Official: Borussia Dortmund Sign Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich

Reports that Borussia Dortmund were interested in signing Bayern Munich midfielder Marcel Sabitzer only surfaced late last week, but just four or five days later and it is official: Marcel Sabitzer joins Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported to be ~€20m, signing a contract that should keep him at the club until 2027. The 29-year-old Austrian international was unveiled yesterday evening, with some customary cringe social media content and a picture of a couple of pals holding a shirt together. Just guys being dudes, stood on the balcony holding a little uniform for some pictures.

Marcel Sabitzer rose to prominence at RB Leipzig, contributing 51 goals and 37 assists over 226 appearances in his six seasons at the club, and towards the end of his time at the club he was even given the captain’s armband. He developed a reputation for being a versatile midfielder that is comfortable in any role in the middle of the park, while also having an eye for the spectacular in his locker.

Photo by Manu Reino/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Things didn’t turn out quite as well when he joined his boyhood club, Bayern Munich, where he player only 2,000 minutes over two seasons, but a solid loan spell at Manchester United in the second half of last season showed that he’s still a perfectly capable midfielder that just wasn’t a great fit for anything but depth at Bayern. In signing for BVB, Sabitzer has now completed the treble of playing for the three best teams in Germany, but hopefully his spell at Dortmund will be a little more like his time in East Germany!

Although I think that BVB’s transfer business has been a little underwhelming so far this summer, I’m pretty pleased with this move. BILD has reported that Sabitzer has given up a €2.5m in salary and a chunk of add-ons and bonuses, which means that the deal looks pretty astute, financially, and his versatility should give Dortmund options in midfield next season. He’s not the youngest player in the squad, but the favourable financial terms make that less of a concern, and he proved that he’s still a solid player in his stint at United. My only concern with the move is Sabitzer’s injury history, which has seen him missing playing time with a wide variety of knocks, but if he can stay relatively healthy then I think this will prove to be a bit of a steal.

Your Thoughts?

How do you feel about the Sabitzer deal? Are you concerned about BVB gradually building a team made up of Bayern Munich’s scraps? Or are you pleased that Dortmund should have a deeper, more flexible midfield next season?