Roman Bürki extends contract with Dortmund until 2021

How about that for timing?

After a nightmarish week for Roman Bürki, he has been given a contract extension by the higher-ups at Dortmund. His new deal will run until 2021.

It was Bürki’s mistake that allowed APOEL to score their only goal in BVB’s disappointing Champions League draw on Tuesday. He basically passed it right to them.

Some wondered whether it was time to bench Bürki for Roman Weidenfeller, but benching a 26-year-old for a 37-year-old really doesn’t make any sense. Those fans will probably react negatively to this news, but this extension/vote of confidence could be exactly what Bürki needs.

If his confidence is suffering, this new deal should alleviate that. Plus, Bürki isn’t even close to being a lost cause. He’s not old, and can even improve quite a bit.

It seems likely that Weidenfeller will retire at the end of this season, in which case BVB will need to shop for a new keeper anyway. This extension doesn’t make Bürki starter for life. Instead, he’d have to compete with a new keeper brought in this summer. So while the extension is a commitment, it’s not one that means Dortmund are putting all their keeping eggs in Roman Bürki’s basket.

Right now, Bürki is the only option there for Peter Bosz. Some improved performances over the next couple weeks would do a good job of significantly easing this current keeping crisis.