News summary
Luxembourg capped Enzo dos Santos at 16, younger than anyone else the academy has sent to that national team.
BVB handed dos Santos a professional contract on Wednesday. Ole Book praised the dynamism he has shown in senior training, while Ricken talked up the progress of recent months.
Justin Lerma has made less of an impression in senior training.
Kovac left Lerma out against Arsenal and then against Roma, the only young professional in the squad to miss the pair. A loan is now being weighed.
"He needs time and that is completely normal," Kovac said, before noting that Lerma has to put on weight.
Sport Bild say Kovac agreed with Ricken that the sporting director's extension gets settled first. Both deals expire in 2027.
Ricken also explained the long pursuit of Giannis Konstantelias. Dortmund had tracked him for years.
Konstantelias has been getting a warm welcome from supporters, one of whom went as far as calling him a magician.
Konrad Laimer needed help off the pitch against Leipzig, so Bayern travel to the Westfalenstadion on Saturday a ball-winner light. Kompany loses a ball-winner, not the firepower he can always find.
Kovac has knocks to sort as well. Maximilian Beier hurt a knee at Arsenal, while Waldemar Anton only rejoined full training on Tuesday.
Emre Can is the bigger doubt for Kovac. Ricken wants his captain at centre-back.
On Thursday at 7pm, the women's team open their Regionalliga West season. Arminia Bielefeld provide the opposition.
Alexandra Popp captains a side that Koln's second team pipped to promotion by two points last season. Popp is 35.
She put it plainly to kicker: "It has to be clear to every single player that the season will not be a stroll."
Transfer news
Dortmund have been in touch with Newcastle about a loan for Nick Woltemade, Sky Germany report. Ole Book made the call himself.
Newcastle made Woltemade their record signing twelve months ago for £69m. Doubts arrived quickly.
Nothing moves for Woltemade unless Fabio Silva goes first.
Betis are interested in Silva, whom Dortmund would let go at around 20 million euros.
Carney Chukwuemeka is another Dortmund would listen on.
Patrick Berger of Sky says a strong bid for Chukwuemeka would get a hearing, though nobody has bid yet.
Four years remain on his Dortmund contract. Ricken had spoken warmly about how hard Chukwuemeka worked through the summer, so the turnaround is a surprise.
FotMob logged 907 Bundesliga minutes for Chukwuemeka last season at an average rating of 6.65. Injuries took most of the rest.
Roberto Scaglione is heading the other way.
Ruhr Nachrichten place the Scaglione talks in their decisive phase, though FIFA has yet to clear the transfer of a minor. Genoa would collect roughly a million.
He has yet to play for Genoa's first team, though Italy have capped him at under-17 level. Bayern wanted him too.
Juventus and Inter were in it as well, before Dortmund's pitch about an early first-team route won out.
Galatasaray have gone back in for Ramy Bensebaini.
Napoli would sooner wait for the contract to expire and pick Bensebaini up free next summer. Dortmund say no to both.
Bensebaini scored seven times last season, and with Nico Schlotterbeck out until September a sale now would leave Kovac a regular starter short.
BVB Buzz opinion
A striker who cost Newcastle a club record twelve months ago is being sounded out about a loan back to Germany.
Silva has not convinced Kovac, and Betis are circling, so the striker slot beside Serhou Guirassy is about to open. Woltemade fits the shape of it.
The doubts are about Woltemade, not the vacancy.
Jaissle tried Woltemade at 10 and then up front on Tyneside, and neither role looked natural. Eight league goals from a full season fell some way short of a £69m return.
Brackel has fixed a striker in worse shape.
The issue lies in the squad list, because BVB Buzz has already set out how crowded things are through the middle after Joey Veerman arrived. A borrowed striker overfills the forward line in much the same way.
None of it happens unless Silva leaves, so this borrowed striker is a story about Betis as much as Newcastle.
There is a version of the autumn where Dortmund cash in on Silva and borrow Woltemade without losing a thing. In another, the idea dies by the 1st September deadline.
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