Borussia Mönchengladbach 2025/26 season preview: Transfers, pre-season, predicted lineup & predictions | OneFootball

Borussia Mönchengladbach may not be back where they ideally want to be just yet. Their push for the European football places came up short in the final few weeks but Die Fohlen looked a good deal healthier in 2024/25.

It’s worth noting that during the 2024/23 season, they finished just a solitary point above the relegation play-off spot. Progress is best achieved steadily. A team that once looked a shadow of their former selves appears to be rediscovering their identity.

Their DfB-Pokal campaign ended in rather unconvincing fashion. Although they overcame Erzgebirge Aue in the first round, an unfortunate second round tie away to Eintracht Frankfurt is where the road ended.

Heading into his third season at the helm of Die Fohlen-elf, Gerardo Seoane will undoubtedly hope to improve their Bundesliga standing for a third consecutive campaign.

Transfers:

Operating under a constricted budget, Gladbach have had a reasonable transfer window to date. The departures of Alassane Plea (€4.5m to Eindhoven) and Ko Itakura to Ajax are a considerable blow. However, sporting director Roland Virkus did well to negotiate a €10.5million fee for the Japanese defender in the last year of his contract.

Being able to shift out-of-favour striker Tomas Cvancara on loan to Antalyaspor means one less headache for their Swiss head coach. Perhaps some of their best work this summer has come from fending off interest in Rocco Reitz, while also extending the contract of creative winger Franck Honorat.

Joining the Fohlen-elf are a handful of talented names – none more so than Shuto Machino. The versatile 25-year-old attacker bagged 11 goals and 3 assists for a relegated Holstein Kiel side last season. Costing just €8million, it’s a nice replacement for Plea who similarly covered a range of roles.

Meanwhile, talented 21-year-old Jens Castrop (€4.5m from 1.FC Nurnberg) adds depth to midfield, while Kevin Diks (free transfer from Copenhagen) replaces the outgoing Lainer and covers every position in Gladbach’s backline. Haris Tabakovic arrives on loan to give cover for the sidelined Kleindienst.

Pre-season preparations:

Borussia Mönchengladbach returned to pre-season training on July 6 but didn’t play their first warm-up game until the July 18 where they defeated Erzgebirge Aue 3-0 on the first day of their week-long training camp in Tegernsee, Germany.

Their only defeat of the pre-season to date came in the form of a 3-1 defeat to Ukrainian outfit Metalist Kharkiv. They rebounded with a pair of impressive 2-0 triumphs over 1.FC Nürnberg and Spanish opponents Valencia into early August.

Their final pre-season fixture culminated in a trip to London where they battled back to snatch a late 2-2 draw with Brentford. Franck Honorat and Robin Hack (1 goal & 1 assist, each) have been the standout performers, while Diks, Tabakovic and Fukuda have all found the net too.

Predicted starting lineup:

4-2-3-1: Nicolas – Scally, Diks, Elvedi, Netz – Reitz, Weigl – Honorat, Stöger, Hack – Tabakovic

Gerardo Seoane has already instilled his full trust in Moritz Nicolas to hold down the number one spot between the posts once again. A four-man backline should be the norm with Joe Scally alongside Kevin Diks, Nico Elvedi and Luca Netz; although Lukas Ullrich will be eager to push for the left-back slot.

Newly appointed vice-captain and midfield talisman Rocco Reitz will form the double six pivot in midfield alongside Julian Weigl. Philipp Sander might occasionally force his way into the side if form dips.

Into the offensive third, Franck Honorat and Robin Hack ought to be mainstays on the flanks, while Kevin Stöger should lay claim to the No.10 role for the time being. Until captain Tim Kleindienst recovers from surgery, Haris Tabakovic will lead the line. However, new signing Shuto Machino could feature across the midfield three or up top.

Predictions for the upcoming season:

Gladbach are a bit of a sleeping giant of the German game. It’s hard to believe they last competed in a European cup competition back in the 2020-21 season where they bowed out in the Round of 16.

While the loss of Itakura and Plea will hurt, the vast core of Seoane’s side remains intact. Slowly making progress has been the name of the game under the Swiss coach, so a 10th-to-7th place finish would be steady improvements on their last two campaigns.