With preseason training officially set to get underway on July 26th, Sebastian Kehl still has multiple boxes left to check when it comes to his squad planning. While clubs like Leverkusen and Leipzig have opted to conduct their business early and efficiently in the summer, the Black and Yellow offices in Brackel have remained relatively quiet.
Jamie Gittens, Soumaila Coulibaly, and Youssoufa Moukoko have all left the club on a permanent basis. Not to mention, Carney Chukwuemeka has returned to Chelsea after his loan spell. Jobe Bellingham remains the only signing of the summer so far (excluding Patrick Drewes as third-string keeper), and further transfers seem far from concrete at the moment. Here are two suggestions that Kehl and his team should consider:
The one signing Borussia Dortmund needs (and who must go)
Sign: Gustav Isaksen
One of Dortmund’s biggest deficits lies in their “difference maker” department. Nothing seems to come easily to Kovac’s men, especially when they aren’t getting out in transition and are forced to build up against a man-to-man defense. With the sale of Gittens and Duranville’s inopportune shoulder injury, this team lacks someone who can consistently get past his defender and create an advantage. Additionally, 1v1 ability is becoming ever more important in the modern game.
If I were Sebastian Kehl, I would give Lazio a call and check their temperature on Gustav Isaksen. The 24-year-old Danish international can play anywhere in the final third, with the right wing being his main discipline. He is under contract in Rome until 2028, but at a market value of 20 million euros, he shouldn’t demand BVB’s entire transfer budget.
Isaksen is a direct, agile, and technically sound player who would provide some much-needed offensive punch. His attention to defense is a point of concern, but that’s something Niko Kovac could work on with him. Isaksen would join Flemming Povlsen, Jacob Bruun Larsen, and Thomas Delaney as Danes to have played for the Ruhr Area club.
Sell: Marcel Sabitzer
It truly is puzzling. Gone is the Man of the Match that carried BVB past Atletico Madrid a little over a year ago. What’s left is a disengaged Bundesliga veteran whose prime seems to be dwindling. Whether he plays at the number six or ten position, Sabitzer’s qualities have gradually diminished for one reason or another, to the point where you sometimes forget he is even on the pitch.
Subject to the arrival of Jobe Bellingham, “Sabi” can no longer be considered a starter in my opinion. With the Austrian being one of the higher earners of the squad, a reduced role from the bench is difficult to imagine.