Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac has hinted at possible changes to his squad for their highly anticipated showdown with Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Saturday.
The BVB are all set to host their arch nemesis for the first Der Klassiker of the season, and a first in the German Supercup since 2021.
Niko Kovac is looking to win his first trophy with the club since taking charge in February last year, and now boasts a replenished squad with new and promising recruits coming in.
Ahead of the mouthwatering showdown against his former club, the former Croatia international addressed the media where he issued a timely update on his players.
"Waldi can play on Saturday. Carney trained with the team for the first time today. The squad is pretty full. We’ll have to drop a few players. Giannis arrives this evening. Joey and he are in top form. Both are physically ready to play. I don’t see any problem with including them in the squad."
Waldemar Anton had traveled to Japan for the BVB Evonik Tour of the country last month but played only in their 1-0 win over FC Tokyo. He missed the rest of the campaign on account of workload management but Kovac's words indicate the Germany international is set for a return here and might as well be reinstated in the heart of their backline.
As for Carney Chukwuemeka, the Austrian too had joined the squad for the Japan tour but played only 23 minutes against FC Tokyo. Since then, we only saw him come off the bench against Arsenal in the second half and it's unlikely that he'd come in for Saturday's big fixture too with the midfield looking packed right now.
Kovac also spoke of two new signings: Joey Veerman and Giannis Konstantelias. Both were signed after their preseason campaign drew to a close and have joined the rest of the squad in training. Neither are expected to start due to this lack of match practice although Kovac could use them as impact substitutes off the bench depending on the circumstances of the game.
A midfielder by trade, Veerman is a creative specialist who can operate as the chief tempo-setter for his team while also possessing the ability to switch plays by expertly picking out runners. Konstantelias shares similar attacking traits, with his uncanny dribbling ability and a keen eye for goal particularly making him a potent attacking threat.
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