Borussia Dortmund: Lineup Tinkering With Ömer Toprak

What I thought was already a done deal, but the official Borussia Dortmund website made it so today, Omer Toprak is coming to the club during the summer. What does the central defender bring to BVB though?

I’ve seen many mixed reviews about the Toprak signing becoming official. Some say he is just a slightly above average defender and Borussia Dortmund should be aiming for more.

To that I’d say, I believe this transfer is has a very targeted purpose for the club. The fact that Toprak is 27-years-old and probably not his current club’s best central defender isn’t really the point. There are three factors that Borussia Dortmund fans should get excited about in regard to the Toprak signing.

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1.) The 12m buyout clause that is the reported price for Toprak and that is a good price for an in their prime central defender. It should be no surprise that BVB isn’t in the financial stratosphere of the biggest clubs and therefore can’t cherry pick the best talents like Bayern Munich and Niklas Sule the 25+ million dollar man. Rather, BVB needs to add a mix of emerging talent and establish vets to fill in the gaps. Central defender is one of the most difficult spots to fill because the limited quality around the world at the position puts it at a premium.

2.) Toprak has shown an ability to dominate. The two most notable instances of this in the current season have come against Tottenham in the Champions League. In both home and away matches, Toprak was perhaps the best player on the field. He, in part, kept a high powered Tottenham attack without a goal over 180′. In the Bundesliga to this point in the season, Toprak has struggled at times, but his form as of late has improved. I’m convinced that Toprak’s Hinrunde struggles are the only reason why BVB were able to capture the player’s signature so easily. A season ago, Toprak was the toast of the town and was drawing interest from big clubs in the Premier League. Thomas Tuchel must be feeling confident he can make this blip in form an outlier and prove this transfer to be a huge success.

3.) Finally, I believe this transfer may signal a switch to more tactical flexibility. Some form of a three man backline is in vogue now and BVB may also be headed in that direction. Adding more of a traditional central defender in Toprak, Borussia Dortmund may have created a backline of Toprak on the left center, Mattias Ginter/Sven Bender/ Marc Bartra as the ball playing middle, and Sokratis on the right. With two solid traditional defenders surrounding the more ball playing middle men, it gives them the license to free lance and contribute to the build up without hurting the defending. That is what Chelsea has been doing to great success this season with the erratic positionally but extremely talented David Luiz.

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That also releases Julian Weigl from his stationary position immediately ahead and alongside the central defenders, which he takes up at the moment. With Weigl’s extreme talent, I believe it is in some degree being wasted in the current role. Without another option, the role is needed, but the Toprak signing could be signaling toward a shift.

I’m not suggesting every match will be a three-man backline, rather it is giving Tuchel yet another tool in his tactical toolbox with which to work with.

It is easy to get excited about what a transfer brings to a club before he actually plays a minute. It remains to be seen if Tuchel can bet 2015/16 Toprak rather than the player who has been poor more often than not this season. The jury is still out on the transfer, but at the very least, BVB didn’t spend a crippling amount of money if it all goes wrong.

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