Dortmund keep losing stars, still manage to challenge Bayern

Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic was visibly enjoying the atmosphere during the club's recent trip across the United States. The 40-year-old not only got a tan but also flashed his smile, which, for a while, had disappeared following Dortmund's heartbreaking loss to Mainz on the final matchday of last season.

That defeat at the Signal Iduna Park ultimately cost the club the Bundesliga title, as Bayern Munich scored a late goal against FC Cologne to win it the Meisterschale for the 11th time in a row. Everyone, from players to coaches to executives, needed time to digest the events of that fateful afternoon, when virtually the entire city was ready to celebrate a title win.

What came after the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign was another painful blow, albeit an expected one. Jude Bellingham, who was named Bundesliga player of the season, chose to go to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of roughly €103 million.

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"It's also part of our story," Terzic said to ESPN FC of Bellingham's exit. "So this summer, it's Jude. The year before that it was Erling Haaland, and before that it was Jadon Sancho, before that it was Christian Pulisic. So there've been many key players, especially young key players, playing some great football for us and with us. And we always dealt with [their departures] really well."

Dortmund's higher-ups, including sporting director Sebastian Kehl, had drawn up two plans: one for a scenario in which Bellingham would have stayed with the club for another year, and one for the departure of the star midfielder. The scenario that ultimately played out left Dortmund with plenty of cash in their pockets, but a seismic hole in their midfield.

Kehl and Terzic remained realistic and did not try to find "a new Bellingham," considering that the 20-year-old England international is a generational talent.

"As we did it in the past, it's not about one person taking now the spot and trying to be the copy-and-paste version of somebody who left," Terzic explained. "We are going to find our way, our balance to get, again, great players into this position."

As such, Dortmund split up that nine-figure transfer fee and invested it into multiple players.

The first crucial decision Kehl and Hans-Joachim Watzke, the chief executive who is usually involved in transfer activities, had to make was to choose between incumbent Emre Can and Edson Álvarez of Ajax.

Can played a stellar second half of the season, during which he showed leadership skills and the ability to serve as a disruptive holding midfielder, frequently cleaning house behind Bellingham and Julian Brandt. Alvarez, the 25-year-old Mexico international who is a ruthless and intense holding midfielder, seemed intrigued by a move to Dortmund, but the Bundesliga side did ultimately not engage in talks with Ajax over a transfer and, instead, extended Can's contract until 2026 and later picked him to be the new captain, succeeding Marco Reus.

Kehl and Terzic have put a lot of their eggs in one basket and that comes with a risk, as Can rarely played convincingly before January. The 29-year-old former Liverpool star can be erratic or overly aggressive in how he tries to defend the space in front of the back line. He picked up 11 yellow cards in 38 games across all competitions last season. Regardless of his shortcomings, Can will be the holding midfielder in Terzic's 4-3-3 system.

After shying away from Alvarez, Dortmund instead focused on reinforcing the transitional position between Can and playmaker Brandt.

First, Kehl and Watzke signed Felix Nmecha for a surprisingly high transfer fee of €30m from VfL Wolfsburg. Even internally, it was felt that Dortmund overpaid for the 22-year-old Manchester City academy graduate.

What Nmecha offers are decent technical skills and intensity both in defensive as well as attacking phases. He can easily be employed as a box-to-box-midfielder, similar to Bellingham, although no one would dare to compare the quality of the two. Nmecha has the potential to become a starter for Dortmund at some point and even play a significant role in the Germany national team, but he will likely never be considered one of the best midfielders in the world.

For now, Terzic views Nmecha as a role player who can add his qualities when necessary and opportune. The man who has been appointed first choice to play that transitional role in Dortmund's midfield is Marcel Sabitzer. The Austria international returned to Bayern Munich following a six-month loan stint at Manchester United, but Sabitzer did not see much of a future in Bavaria and even remarked that "there were things at Bayern that I did not like."