Borussia Dortmund set to sign Wolfsburg defender Marin Pongracic

Borussia Dortmund are reportedly set to sign Wolfsburg defender Marin Pongracic on a season long loan deal with an option to buy. 

Borussia Dortmund’s search for a new defender appears to be coming to an end, with reports claiming that they have reached an agreement with VfL Wolfsburg over the transfer of Marin Pongracic. BILD claim that the 23 year old will join on a season long loan deal with an option to buy for a fee of around 12 million euros. The report has also been confirmed by Kicker.

Pongracic is primarily a centre-back but is also capable of playing at right-back. He joined Wolfsburg from RB Salzburg in January 2020, and has made a total of 23 appearances for the club so far. The Croatian international is fourth in Wolfsburg’s pecking order at centre-back, and has yet to feature this season.

Borussia Dortmund head coach Marco Rose already knows Pongracic from their time together in Austria. The duo won two Austrian Bundesliga titles together at RB Salzburg.

Borussia Dortmund were earlier looking to sign a new right-back before Tuesday’s transfer deadline. Diogo Dalot and Valentino Lazaro were both linked with moves to Dortmund. But now it appears that they will be signing Pongracic, who is capable of filling in both at centre-back and right-back.

If the deal goes through, Pongracic will become Borussia Dortmund’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window. Gregor Kobel, Soumaila Coulibaly, Abdoulaye Kamara and Donyell Malen have all signed for the Black and Yellows this summer. It remains to be seen whether any more players will arrive before Tuesday. BVB are also said to be interested in signing Callum Hudson-Odoi on loan from Chelsea.