Miscommunications or lack of proactiveness: What’s hurting Borussia Dortmund’s transfer business?

Managerial influence

There is a balance that needs to be found between any sporting director and head coach. It is on Sebastian Kehl, Hans-Joachim Watzke and Edin Terzic to find this. While as sporting director, it is Kehl’s job to find players that will fit into the roles utilized by Terzic, that doesn’t mean the latter shouldn’t have a degree of control in determining what traits the new signings should have.

There was a rumored disagreement between Terzic and Kehl which led to Borussia Dortmund dropping interest in Edson Alvarez. And regardless of whether or not that is true, the club’s approach this summer certainly appears to be coming across as haphazard.

What appeared to be a great opportunity to make a statement after the excellent second half of last season, has turned into a rather passive transfer window so far despite the positive messages being sent out by the BVB bosses.

Risks and Rewards

Borussia Dortmund are gambling on additional sales to bring in more reinforcements. Gambling on future sales is always a risk for any club that cannot rely on massive TV revenues or exceptional commercial revenue. BVB have always had to do this.

Hans-Joachim Watzke stated last month that Borussia Dortmund will reinvest 60-65% of transfer fees they receive this summer. While this transfer window may indeed finish very poorly for the club, it is too early to speculate as only half of that money has been spent so far.

Further, given no signings were made prior to the sale of Jude Bellingham, it is possible that those in charge may have been left slightly distracted by last season’s close Bundesliga title race. This certainly led to the club being exposed, with a number of quality players moving to other clubs and BVB then overpaying for Felix Nmecha.

If Premier League clubs are able to splash the most cash to sign the most coveted players on the market, Borussia Dortmund must find a way to stand out.

The financial situation has seen Liverpool splash out big money on two blockbuster midfield signings, which is something that is unlikely to be seen at BVB in the near future. Now Dortmund have to become the big fish attracting ambitious players and taking stars off smaller clubs. And a lot of proactiveness is needed for this, something that seems to be missing this summer.

While miscommunications have probably occurred and some overspend has happened, Borussia Dortmund still have time to push on and bring in the required reinforcements before deadline day. The quality of this transfer window is firmly in the balance. This does not mean anyone is wrong for criticizing Terzic’s alleged ability to veto a transfer.

This is emphasized by Anthony Modeste’s quote that Edin Terzic wanted him at all costs. While at a total package of around 15 million euros Modeste was a failure, Terzic has more than doubled his managerial experience since then and will hopefully have more insight on what players may be able to fit his style of play.

The next six weeks will be critical for both Sebastian Kehl and Edin Terzic. And they could also well highlight Borussia Dortmund’s ambitions for the coming season.