Borussia Dortmund's sporting director Nils-Ole Book revels in how the club has managed to retain many of their first-team stars this summer despite a successful run last term that led to many of them being touted to leave.
Besides former old guards Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Salih Ozcan, who left at the end of 2025-26 season after their contracts were up, only Karim Adeyemi has since left the club to join FC Barcelona in a high-profile move last week.
Nico Schlotterbeck was also rumored to be heading to Real Madrid this summer but an injury during the 2026 FIFA World Cup has since cooled off all transfer speculations. Striker Serhou Guirassy, who led Dortmund for goals once again with 22 last season, was also linked with Fenerbahce move but they too have died down after Book dismissed all claims of a bid from the Turkish giants.
Despite the recent changes at the club, Book feels it's not a 'major upheaval' that many had foreboded earlier on.
"“We’re naturally very happy that we’ve been able to keep so many pillars of last season’s successful squad together. That’s not something to be taken for granted. Not many clubs in Germany manage to pull that off. Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, Niklas Süle, and Salih Özcan certainly played their part in those successful years—we know that. But it’s not the major upheaval that many may have feared at various times.""he told the press on Wednesday
After finishing last term without a trophy despite a promising run in the Bundesliga, Dortmund have sought to strengthen their squad this summer with four new signings in Joane Gadou, Justin Lerma, Kaua Prates and lately, Konstantinos Karetsas.
The new arrivals are set to give head coach Niko Kovac a massive tactical boost and strengthen his options off the bench too, something the Croatian appeared to lack several times last season as their title bids in cup competitions ended prematurely with Dortmund losing out in the Round of 16 and knockout playoffs of the DFB-Pokal and Champions League respectively.
Book, however, is hopeful that Dortmund will remain competitive going into the new season as they have retained many of their marquee players while also roping in some exciting young talents who add more quality to the side.
""We’ve retained a great many key players and top performers, and we’re very happy about that for now. In addition, we’ve brought in some exciting new signings who bring exactly the qualities we wanted for those positions.""
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