Players that can give Borrusia Dortmund a fighting chance in the Bundesliga
With Bayern Munich signing the best player of their title rivals Borrusia Dortmund by triggering the release clause of Mario Gotze, Borrusia have been robbed of their top talent which would’ve given them a fighting chance against a team which is the best team in the world at the moment and certainly for the next few years. The Bundesliga will turn into a joke unless Borrusia Dortmund do something because they are the only team that can challenge Bayern at this stage. And the current bunch of players might be easily overpowered by the Bavarians who, under Pep Guardiola, will look to win it all next season. With Mario Gotze gone and Robert Lewandowski seeming to follow suit, with Mats Hummel’s future not secure and Real Madrid unlikely to give away Nuri Sahin for a permanent transfer, the Jurgen Klopp led side look set for a transition period, albeit with a big transfer fund. While Jurgen Klopp knows how to find the next gem within the youth setup, Dortmund could slip further in the Bundesliga hierarchy unless he makes good use of the money. But first, Dortmund must set their transfer priorities:
1. Critically needed
Two strikers – One in the mould of Robert Lewandowski and a decent backup for the first choice striker
A creative playmaker – A replacement for Mario Gotze
A center-back – A replacement for Mats Hummels
2. Important
A defensive midfielder – They will need a solid defensive minded player along side Gundogan to keep the midfield shape
A goalkeeper – Roman Weidenfeller is getting older (into his thirties) and they need a good backup
More squad players – The Bayern Munich players can play any game with any player from Emre Can to Daniel Van Buyten and still win games 4-0 and 6-1. Klopp will need similar levels of depth to actually have a fighting chance against Bayern Munich.
Now let’s go ahead and answer the problems ailing Borrusia Dortmund’s title challenge.
Striker
Who they can buy – Edin Dzeko, Stefan Keissling, Mario Gomez, Alessandro Matri
Edin Dzeko has been linked with Dortmund for sometime and a move seems likely for less than 20 million euros. Although Mario Gomez’s agent has said he would like to leave, he is not exactly inclined towards a move to a rival and the fee could be extremely high. If Dortmund can have Gomez for somewhere in the region of 25 million, they should take it, because he’s worth it. He is a big physical presence and a star name that can boost their profile as one of the better teams in Europe.
Stefan Keissling would make a good backup as he can score goals and is in his prime. If he can combine with Marco Reus the way he does with Andre Schurlle at Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund can weaken their closest competition while adding depth to the squad.
Juventus have too many strikers for a 3-5-2 formation and will have to shed away some of the strikers. Nicolas Anelka is not the answer for Klopp, Nicklaus Bendtner is too inconsistent, and Sebastain Govinco and Fernando Llorente are set to stay for the next season. So, Fabio Quagrilella and Matri could be good options for a backup striker as Julian Schieber is not up to the mark.
Playmaker
Who they can buy – Adam Maher, Julian Draxler, Hueng- Min Son
With Mario Gotze gone, they will require a similar player to him, to inspire creativity in the side. And although Adam Maher is linked with Manchester City, he could be a good option for the men in yellow. He has had rave reviews for his performances in the Eredivise and a move to a bigger club reckons.
Dortmund, however, have the option to do a Bayern by bringing Draxler to the Signal Iduna Park. He is rated as highly as Gotze and is available on the cheap compared to Gotze. He could inspire a renaissance in the club’s fortunes and the setup will do just fine without Gotze.
Dubbed as the next ‘Shinji Kagawa’, Hueng-Min Son has been doing just fine at Hamburg. A move to Borrusia Dortmund beckons, although he looks like the kind of player who desires a move to the Premier League, not unlike Kagawa.
Center-back
Who they can buy – Andre Hoffman, Matthias Ginter, Christopher Samba, Bruno Martins Indie, Tomas Kalas
There might be better options on the market as a replacement for Mats Hummels, should he leave, but Christopher Samba is the best defender available for the cheapest price. Soon to be relegated, Queens Park Rangers will have to get rid of Samba to recoup funds but his salary, which is reported to be 100,000 euros a week. will be a stumbling block. Also, he’s not that great as a ball-playing center-back.
Indie has been capped quite a few times for the Netherlands team and is a great option. As for Hoffman, despite just joining Hannover, a run at the starting lineup for a top German club might induce him to leave Hannover, just after six months of arrival. Ginter has been highly rated by scouts, both as a defender and midfielder, and Dortmund should make a play for him. Kalas might just join Chelsea due to the fact that he faces a situation where he has no future at Chelsea, much like quite a few players.
Goalkeeper
Who they can buy – Marc-Andre Ten Stegen, Thiabut Courtois
The only issue is that they are international goalkeepers at Germany and Belgium respectively. This will be a stumbling issue as they would not want to be on the bench. Manchester United‘s Andres Lindegaard, Arsenal‘s Lukas Fabianski, QPR’s Julio Cesar and Wigan’s Ali Al Habsi are more realistic options, although it is best for Klopp to search through the youth setup for this one.
Defensive midfielder
Who they can buy – Victor Wanyama, Etienne Capoue, Lars Bender
Victor Wanyama’s memorable performance in the game against Barcelona has won him many admirers. But he won’t come on the cheap, as coach Neil Lennon is desperate to keep a prized asset for their campaign. However, an offer of 12 million should do the trick.
Etienne Capoue has been a consistent performer for Toulouse in the French league for a long time and a big time move seems imminent. With no big team showing concrete interest , they could swoop in for this player.
The Bender brothers could reunite once again as they did at 1860 Munchen, and form a solid partnership in midfield that could stand the test of time. All they need to do is to prise him away from Leverkusen.
Squad depth
Who they could buy – Sebastain Jung, Nuri Sahin, Patrick Hermann, Kevin Vollan, Kevin De Bruyne, Antonio Greizmman, Luc Castagnios, John Guidetti
Sebastain Jung is a right-back who is causing waves in Bundesliga with his performance for Frankfurt. It is because of his contributions at right-back that Eintracht Frankfurt’s hopes for a spot in European competitions are still alive. He is a Philip Lahm in the making.
Dortmund have said that they are in a dominant position to win back Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid at the end of the 18-month loan period in 2014. And with the funds from Gotze’s sale, he might be back come August 2014.
Patrick Hermann and Kevin Vollan are two good German offensive players who can play across the four offensive positions in the 4-2-3-1 formation. Both of them are in good touch for Monchengladbach and Hoffenhiem respectively, and are set for a good future.
De Bruyne seems to have less hope of staying at Stamford Bridge despite his talent and it seems a club like Dortmund can provide good service to his talents. Greizmman has been one of the finds of the season in the Spanish La Liga for Real Sociedad and the French winger can use Dortmund as a way to move into the French national setup.
Luc Castiagnos would love to prove critics wrong that his bad time at Inter Milan could be repeated elsewhere and a move to Dortmund would be a winning situation for him. And John Guidetti surely will be on the move as his goal-scoring exploits in the Dutch league wasn’t enough to win him a place among the likes of Aguero and Tevez at Manchester City. So, this move will not be as disastrous as his stay at City.
So, this concludes a long list of players that fits in with Dortmund’s policy of finding the next gem in the footballing world. Of course, they might opt to use the funds for strengthening the youth setup, much like Athletic Bilbao, but then again, they are the only team in Germany that can end a reign from Bayern Munich which might go on forever. So they might use few of these players to make their squad stronger. But certainly, they need to avoid being the Arsenal of the Bundesliga.