A closer look at new Borussia Dortmund signing Marin Pongračić

In the advent of the first international break of the season, the summer transfer window has finally come to a close, and all of Europe’s clubs have, willingly or otherwise, completed their business and finalized their rosters, at least until January. Despite current conditions in football due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was still a fair share of movement across the globe, with clubs finalizing some of the most profound moves in the history of the sport to date.

For Borussia Dortmund, this was a rather quiet transfer window, however. The club addressed particular needs to a degree, with the signing of Gregor Kobel as the club’s new number one keeper and the acquisition of Dutch forward Donyell Malen to replace the outgoing Jadon Sancho. The club also bolstered their ranks with more youthful talent in the form of Soumaila Coulibaly and Abdoulaye Kamara, and while these are good pieces of business long term, these are not signings for the now, but for the future.

Most importantly, Borussia Dortmund have attempted to address the team’s frailties on defence by signing Marin Pongračić from VFL Wolfsburg on loan with an option to buy at the end of the season. The news of Pongračić’s signing has received mixed reactions across the board, with some happy that defensive reinforcements have arrived, while others believing that Pongračić alone is not enough to alleviate the defensive deficiencies the club suffers from.

Borussia Dortmund, particularly coming into this season, have been bereft of depth in both the right back and centre back positions. Pongračić’s signing, from what we’ve already gathered, has been an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. The player is versatile can can play both at the centre and right of defense, but many know little else about his qualities and skillset to base their assumption around whether he can truly help Dortmund or not. To this end, lets take a look at the type of player Pongračić is and what sort of playstyle and skillset he can offer the team moving forward.