Only a day after releasing Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl from his duties, Borussia Dortmund have found his replacement in Nils-Ole Book, who has earned his stripes as the Sporting Director of SV Elversberg since 2018.
Book has a very strong record as Sporting Director at Elversberg, with the club rising all the way from the Regionalliga Südwest to the precipice of Bundesliga promotion during his tenure. He now will have a much larger budget, and much higher expectations, to work with.
I am excited for this move, but not without reservations. There’s no doubt that Book has done a fantastic job at Elversberg, but managing a €100+ million transfer budget with the expectation of competing for trophies every year is different than gradually bringing a lower-level club up through the ranks over many years. At the same time, Book will undoubtedly have more resources for scouting and playing analysis at his disposal, so it will be interesting to see what he does with them.
Book will have his work cut out for him. The summer transfer window is fast approaching and the club will need a big overhaul. It will not take long for us to see whether he’s up to the challenge.
