Marin Pongracic: Deadline day transfer to Borussia Dortmund came as a surprise for me

Marin Pongracic has admitted that his deadline day loan move from VfL Wolfsburg to Borussia Dortmund came as a surprise for him. 

Borussia Dortmund signed Marin Pongracic on a season long loan deal from VfL Wolfsburg on transfer deadline day in a bid to bolster their defence. The 24 year old has now admitted that the Black and Yellows’ interest came as a surprise for him, but now he wants to make the most of this opportunity.

"“The move was just as surprising for me as it was for everybody else,” Pongracic said. It happened very quickly in the last two or three days. It worked out, and I’m very happy about that. I hope I can make the most of it.”"

Marin Pongracic has already made three appearances for Borussia Dortmund since his move from Wolfsburg. He has done a solid job so far, and will no doubt get more chances in the coming weeks. The former RB Salzburg defender has said that he is settling in nicely and wants to play as many games as possible this season.

"“I’m really happy. I’m fit, the team has welcomed me well and I’ve settled in nicely. We’ve won all the games so far and the mood is good overall.”“Personally, of course, I want to play as many games as possible. I want to become more mature in my game, the level here is very high. I want to perform here as well as possible.”"

Pongracic was also asked about the role head coach Marco Rose played in his move to Borussia Dortmund. The duo have previously worked together at RB Salzburg, and Rose was really keen on bringing Pongracic to Dortmund.

"”He had a big role to play. He’s the coach and he wanted to have me here. We spoke on the phone for about ten to 15 minutes. It was a good conversation. We exchanged ideas.”"

Borussia Dortmund’s defensive woes so far this season have been well documented in recent weeks. The Black and Yellows have already conceded 11 goals in just five league games. And Pongracic believes that they need to defend better as a team if they want to start keeping clean sheets.

"“Sometimes you have weeks where every second shot is a goal, or the balls go just past the post into the goal, like in Leverkusen. We still have to defend better as a team, but we’ve analyzed that. I think we’ll show that in the coming weeks as well.”"

Borussia Dortmund have the option to sign Pongracic on a permanent transfer at the end of his loan spell. But he is not thinking about that just yet, and is only taking things week by week. “I will do my best to stay here. But right now I’m just looking at it from week to week. I’ve had a good start and I want to build on that,” Pongracic said.