Borussia Dortmund to hold talks with Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle about their futures

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans Joachim Watzke has revealed that the club are planning talks with Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

World Cup 2014 winners Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle are both out of favour at Borussia Dortmund and face uncertain futures. Götze’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and his recent change of agent suggests that he is already looking for a new club. Italian clubs AS Roma, Lazio and AC Milan have been linked with his signature on a free transfer.

"Speaking in an interview with Sky Germany, Watzke said: “At the moment everything is on hold. But at some point the conversation with Mario will be resumed again, that’s for sure.”"

Andre Schürrle’s situation is a bit more complicated, with his contract not expiring until the end of next season. Up until this summer Schürrle was Borussia Dortmund’s most expensive arrival. But he failed to live up to his price tag, and is currently on loan at Spartak Moscow.

However, the Russian side have confirmed that they will not be signing him permanently, meaning that he will return to the Westfalenstadion in the summer.

"“He (Schürrle) continues to be a contract player of BVB and has a contract for another year,” Watzke said. “But I think that both sides know that it will not be an easy story. We will discuss this calmly – that’s the job of Michael Zorc and Sebastian Kehl.”"

Another player who faces an uncertain future is Omer Toprak. The defender is currently on loan at Werder Bremen, with the Green Whites having an obligation to buy him at the end of the season. However, it remains to be seen if Bremen, currently 17th in the Bundesliga, will be able to afford him if they get relegated to the second division.

"“The first step would be for Werder Bremen to stay in the league. A relegation in Bremen would be a tragedy, so I keep my fingers crossed that it won’t happen. We’ll talk about everything else when the time comes.”"

Watzke also spoke about the importance of learning from the coronavirus crisis, saying that more humility is required from professionals in the future.  “We must examine ourselves critically. Everyone knows that salaries and transfer fees are too high. We also have to make it clear to the players what a privileged profession they have. A bit of humility will do them good.”