Hans-Joachim Watzke discusses Borussia Dortmund’s Asia Tour, Youssoufa Moukoko and Sébastien Haller

While the World Cup rages on in Qatar, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke sat down with Sky Sport to discuss Borussia Dortmund’s Asia tour as well as Youssoufa Moukoko, among other hot topics.

With the World Cup taking center stage for the next few weeks, the spotlight may have been shifted from club football but the wheel continues to turn for clubs around the world, no less where Borussia Dortmund are concerned. The club and many of the players who did not make it to the World Cup find themselves in the midst of an Asia tour which has been an eventful way for the players and those in charge to spend their time.

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke sat down with Sky Sport to provide some insight regarding the Asia tour, among other topics of interest surrounding the club. Watzke in particular took the time to highlight the importance of the Asian market for the club, stating that:

"“We haven’t done anything for a long time now, and we were in the USA twice before that. So it was clear that we would now be going back to Asia…It’s one of the core markets for us.”"

Borussia Dortmund’s schedule in Asia is set to take them through Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. The team has already completed their first trial of the tour by beating Singapore club Lion City Sailors 7-2.

Watzke also touched upon Dortmund’s last two league losses to Wolfsburg and Gladbach prior to the break. He attempted to make sense of the defeats, stating that an umber of factors could have been at play:

"“There are various reasons. We had a lot of games. And then, of all things, we had two away games in the last week, where it was noticeable at some point that the forces were weakening a bit…Then you have two teams away like Gladbach and Wolfsburg, both of whom are of course firstly good teams, secondly haven’t had any English weeks the whole time and then it comes to that. But still, we should have done better. “"

“Done better” is certainly an understatement when it comes to Dortmund’s results against these two sides, as they were critical games and points that would have allowed BVB to keep pace with the teams at the top of the table. Currently in 6th, Dortmund sit 9 points behind Bayern Munich; a very ill omen for any chances they may have had to win the title this season.

In terms of Moukoko, Watzke spoke in glowing terms, underlining his talent as a clear indicator as to why he was chosen for this Germany side to fill the striker position for the national team; a position that so far has had no clear “heir apparent”. Watzke also noted that he plans to see Moukoko when he visits Doha. It will be a visit that will possibly have some connotations regarding his future in Dortmund; a future that Moukoko himself has said he would like to come to fruition depending on the project the club will seek to offer him.

Watzke was also asked about Dortmund’s stance on Sébastien Haller’s current situation. With the striker still receiving treatment for cancer, the question of whether Dortmund would tap into the transfer market was inevitable. Watzke’s answer was expectedly vague, but leaned towards inactivity, at least in the striker position:

"“We’re still in analysis mode, but the transfer phase is nowhere near open. So basically I don’t see that happening, but we’ll just have to see what happens in the next few weeks. A lot can happen in football, but actually we have enough offensive players because Bynoe-Gittens is coming back, Marco is coming back and then we already have our other options.”"

The news that BVB will be inactive on the striker front should come as no shock; Youssoufa Moukoko has filled that role quite well and there are other players in the squad that may benefit from a more central role up top, namely Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi.

There are other areas on the pitch that would benefit from spending, particularly in defense, should Borussia Dortmund choose to bolster the squad. Preparations will have to begin on all fronts very soon, including during Dortmund’s Asia tour friendlies. Winning the games, maintaining player fitness, and noting possible transfer markets early are the best ways to make sure that Dortmund have a more successful second half of the season.