems to be the white, German Sturridge.

Dortmund have a great squad there and could do well in the CL, last 16 or 8 etc. Still gonna end up 2nd/3rd in their league. I for one can't wait til the Bayern bubble pops and some of the other teams can grab a few titles. Sickens me they can just cherry pick what they want and whenever a team challenges them, they'll grab their best player. Their arrogant board needs a taste of humble pie too.

Good luck for next season BVB.

They seem to be having way too many problems with injuries recently.

The German Rosicky.

The rumors about Giroud seem odd. I rate Giroud highly but it would entail quite a change to the way the team's been playing.

And Dortmund would usually sign someone young with potential not someone as established as Giroud.

Rosicky played 170 Premier league games in his 10 years at Arsenal. Reus played 125 games in the Bundesliga in his 5 years at Dortmund, roughly 75% of the games played. To call his attendance rate at Rosicky level is a little bit insulting.

And Sturridge is easily compared, because at they play at their respective clubs since 2012. Sturridge played 119 games, scored 61 goals. Reus played in that time frame 189 games and scored 89 goals.

I would say, Reus is injury prone, but not a complete liability.

I rather meant because Reus named Rosicky as his role model, and they're both tremendously talented players frustrated by injury. 'If you love football you love Rosicky', as Arsene Wenger put it. Hardly a liability.

Dolberg to Dortmund seems like one of the most common sense transfers in ages. I would be shocked if it doesn't happen. Not necessarily this summer.

Dortmund are playing a friendly vs Urawa Red Diamonds at the moment (started 10 minutes ago).

Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Toprak, Bartra, Schmelzer - Rode, Sahin, Castro - Pulisic, Aubameyang, Schürrle

Dortmund have broken their revenue record: €450M in 16/17. Its consolidated turnover (adjusted for internal transfer activity) rose by almost 17%.

The club is doing well financially. As long as they keep spending wisely and qualify for the CL each year they'll keep growing and might break into the top 10 as I think they were #11 in terms of revenue ranking for 15/16.

Can any Dortmund fan confirm if it is true Dortmund want to sign Yarmolenko to replace Dembelé?

If so, I want to congratulate Dortmund and it shows they do have great scouting and no panic mode, I will make a risky prediction here, he is one of my favourite players outside the Top 5 leagues, and he will take Bundesliga by storm.

Will be 28 in October, only question will be if he can have imediat impact or how will he react outside Dynamo, he never played in another club, but it is a risk that needed to be taken to replace Dembelé, I think they will get it right.

It would be about time Yarmolenko moved to a bigger league.

Could have happened 3 years ago to Everton or Stoke if I am not wrong, but clearly Dortmund looks a better club for his natural talent being exploited imo.

Yarmolenko isn't anything special.

http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/...iligran_yarmolenko-als-dembelc3a9-ersatz.html

Kicker is reporting this (the signing, not just the rumour) as a fact. I don't think they would do so without realiable sources.
They also state that the club was very close to signing him already in the two previous seasons and apparently some reputable (according to them) Ukrainian journalist claims the fee will be around €25m.

He didn't impress me at the last Euros. He has some nice youtube clips though, but you gotta wonder why he never made it out of Ukraine by now.

Agree. I've never been impressed by Yarmolenko. Technically very good but lacks the brain and maturity for Dortmund's aspirations.

I basically don't know him at all (aside from Youtube), but I don't think the club would have been trying to sign him for three years in a row if he was garbage.

Well they signed Rode and Schurrle. Can't trust all the signings.

I wasn't trying to say that. I just think if you scout someone for 3+ years you must have a pretty good idea of what he is and isn't capable of and how good a fit he would be for your team.

From their official page on FB -
The German Cup Winner Borussia Dortmund has signed the Ukrainian South Andrey Yarmolenko of Dynamo Kyiv. The 27-Year-old signed a one-year contract with bvb until 30. June 2021

"Andrey is a player that we have been pursuing for a long time and which is on top, both at club and in the service of the Ukrainian National Team for football", said Athletic Director Michael Zorc on the gate dangerous attacker, who in 339 season for Dynamo Kiev 137 goals tagged. For the Ukraine National Team, yarmolenko played in 69 a-Caps, in which he scored a total of 29 goals.

The 1,89-Meter-wide attacker is fast, tricky and tor dangerous. In 2013, he was named footballer of the year in 2013, 2014, 2014, and 2015 He is currently playing for Borussia Dortmund with the number 9

" I am very grateful that Dynamo Kiev has fulfilled my dream of changing to a big European Club! I will work hard in every training to help bvb achieve its highest goals - to which I always am ", stresses andrey yarmolenko.

For you, not for me.

Maybe because he always played for Dynamo?

Yup, basically you don't know much about him, clearly his decision making is one of his strongest points.

Of course they wouldn't.

Having said all that, no 1 knows how he will react at Dortmund, but imo is a good try.

Of course, they are professionals, there is always a risk, but they don't make judgements on YouTube clips or International Tournaments.

So Dortmund has actually signed Yarmolenko..it's official now. Ugh, I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...

fyi: #9 is/was Emre Mor's number, so this probably confirms his imminent departure.

No offense, but anyone criticising his football intelligence makes me question how much they have seen of this guy. We have scouted him intensively at least since 2012 and he was the creative engine of Kiew for even longer. He is actually a very impressive passer, especially in terms of pass selection, which also explains that around 40% of his direct contributions have been assists, which is a very high quota for an inward forward. He has also a very good eye for space and how to get inbetween oposing lines which makes him quite valuable for our style of play.

Quite frankly, I´ve been a pretty big fan of him (eventhough he had a rather weak calendar year 2016) since I took a closer look at him. His physical edge gives our play an additional dimension and he provides a serious upgrade in terms of threat in the air and from outside the box.

Given the lateness in the window, the genereal climate of the market, the knowledge of our current financial capacities and the quality of the player, 25 Mil. € is a seriously good deal.

Rational analysis about the qualities of the player, hopefully he will have more impact than Konoplyanka.