The Daily Bee (August 27, 2020): Friday Friendly Doubleheader

Good morning, Fear The Wall!

Friday Friendlies

Borussia Dortmund continues their preseason competition with a double-header against SC Paderborn and VfL Bochum, according to Kicker. The first match against Paderborn will be at 15:30 CEST (9:30 a.m. EST), followed by a start-time of 18:00 CEST (12:00 p.m. EST) for the second friendly against Bochum. The matches can be streamed through the official BVB Facebook and YouTube pages.

Each match will feature split XI’s, with one mixture of first-team and back-up players against Paderborn and another against Bochum. Unless there’s another surprise friendly, these two matches should prove to be the final friendlies of the preseason as BVB opens with MSV Duisburg in the DFB-Pokal First Round on September 14.

Keep your fingers crossed for no significant injuries!

Dan-Axel Zagadou Still Out

Speaking of significant injuries, one player who definitely won’t be playing in either friendly this Friday will be Dan-Axel Zagadou. According to that same Kicker report, Zagadou will be visiting a knee specialist to determine the next course of action for the young French defender.

Zagadou had been out with an LCL injury since April, weakening an already not-great BVB defense right as teams were training for the COVID restart. He saw some time in the final two matches of the season, so he recovered to the point of being able to play in limited minutes. Hopefully we won’t be without our hulking French defender for too long, as our backline could definitely use his presence.

Get well soon, Dan-Axel!

Sarr to Chelsea

Right as I was writing this, a tweet came across my feed...

Another signing for Chelsea? Another signing for Chelsea.

A 21-year old French central defender from Nice, Chelsea signed the young Frenchman to a five-year contract and will spend the 2020-21 season on loan (typical Chelsea). Sarr made a total of 119 appearances across all competitions for the South France side. Unlike a lot of their signings this transfer window, Sarr joins Chelsea on a free after his contract with Nice expired.

Coupled with yesterday’s signing of Leicester City fullback Ben Chilwell for £50 million, the Blues are definitely looking to improve a defense that looked absolutely shambolic throughout the season, COVID restart included. With the offensive firepower Chelsea possess, they’ll need a much better defense if they want to make a shout for silverware this coming season, and signings like these are a step in the right direction.

The English transfer window closes on October 5, so don’t be surprised to see one or two more signings for Chelsea.

The Daily Buzz

I don’t know, how are y’all doing today?