Austrian manager Ralf Rangnick has expressed his surprise over Borussia Dortmund star Carney Chukwuemeka being unable to speak German despite playing in the Bundesliga.
Chukwuemeka recently made his international debut with Austria since switching from England and marked the occasion with a goal too.
While his performance was noteworthy, Rangnick is perplexed by something else - his poor language skills! Apparently, Chukwuemeka can't speak German yet, despite being born in Austria and currently plying his trade in the German top-flight.
""That must be in the clubs’ best interests. They [BVB] should ensure that German lessons take place on a regular basis.""said Rangnick
Rangnick further reflected on German clubs holding regular German classes for non-German players to help them speak the language, a practise he feels Dortmund aren't following.
""I don’t want this to be taken as a criticism, but I was certainly surprised. In Leipzig and Hoffenheim, it was compulsory – German lessons three times a week. Anyone who missed a lesson was treated as if they’d missed training. But of course, every club handles it differently. [...] It’s not that easy for lads like that. Because English is spoken everywhere, people understand them everywhere.""added the Austria national team manager.
Chukwuemeka spent a good chunk of his youth in England as he joined Aston Villa's youth side where he'd spend five years from 2016 to 2021.
Later that year, he broke into the senior team, playing one season before moving to Chelsea. Moreover, the Austrian international represented England at various youth levels from 2019 to 2023.
All this explains why the player is fluent in English. But in 2025, Dortmund signed him on loan for six months before making the move permanent.
However, the player seems to have not picked any German yet, baffling Rangnick as he questions Dortmund's avoidance of dispensing German lessons.
""Carney gets by just fine in English with us in the group, of course, but I was actually a bit surprised that they haven’t even tried to give him German lessons in Dortmund yet.""concluded the manager
After failing to receive an international call-up from England's senior team, Chukwuemeka switched allegiance to Austria, his country of birth for which he was also eligible to play.
Due to Nigerian roots, the midfielder also the option of playing for the Super Eagles, but their failure to qualify for the World Cup meant Austria remained the sole option.
Das Team managed to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1998 and have been drawn in a tough group alongside world champions Argentina, AFCON giants Algeria and debutants, Jordan.