Borussia Dortmund January Transfers: Nuri Sahin Reported To Have €15m Budget With Defence Priority | OneFootball

The staff responsible for Borussia Dortmund’s planning includes sporting director Sebastian Kehl, managing director Lars Ricken, and squad planner Sven Mislintat. They have the primary task in the January transfer window of shoring up a defence hit by injuries and seeking to offload the underperforming players to strengthen the side for the Rückrunde, the second half of the season that follows the winter break.

With Dortmund likely to be among the clubs progressing in the Champions League, even without the additional burden of the DFB Pokal, the current roster of just 24 first-team players has put Nuri Sahin under further pressure with little room for squad rotation.

German newspaper, Bild, reported that Borussia Dortmund has set a transfer budget of €15m for the winter window, which opens on January 1st.

Dortmund go into the winter break in sixth position after struggling for most of the first half of the season, especially away from home.

According to Transfermarkt, the 24/25 transfer balance is -€46.5m.

Reinforcements in defence, particularly at centre-back and full-back, are a priority. The ideal situation would be to sign a player like Julian Ryerson, who can play as either a right-back or left-back.

Players about which there are doubts in terms of their contribution are Gio Reyna and Niklas Süle, both of which are not matching their salaries with their performances on the pitch.

There are also doubts about Yan Couto, who has not contributed as expected so far. Loanees Salih Özcan, Sébastien Haller and Youssoufa Moukoko are also currently struggling and are among those the club could look to offload.

Although a number of younger players, including winger Cole Campell, midfielder Kjell Wätjen, and left-back Almugera Kabar of the U23s, have shown promise in their first-team appearances.

BVB have conceded 22 goals in the first half of the season and the defence is injury-hit. Julian Ryerson, Ramy Bensebaini, and Süle are all out. Reinforcing central midfield is also a pressing need in spite of the undoubted contribution Pascal Gross has made in 24/25.

Players that have been linked to the club include Olympique Lyon’s Rayan Cherki but although he could be a good fit, his current estimated value of €30m could be off bounds unless the club can lighten the load by selling.

Eighteen-year-old central midfielder Sverre Nypan of Rosenborg and a Norway U21 international could reinforce midfield and, with an estimated transfer value of under €10m, could be on the cards, according to Bild.

€12m rated Hoffenheim central midfielder Tom Bischof (19) is another player about which transfer rumours have circulated.

Chelsea’s attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku has also been in the news as an option and would also be a strong left-sided player, but the €50m-rated player would only be a loanee at this time.

Central midfielder Enzo Millot of VfB Stuttgart likewise has been rumoured to be another player on the wish list but also has an expected price tag in the region of €50m.

There has been transfer interest in Dortmund players from elsewhere, including Karim Adeyemi, who has had an outstanding season, and England U21 international Jamie Gittens.

Donyell Malen is also a player who has been rumoured to be interested in a move that could bring in additional funding, allowing the club to reinforce their own side.

The most likely move at this stage, however, appears to be 1 FC Heidenheim’s move for BVB’s second-team goalkeeper Marcel Lotka which could be imminent.

BVB have qualified for the Champions League in all but one of the last 14 seasons. The 24/25 season is one of the most competitive with the surprise packages Eintracht Frankfurt and Mainz 05  among the Bundesliga’s Champions League contenders. VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern are in the mix as usual.

An improved away performance based on a more robust defence and consistency is going to be needed if the Black and Yellows are going to live up to their potential.