Borussia Dortmund's Thomas Meunier not nominated for Champions League squad

As Borussia Dortmund prepare to take on PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League this month, the club have submitted their squad for the competition. This submission is missing a certain Thomas Meunier.

Meunier has been filling in as Dortmund’s starting right back since the club’s uptick in injuries that occurred at the end of the Hinrunde. Prior to this, Meunier had struggled with injuries over the course of the last couple seasons and further lost his role to both Marius Wolf and Julian Ryerson. 

According to reports, Meunier is potentially on the cusp of a move to Turkey as Trabzonspor have reached an agreement with Dortmund to facilitate the Belgian defender's transfer to the club. The player would have been out of contract in the summer, hence a move might yield a monetary sum for Die Schwarzgelben.

One could argue that Meunier’s move could leave Dortmund rather light on the right flank until Julian Ryerson’s full return to fitness, with Wolf and Morey being the clubs main options if one doesn’t count Niklas Süle as an option at right back. Considering these options and Meunier’s overall performances for the club however, the player’s transfer shouldn’t have a detrimental impact from a depth standpoint. His departure could facilitate more gametime for the aformentioned Morey, and perhaps allow him to jumpstart his career again, be it here or elsewhere upon the season's conclusion.

Ever the polarizing figure at Dortmund, Meunier's time will likely be seen as an overall dud of a transfer in the long term. Taking into account his wages (upwards of seven million euros) as well as his overall perfromances for the club, he has fallen short of the expectations the club had for him after he departed Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Perhaps the player can go to Turkey and re-discover some semblance of form ahead of Euro 2024.