Happy Wednesday, everyone! Sorry for the late Daily Bee. I’m sure you were all on the edge of your seat waiting for your favorite article of the day. You know who else is a fan of the Daily Bee? Dortmund’s new Sporting Director, Nils-Ole Book (that’s probably not true). Book was officially unveiled in his new role and began work today. The 40-year-old German kicked off his new position with approximately a thousand meetings, greeting some of the players, and a press conference alongside Carsten Cramer
and Lars Ricken. You could say he was pretty booked up on his first day!
Book’s introduction press conference was covered on Dortmund’s website and contains the typical ‘first day on the job nonsense’. Some highlights, however, are that Book had a release clause only for BVB and that he plans on casting a wide net to bring in players. So was Lars Rickens comment that “following Niko Kovac, we once again have someone from outside of the club who brings fresh impetus and new ideas”. Great sign for everyone worried that Book would be a yes-man. Let’s hope he doesn’t have a ‘Bayern Munich only’ release clause in his current contract!
Dortmund News
- Borussia Dortmund may lose 18-year-old prospect, Elias Benkara. The German U18 international has garnered some attention in the youth sphere but the limited pathway to Dortmund’s first team means he will likely leave. It appears that Kovac rates Italian duo, Filipo Mane and Luca Reggiani, above Benkara.
- Dortmund’s seasonal link to Jadon Sancho is heating up once again. This time, Marco Reus is involved and told Jadon to “look for where he feels comfortable and find his best form again”.
- But… if Jadon does want to come to Dortmund, he has to take a massive pay cut and ‘have the modesty to accept no signing fee’. It seems like a load of malarkey if you ask me. I have no issue with Dortmund not offering a tame salary and no signing bonus but its a bit much to tout it as a test of humility.
Bundesliga News
- Stuttgart have permanently signed Bilal El Khannous from Leicester City. Stuttgart had an obligation to buy and all clauses were triggered. The 21-year-old has six goal involvements across 1,328 and will be looking to add another when Stuttgart host Dortmund on April 4. Oh.. and supposedly he won AFCON despite his side losing on penalties.
- Manuel Neuer is set to join an interesting top 10 list if he appears in another match this season; the 10 oldest Bundesliga players of all time! It’s a list that contains Jens Lehmann, Claudio Pizzarro, and Dortmund’s own Manfred Burgsmüller. Manuel Neuer will allegedly be celebrating his milestone by eating tapioca pudding and playing bingo.
- Not Bundesliga news but Mohamed Salah is set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season. I know the thought of Premier League news on your Bundesliga blog will probably cause malfunctions for many of you but it seems only right to acknowledge one of European soccer’s best players leaving his team.
