The Daily Bee (April 11th, 2019): Roussillon rumors and persisting injury problems

• Roussillon next LB to be linked to BVB (WAZ)

Several outlets reported yesterday about Borussia Dortmund being interested in VfL Wolfsburg’s left back Jerome Roussillon, among them were WAZ, kicker and Bild. The 26-year old Frenchman is playing his first year with Wolfsburg after his 5€ million move from HSC Montpellier last summer and has been one of the best if not the best left back in the Bundesliga this season.

Roussillon himself did not seem reluctant to a move this summer especially if Wolfsburg miss an international competition:

“Then we’ll sit down and see what’s realistic” [...] “If we are in the Europa League, then there is a good chance that I will stay. I can do not promise anything.“

His skill set would be perfect for BVB but he still has a long contract (until 2022) and would definitely not come cheap. As of right now he might be on Dortmund’s radar but he’s likely not the first choice right now.

• Injured players return

Christian Pulisic, Paco Alcacer and Raphael Guerreiro are back in training! Borussia Dortmund’s injury situation seems to be improving, all three players completed individual sessions on Wednesday and are on their way back.

Today both of them as well as Jadon Sancho and Dan Axel Zagadou trained individually and Lukasz Piszczek missed the training session completely (Ruhr Nachrichten). It looks like Piszczek, Pulisic and Guerreiro will not be ready to play against Mainz on Saturday but there’s a chance Alcacer, Diallo and Sancho could play.

• Champions League

Two expected results and a couple surprises in the Champions League.

The biggest surprise this week might have been Tottenham’s 1:0 victory over Manchester City or rather Man City’s surprisingly lackluster performance and Pep Guardiola’s inexplicable decision to leave Leroy Sané and Kevin de Bruyne on the bench until the final minutes of the game. City have a chance to turn it around at home but the Spurs got themselves a clear advantage.

Liverpool decisively (and as expected) won their match 2:0 against Porto and are almost through to the next round. Another favorite also got a great result, Barcelona’s 1:0 victory in Manchester gives them a fantastic result for the second leg.

Ajax Amsterdam continue to impress and should have gotten a win but a lucky Juventus team drew in Amsterdam 1:1. The return leg will be very interesting.

• Schick rumors return (Alfredo Pedulla)

A familiar name returns in BVB’s search for a new striker. Borussia Dortmund look to bolster their centre forward situation this summer and have apparently turned to Patrik Schick once again.

The Czech striker has been on BVB’s radar fro some years now and the club made an offer last summer but Schick chose to join AS Roma, a transfer that hasn’t worked out as planned. Just 5 goals in 29 games across all competitions are not exactly a great statistic for a striker.

Nevertheless Schick is talented and still young (23), a change of scenery could be good for Schick and he would fit perfectly into BVB’s squad. The problem will likely be the transfer fee if BVB decide to make an offer, Roma would likely ask for 30€ million which is a bit much for a striker with a disappointing season.