When Giannis Konstantelias went down without contact against Hamburg, clutching his knee, many of us feared the worst. Now, the young Greek talent has undergone an MRI, and the results have been confirmed: he has suffered an ACL-tear. While healing times can vary, we will be lucky to see him take to the pitch again this season.
This puts BVB in a spot of bother. Giannis played less than two full games in black-and-yellow, but it’s clear that his impact on the squad would have been massive. Now, if
the club wants a replacement, they have less than 24 hours to find one before the September 1st transfer deadline.
According to Ruhr Nachrichten, the BVB bosses have several potential targets, most of which seem pretty unlikely to me (Reiss Nelson??) and could be difficult to line up on such short notice. One name in particular that I don’t hate is Ethan Nwaneri, a 19-year-old attacker from Arsenal. He has limited experience at the senior level but is considered a top talent. This move would probably be a loan only, as he would cost north of €30 million and Arsenal may not want to part with him.
I understand it’s not ideal and it would be a bit of a risk taking on a relatively junior player who doesn’t have much experience, but there are really no great options here. I wouldn’t put it past Book to have a name that no one else in media is aware of.
