Virkus makes conclusions on Gladbach transfer window: “We still achieved a lot” | OneFootball

Borussia Mönchengladbach managing director for sport, Roland Virkus, spoke to Kicker regarding the moves that his side made in the summer transfer window and whether Gladbach met their objectives.

Since the end of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season and a tenth-place finish, Virkus’ side added Kevin Diks on the defence, as well as Jens Castrop and Yannik Engelhardt in the midfield.

The Nordrhein-Westfalen club also made some attacking reinforcements, bringing in attacking midfielder/winger Giovanni Reyna, forward Haris Tabaković, and striker Shūto Machino.

“I am quite pleased with the summer transfer window,” Virkus said. “We have acquired players who are on board with our project, familiar with the conditions and are excited to represent Borussia. We believe that we have brought in quality - now it is time for us to develop these players.”

He added that some of the signings will show their potential sooner than others, but that he believes the others will shine later in their development.

When asked about who he considered to be the best signing that Gladbach made over the summer months, Virkus did not want to mention a single player that stood out from the rest.

“I cannot talk about that beforehand, it will be decided on the field,” he said.

Regarding Giovanni Reyna, Virkus said, “Reyna is an excellent footballer, can decide matches on his own - creative, moves well between the lines and is good for our game.”

He added regarding Shūto Machino: “Machino is a different type - he is a type of player that we did not have in the squad before. He is versatile, confident on the ball, moves well when he has space. He is dangerous when it comes to set pieces, and is especially good with throw-ins.”

Virkus confirmed the rumours that the club also wanted to have Oscar Fraulo and Grant-Leon Ramos loaned out before the end of the window. “Yes, there was a market, but if they leave, it should be on a good loan. In these situations, not all parties were convinced on a deal.”

Lastly, Virkus was asked about the injuries to Tim Kleindienst and Nathan Ngoumou, and how it affected the club’s transfer situation. Virkus stated that he did not bring replacement players to Borussia-Park “as the players will eventually make their returns, and then you will have too many players in those positions - you need to take a calculated risk.”

He concluded, “We managed to rejuvenate the squad, to reduce salary costs. We were not able to achieve everything, but we still achieved a lot.”