Salih Özcan: Champions League awaits, not a farewell? | OneFootball

Rumors about Salih Özcan leaving as early as the winter break have been circulating in recent weeks. Ultimately, however, the central midfielder neither moved to Turkey nor returned to 1. FC Köln, but is instead once again in demand at Borussia Dortmund at the start of the second half of the season.

In last week's 3-2 victory against FC St. Pauli, Özcan came onto the field in the closing stages and was able to celebrate Emre Can's winning goal. For Özcan, it was his first substitution since matchday four, when the 27-year-old was allowed to help secure a 1-0 lead against VfL Wolfsburg in the final seconds. After that, however, the Cologne native only oscillated between the bench and the stands, accompanied by numerous transfer speculations.

Kovac promises Özcan more playing time

Özcan, however, is said to have always tended towards fulfilling his expiring contract at BVB and then looking for a new direction in the summer. This plan still stands, but now with significantly greater chances of regular appearances in his final months in Dortmund. Since Pascal Groß has left the club for Brighton & Hove Albion, and Marcel Sabitzer is currently sidelined due to injury, Özcan is once again playing a more important role in coach Niko Kovac's plans.

“Salih does his work in training professionally. He has come up short because we have many midfielders. I can imagine that he will soon get more minutes than in the first phase of the season,” Kovac hinted at the press conference before today’s match at 1. FC Union Berlin, indicating he wants to rely more on Özcan in the near future. It is even possible that the 27-time Turkish international will be nominated for the Champions League and could once again represent BVB on the international stage.

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