Watzke: Dortmund transfer activity not yet complete

So far for Dortmund this summer, the transfer window has been relatively quiet. Sure, we’ve seen the addition of Omer Toprak and Mo Dahoud - both before the summer - as well as the surprise additions of Max Philipp and Dan-Axel Zagadou.

But for the most part, there hasn’t been the abundance of moves from Dortmund like last year...well at least not yet.

According to a report from Bild, Hans-Joachim Watzke is apparently still looking to add more pieces for the coming season. In the interview, Watzke made clear what his remaining plans are for the remainder of the summer window. The majority of the remaining moves will be made by selling or loaning off players.

“We know the squad is too big,” Watzke told Bild.

One player who is not being placed on the chopping block is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Watzke did not mince words when stating that the window has closed on selling the Gabonese international, citing the need for planning security ahead of the upcoming season.

Watzke stated the latest club interested in Aubameyang, AC Milan, showed disrespect by announcing on television they were keen on adding Auba for the season ahead.

In response, Watzke noted “It was time we made it clear. The window has been open for eight weeks...it cannot be that any sports director puts themselves in the public and say ‘But we would also like to fetch...’”

Although further purchases are not yet planned, Watzke and Dortmund remain optimistic that a possible deal could go down over the next few weeks to bring another young starlet to the Westfalenstadion.

“If we were to offer somewhere in this world again a 17 or 18-year-old with incredible prospects, we would think about that,” Watzke said to Bild.

One youngster currently on the Dortmund radar is Leicester City winger Demarai Gray. Sky Sports reported that Gray held talks with Leicester management over the weekend requesting a transfer away from the club due to lack of playing time.

Gray can play both left and right wing and is fast enough to keep up with Dortmund’s offensive pace. The 21-year-old is similar to other young players like Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, Tottenham’s Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, and RB Leipzig’s Bruma.

With the season approaching fast, it will be interesting to see if and when Watzke decides to make other necessary additions or subtractions. But we do know the Dortmund braintrust isn’t finished tinkering just yet.