- Toljan/Passlack swap
After news broke yesterday that BVB and Hoffenheim fullback Jeremy Toljan had agreed terms for a potential deal, several German outlets reported the deal as good as done.
Ruhr Nachrichten, BILD and kicker all claimed that the deal was close but not yet finalized. RN and BILD claim Toljan will cost Dortmund a fee of 5€ million with kicker claiming it will be much higher. In addition Felix Passlack would join TSG Hoffenheim on loan for one season.
If this deal materializes it would be next in line of excellent transfers from Michael Zorc. Getting one of Germany’s best fullback prospects who immediately improves BVB’s squad for a relatively low fee and in exchange, send one of Dortmund’s best prospects to a very good team with a great coach to develop is in fact stunning work.
- Sokratis talks about Dembélé-situation
Sokratis rarely gives interviews, he prefers to do the “talking” on the pitch but even the Greek defender makes exceptions sometimes. In today’s edition of kicker’s print he gives a lengthy interview and during it he talks about Ousmane Dembélé and his behavior. Here’s what Papa had to say:
"Ousmane is a good kid but like everyone else he needs to know that no player is bigger than the team."
"Auba could see himself changing clubs too. But he is very professional in every training session and matches."
“Ous hasn’t done himself any favors with the decision to strike. He shouldn’t forget that he still has a long contract in Dortmund.”
“He’s a player that can make the difference [on the pitch]. We need players like that, but we also need player that want to be part of the family. Ousmane obviously doesn’t want that.”
- Barca sporting director talks about Ous
Meanwhile Barcelona’s sporting director Pep Segura has talked about bringing in Ousmane Dembélé and Philippe Coutinho.
After their resounding loss in the Spanish Supercopa to Real Madrid, Segura said that they are “close” to signing both players but he “can’t say anything else until the deals are finalized”. He added that they “hope they can wear Barca jersey’s” soon.
Make of that what you will but at least it’s a comment from a person that would be involved in the transfer. To be honest I have rarely seen a team official speak so candidly about two players of another team that both teams are not willing to sell. This and the fact that both players are currently refusing to play for their club (Coutinho is injured although some people are questioning the severeness of said injury) gives you quite a bit of an impression of how Barca prefers to do business these days.
Daily Buzz: The start of the Bundesliga is close! Tomorrow will mark the start of the season with Bayern Munich taking on Bayer Leverkusen. I wanna hear your predictions for that game, will the Bavarians prevail or can Leverkusen surprise us?