BVB transfer policy: Watzke wants to ‘win people over again’ | OneFootball

Will they pull off the big coup this season? Over the past eight years, Borussia Dortmund finished second in the Bundesliga five times. And in the 2025/26 season, BVB again “only” managed to end up as runners-up.

Hans-Joachim Watzke (67) is still satisfied with the result. “Niko Kovac got it exactly right last season. With the squad he had, he really got the absolute maximum out of the team in the Bundesliga,” the BVB president praised the head coach’s work in an interview with RTL/Sky, according to BILD.

In the end, there were 16 points between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Even so, the Black-and-Yellows were clearly the “best of the rest.” RB Leipzig, in third place, trailed the champions by as many as 24 points.

This summer, three long-serving key players left the club: Karim Adeyemi (24/to FC Barcelona), Julian Brandt (30/to Ajax Amsterdam), and Niklas Süle (30/to SV Tiefenbach). In addition, Yan Couto (24/to Como 1907) and Salih Özcan (28/to Besiktas) also departed, both of whom at least belonged to the extended core of the squad.

In contrast, Dortmund signed four top talents: Konstantinos Karetsas (18), Giannis Konstantelias (23), Joane Gadou (19), and Kaua Prates (18). Joey Veerman is the exception: the 27-year-old Dutchman already brings plenty of experience.

“More creative quality”

“We tried to make the squad significantly younger and add more creative quality to it,” Watzke says, explaining BVB’s transfer policy. The club president is pleased with the outcome of the summer window: “I think the sporting management did a very good job in selecting the players.” But the former CEO also sees potential risks: “Of course, we’re also giving up a bit of security, because the one thing the players we’ve brought in mainly lack is experience.”

Photo: IMAGO

But success is not measured only by league position, Watzke says. “We want to excite the fans again and, above all, play spectacular football again,” the 67-year-old says, emphasizing an attacking approach. Of course, even the BVB president does not know how quickly the new signings will settle in. That is why he warns against excessive expectations: “But we also need to show them a bit more patience. That’s something we in Dortmund have to learn again as well.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.