Ginter was a terrible signing at the time, because he wasn't needed and he still needed time to develop. If you stockpile players all you do is ruin the youngster and then are left with an average player. Ginter should never have gone to Dortmund, but moved to Gladback. As for Dahoud, we need to bite the bullet with him. He has a lot of flaws and some awful games, but he needs minutes and experience. What he needs is a contract extension and to be told he is our main midfielder and will play from now until the end of the season. The same goes for Weigl. From next year he needs to be told he is going to start alongside Weigl. No club's going to get it right 100 percent of the time. We still need a left back, a winger and a striker.
I meant Weigl needs to be told he will start alongside Dahoud. We have a couple of gems in Weigl and Dahoud. We need to play them through this learning phase. I feel bad saying it, because Delaney in particular fought like a trojan, but they won't get it done against the best in the world. Witsel/Delaney is just not good enough to match the other top 16 midfields in the world. There's a very high chance we have just 14 games left this season. I know we are going for the league, but we need to bleed and trust the youngsters. Also Sancho went home and was humiliated in front of his family. He will be wondering if the Bundesliga is just an easy league. You lose them the way you win them.I think he will push for a move in the summer.
Ginter was an excellent signing. He was not developed well. Our club gets it right about 20% of the time....if that.
This is precisely why Ginter was the worst possible type of signing. He had potential and could have become a great player, but we destroyed him. At the time Ginter wasn't needed and there was no place for him in the team. He was at the age where he needed to go and play minutes. We not just held his development back several years, we actually took him backwards. It's not just about having talented young players you must give them minutes. I have seen enough to be convinced Dahoud needs to be 1st choice CM and if we can convince Weigl to stay then he can be his partner.
Dortmund24 has emphasized that Zorc expects 2 summer transfer periods would be necessary to overhaul the squad. So who do we have that we see as long-term in the squad? RB: ?? CB: Akanji + Balerdi + Diallo + DAZ LB: Hakimi (Real Madrid) CM: Dahoud, Weigl (PSG) W/AM: JBL, Sancho, Guerreiro CF: ?? + Paco as sub That is a threadbare squad incapable of competing for anything other than 4th place in the BL. Zorc has severely under-estimated the task. Now he is looking at Eggerstein and Philipp Max.
Because the now matters as well. I've previously mentioned the players that would have completed the squad, but we will no longer be able to get them. Zaha is the best winger the club can get. The striker will be very difficult to get.
Werner is being pitched to Inter who need a replacement for Mauro Icardi. They have a ton of money. Makes sense that RB will not sell inside the BL.
According to German print media, Brandts release clause this summer is only "between 25M and 30M" so there's an opportunity for us to sign him.
I think u underestimate Abraham, remember he is only 21 ? 22 ? and is the leading goalscorer charts in the championship. Chelsea have a history of letting gems go and seem loathe to develop players, prefering a finished article. It is an unsustainable business model. But, he and Harry Wilson of Liverpool, I think, are future England Internationals. And I would even go so far as to bet that Wilson would tear up the Premier League in a few years and displace Mane as first choice. It's hard to say, but I would definietly take a flyer on him as a second choice striker seeing as Dortmund seem likely to miss out on Werner, and Piatek already having moved. Who knows right ?
2 summer transfer periods will do if Zorc can actually find his balls and be more active on the transfer market. The biggest issue for me is our lack of forwards - Paco came as one player, once we signed him he became another. He badly needs competition. I wouldn't mind if we had a go at Jovic. Letting Weigl to PSG would be a mistake IMO as he can give more to the team. Don't know about the majority of BVB fans, but I have never felt comfortable with Burki being our staring GK. For me he is a perfect back-up, but nothing more.
He is 21 I think, but I don't see Abraham ever being a regular in the England team. There 's Kane and Rasford ahead of him along with Sterling, Sancho and Hudson-Odoi out wide. We need players, who are ready to become world class, which Abraham is still several years away from in my opinion. Werner is dead. Apparently he is the exact type of striker Watzke wants, but we can take it he has now agreed terms with Bayern. I guess the scouts are looking for another similar player. Weigl and Dahoud are both exceptionally young for central midfielders, but at the same time have a lot of experience. I wouldn't want to get rid of either one of them. They can both still improve so much and I don't think we are likely to get better. Apparently Watzke said we are after a creative ball playing central midfielder, which would spell the end for Dahoud. Jovic is an option if we can get him. In the Premier League and the Bundeslgia I can't think of any other striker worth getting. With no obvious target except Jovic, the board are going to have to scout very well and maybe look to South America or France. The other positions were full back and of course the Pulisic replacement. Thorgan Hazard is still sadly the no 1 target, but he is my least favourite option. With news of Brandt's minimum release clause we should go for him. The other outside option is Hudson-Odoi. He is set on Bayern, but it seems Bayern have greatly angered Chelsea and they may refuse to sell him to them. This one is very, very unlikely. I would still prefer Brandt and then Hazard. It's a big week coming up for us. I haven't given up hope for the Tottenham game.
I'm reading that many local fans are hyped up about Hazard the lesser and I honestly don't understand why, as I find nothing remarkable about him. I also don't understand why club management is dead set on signing him.
Yeh it's a mediocre signing. The sort of signing, that can get you into the top 4, but not much higher. The way things are now, we need to to look at different targets. We probably need to gamble on very talented youngsters like Dembele, Pulisic, Sancho, Mor and Isak. The first three being successes and the other two failures.
We also need to win League trophies regularly and back them up with deep runs in the Champions League and Cup titles, otherwise all those talented youngsters won't see us as anything other than a stepping stone.
It seems we have a very good chance of getting Brandt and Starke. If so this would be a brilliant summer. Keep hold off Sancho, Weigl and Dahoud, and add those two. Brandt would offer so much to this team and would be my first choice. It means the one position left to strengthen is the striker, which is the hardest.
Berlin's Stark had some good scenes today, he's also really fast. I first noticed him in Germany's U21 Euro run 2017 where I thought he showed lots of promise. Back then I thought he could possibly replicate what Hummels did for us. Even if Toprak leaves, we'd have much depth on the CB position.
Unless Diallo is to become a LB, I don't see us getting another CB. Toprak is gone and we have MA, Balerdi, DAZ and part time Weigl.
That's who we have been linked with. If Wolf can be converted to a right back, then maybe they will try converting Diallo. I still want to throw all the kids into the fire. If somehow we win the league they will learn so much from this. I really don't want to give up on our midfielders. They are young and can develop into something special, but Eggestein is another player we are linked with. It's getting the striker, which is the problem. I can't see anyone that fits our target of being 1. fast and clinical 2. available.
He is the obvious choice. I am not sure how attainable he is. I had completely forgotten. I guess it depends on who comes in for him. The one big positive we have is that none of the big clubs will probably go all out for a striker just yet. Even Barca are more likely to move Messi centrally than get a new no 9.
I know, but I am not convinced.Barcelona will replace Suarez. Messi' mobility is getting worse and it hurts Barca with his inability to press. As it declines, he is still matched only by Ronaldo, so he will probably move back into the centre. We will see what Barca do. Chelsea are likely to have a transfer ban, then of course there is Madrid, but their eyes are firmly on Mbappe. The other worry is Liverpool and Bayern. Players we should sell are: Schurrle Kagawa Philipp Pulisic* Toljan Toprak Rode If we can get £100 million for those (the Pulisic fee includded) then according to Watzke (80 percent of sales) we should have 80 million to spend. Brandt/Zaha/Jovic/LB would be a perfect window. It would mean spending around £120 million. All 4 of those players would be hard to get and convince to come.
According to Kicker, T. Hazard has a verbal agreement with Dortmund. Transfer fee is expected to be around 40 million. I know he's a controversial transfer target here and for that price tag alone, it's easy to see why. If he comes, one can only hope that the first part of the season is more indicative of his potential than what he showed after the break. 9 goals scored, all before the winter break, but 3 of them were penalties. Because he looked so green and unpolished the previous years, I was a bit shocked that he is already 26 years old. At that age, he should be near his peak and that is a major factor that makes me not see the value of 40 million.
I also have had reservations about Thorgan of late ... I think he will come good, but I can't help but wonder if there might not have been a better target out there. I would have liked to see Gerard Deleufue ... I think he is criminally underated, and might have come slightly on the cheap ... And bringing Isak back to rotate the striker position will save the club some $ ... perhaps grab a LB ?