The Daily Bee (May 20th, 2019): Transfer season has officially begun

Transfer season begins

The actual Bundesliga season is over for Borussia Dortmund but the transfer season and the preparations for next season start now! The first announcements could come as early as this week as Nico Schulz, Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard are the current candidates for transfers.

• Thorgan Hazard talks about his BVB-future

Gladbach’s Hazard basically already confirmed his transfer after the game:

Asked if he had talked to fellow Belgian Axel Witsel Hazard answered:

“Yes of course. He’s a player that I talk to regularly. Next year he’ll be there to help me”

And if Witsel had to convince him to join:

“No there was no need of convincing me. If a club like Borussia Dortmund comes for you the motivation is already there. It’s good though that there’s someone that I already know. There will be others. I hope that my integration will go well. I have no doubt.”

This sounds like it will be official soon and Thorgan Hazard seems excited to join BVB next season and hopefully help compete for the title once again.

• Julian Brandt to make a decision this week

Julian Brandt’s supposed transfer to BVB seems a bit trickier. The offensive midfielder would reinforce BVB’s option on offense but Leverkusen reaching the Champions League could mean he reconsiders a transfer. During the football talkshow Wontorra on Sky Bayer Leverkusen’s managing director Rudi Völler had the following to say:

“This will be a Fifty-Fifty decision” [...] “He’s having a hard time. Over the next five, six, seven days, a decision will be made. After reaching the Champions League we have a legitimate hope. If a club pays (his 25€ million release clause) and the player wants to go there, he can not be held.“

• BVB to sign Mateu Morey (Cadena Ser)

Dortmund need to think about their future at right back, veteran Lukasz Piszczek will go into his last season before he retires, Achraf Hakimi is just on loan from Real Madrid for one more year and it’s unclear if Marius Wolf can take over as a fullback.

That means Michael Zorc will have to look for someone who can take over after next season and that could be Mateu Morey from FC Barcelona. The 19-year old has an expiring deal at the Spanish club and could join the black and yellows for free.

Morey did not play for an entire year because of a rupture of the meniscus but it would be a risk-free signing for Dortmund nonetheless.

• Gündogan to resume talks with Manchester City (kicker)

BVB-fans still wish Ilkay Gündogan would return and fill the creative void in central midfield but the former Dortmund player confirmed that he’ll talk to his current club first:

“The last few weeks I was busy gaining some not so unimportant games with City, instead of sitting down at the negotiating table every day and distracting myself from it The state of affairs is still the same: I feel well here, and we will definitely start talking again in the next few weeks.“

This does not mean that he’ll necessarily sign an extension with the Premier League champions but it definitely won’t make things any easier if Dortmund really want to convince him to come back.

• SC Paderborn return to the Bundesliga

1.FC Köln will be joined by SC Paderborn in the Bundesliga next season. Despite a 1:3 loss against Dynamo Dresden Paderborn still defended second place because Union Berlin was unable to win in Bochum, only getting a 2:2 draw.

Union Berlin will now take on VfB Stuttgart in the relegation playoff