The Daily Bee: Borussia Dortmund Linked to Jerry St. Juste

Good morning, Fear the Wall! Happy Friday.

Can I get something off my chest this morning? I hate writing about transfer rumors. Most of them are completely substance-less bullshit and most of them never ever come to fruition. Obviously, they’re great for traffic, and we’d probably have several factors’ more clicks every day if we covered every transfer rumor that comes across the internet’s great rumor mill, but I just hate doing it so much. The only reason I’m covering them today is because, with the season over and the EUROs not starting for a few more weeks, there’s really not much else to talk about!

BVB Linked to Jerry St. Juste

With other clubs around Europe including Chelsea reportedly competing for Wolfsburg center back Maxence Lacroix, Dortmund are reportedly turning towards other targets. One name that Sport Bild has reported is Mainz’s Jerry St. Juste, a 24-year-old Dutch central defender. St. Juste is most well-known for clocking the single fastest sprint speed of the season this year, beating out both Erling Haaland and Alphonso Davies for that title.

While I would prefer Lacroix who’s taller, younger, and better in possession, signing St. Juste might be a decent move if Lacroix is off the table. St. Juste has previous experience as a right back, so he can be something of a utility man on BVB’s back line, playing as either a center back or a right back whenever needed. If he could be signed cheaply, such as for around €10-15 million, he could be a very economical signing.

Ruhr Nachrichten Downplays Jonathan Ikone Rumors

This is a big relief to me. Recent rumors, starting out with France Football, had me worried. These articles claimed that BVB had lined up Jonathan Ikone as a replacement for Jadon Sancho. The 23-year-old French winger has just recently won Ligue 1 with Lille OSC, and may seem like an intriguing target at first, but under the slightest scrutiny, his prospects seem less optimistic. His four goals and five assists in over 2,000 minutes last season don’t even keep pace with Gio Reyna, let alone Jadon Sancho. Despite his low production, France Football reported that he would cost around €30 million - far too hefty a price tag for a player with such mundane numbers.

Thankfully, Ruhr Nachrichten agrees with this assessment, and has pumped the brakes on this rumor. According to correspondent Jürgen Koers, Ikone is not on Dortmund’s list of potential Sancho replacements. There are other, more talented players out there. Just one name I’ve seen mentioned is Callum Hudson-Odoi... although with the rate that he’s linked with moves to Bundesliga teams that never actually come true, I’ll only believe that when his pen hits a contract.

The Daily Buzz

If you could through some mechanism guarantee that BVB sign one of Maxence Lacroix or Callum-Hudson Odoi, who would you pick?