A look at Borussia Dortmund’s midfield options for the coming season

The new season is almost upon us and after last season’s disappointment, Borussia Dortmund will be hoping for a much better showing this time around.

One of the most important elements for Borussia Dortmund this season will be their midfield that represents the spine of the squad and can help build a highly competitive Dortmund side, with the aim to improve on last season’s results and also to try and compete for trophies.

Borussia Dortmund made bolstering their midfield the number one priority this summer and they have already brought in two reinforcements to strengthen the side in the middle of the park. For this upcoming season, it is important to consider two essential things. The first is how the signings will settle in and the second is the personal growth and development of the players who underperformed last season.

To start, we have Borussia Dortmund’s biggest summer signing, Axel Witsel. After an impressive World Cup campaign, where he helped Belgium finish third, Witsel arrives at Dortmund aiming to provide his experience, leadership and his ability to dominate games from the middle of the park. The midfield enforcer will be hoping to help the Black and Yellows improve their build up play, while shielding the defense from opposition attacks.

On the other hand, we have another new signing who is coming off an strong World Cup campaign, Thomas Delaney. The Denmark international is a typical box to box midfielder with a great vision and ability to dictate games. Delaney will also add some steel and authority to the side. Both Delaney and Witsel are similar type of players and it will be interesting to see how they fit in together. Hans Joachim Watzke said last season that the club were missing an “evil midfielder” and the signings of Witsel and Delaney will add some much needed combativeness to the side.

While Dortmund have bought the steel, they already have the silk. Mario Gotze and Shinji Kagawa will both be looking to use their playmaking abilities to good effect from the middle of the park. It is likely that the duo will have to vie for a single spot but they have the ability to change the game with a single pass. Gotze and Kagawa both have the skills, passing range and technical ability to cause problems to any team from midfield.

Despite all his promise, Julian Weigl had a disappointing campaign last season and he heads into the new season with a big point to prove. The defensive midfielder now has some competition for his place and hopefully it will make him push harder to earn his spot. Mahmoud Dahoud showed some glimpses of his talent last season but had a largely underwhelming campaign. He will also be hoping to kick on this season and earn a spot in the starting lineup. It will also be interesting to see if Lucien Favre gives opportunities to young players like Sergio Gómez and Dzenis Burnic. The versatile duo have impressed in preseason and will be hoping to get some playing time for Dortmund this season. Meanwhile, the future looks bleak for Nuri Sahin and Sebastian Rode. Its unlikely that they will get too many opportunities if they stay at the club beyond the transfer window.

One thing is for sure though. Borussia Dortmund have a very strong midfield at the moment with a great mix of youth and experience. Lucien Favre has plenty of different options to choose from and it will be interesting to see who gets the nod in midfield for the coming season.