In the past few weeks, there has been an increase in rumours surrounding Bayern and their interest in Dortmund defender Schlotterbeck. Coincidentally, Bayern play die Schwarzgelben this Saturday in the Der Klassiker. 

When asked about the interest from the Rekordmeister, Schlotterbeck said: 

“I can’t say anything about that”

This has inevitably been blown out of proportion, and this now means that the 25-year-old is set to join Bayern next summer.

While this statement could be used as a continued bargaining position from the defender to help get his demands. The defender’s contract at the Signal Iduna Park expires in 2027, and die Schwarzgelben have already made their first offer. 

Dortmund’s priority is to extend the 25-year-old’s contract as they see him as a future captain of the club and a leader of the defence. 

Dortmund’s contingency planning:

In the case that Schlotterbeck does leave the Westfalenstadion in the summer, then they have begun to look for potential replacements. One is Chelsea defender Axel Disasi, who played under Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac when the duo were at AS Monaco. The only problem is that Disasi is a right-footed defender, while Schlotterbeck favours his left.

GGFN | Jack Meenan

Defending has been a problem for Frankfurt in the early stages of the season, and it has been reported that they are interested in bringing in a central defender as well as a midfielder and striker in the winter window. 

Former 1.FC Köln defender Bisseck is said to be an option. Frankfurt had been interested in the 24-year-old before he moved to Inter in 2023. Die Adler have not lost contact with Bisseck and are now weighing up a move for him in the winter as the German has lost his place in the Inter 11. 

There have yet to be concrete talks over a move, and SGE are monitoring the situation before deciding to make a move for him in the winter. 

Frankfurt’s defensive problems:

Just before the international break, die Adler lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich. This means in their last four games in all competitions, they have conceded 16 goals, which is four goals per game. This type of defending is a lot closer to a relegation candidate than a team competing for European football. 

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There has been an onslaught of talk surrounding Wirtz following his slow start to his career at the Premier League champions following his €125m move from Bayer Leverkusen. 

Klopp on Liverpool’s summer signing:

Everyone continues to give their thoughts on the 22-year-old’s start to his time in England, from Julian Nagelsmann to Rudi Völler. Now, former Liverpool manager Klopp has weighed in on the current hot topic: 

“I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding. Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion. Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are discussed. I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: Nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine. (Wirtz is) a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again, as he did at Leverkusen. (He has) a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone’s worried—you don’t have to! You can stop.”

Wirtz’s slow Liverpool start:

The reason there is so much discussion surrounding Wirtz is because of the fact that he has yet to register a goal or an assist in the Premier League or Champions League. On top of Liverpool’s recent poor run of form, the 22-year-old has been used as a scapegoat for their problems, even though most of the Premier League champions’ problems are coming from other players in the team. 

Everyone familiar with Wirtz’s style of play knows that once it clicks, he will be fine. 

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The 24-year-old joined Frankfurt in January from Marseille for €26m as a replacement for Omar Marmoush, who joined Manchester City, but Wahi has failed to make an impact, only scoring once in the DFB Pokal earlier this season. 

There has been a turnaround in his recent performances, but a move in the winter cannot be ruled out.

Who else could leave Frankfurt? 

Wahi could not be the only departure in the winter. Michy Batshuyai is attracting interest from Turkey and Saudi Arabia, less than a year after joining. While Swiss defender Aurele Amenda is also a candidate to leave. 

Aurelio Buta and Mahmoud Dahoud will be able to leave Deutsche Bank Park when their contracts expire in the summer. While Mario Götze will have to take a pay cut if he wishes to stay at the club beyond the summer. 

Frankfurt’s winter plans:

The plan for Frankfurt heading into the winter window is to sign a defender, a midfielder, as well as a striker. 

Someone who could replace Wahi, if he were to leave in the winter, is Newcastle striker William Osula. Die Adler tried to sign the Dane right at the end of the summer window, but failed to reach an agreement with the Premier League side over a fee. Various reports have indicated that Frankfurt will try again in the winter. 

While in midfield, Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt is a candidate. 

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The striker’s previous clause was worth between €65-70m and was only a select number of clubs were able to activate it. Barcelona have previously been linked with a move for Guirassy as a replacement for former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski. 

However, it was never activated and expired, but Guirassy is said to have a similar clause in his contract that will be valid next summer. The expected price for the 29-year-old will be lower than the price of the previous clause.

Clubs from Saudi Arabia are not included in the clause, meaning if one of the clubs showed an interest in Guirassy, they would have to negotiate with Dortmund, and the Bundesliga side would likely demand a high fee for their talisman.

Dortmund’s best player: 

Since joining from Stuttgart in 2024 for €18m, Guirassy has been an immediate hit. In 44 games for die Schwarzgelben, the striker has 44 goals and 12 assists. At times, the Guienan is singlehandedly carrying Dortmund in games, and last season, he managed to win the Champions League top scorer award.  

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The 20-year-old joined Stuttgart in the summer for €3m, and the Spanish club inserted a buy-back option in the deal for Andres. 

The cost of the buy option initially is €13.5m and is valid next summer. In 2027, a year later, the price rises to around €20m and then a year later in 2028, it could rise once again. 

On whether he wishes to return to Madrid later in his career, Andres said: 

“Of course, Real Madrid is a dream for every player, and I hope to return one day.After all, everyone knows it’s the biggest club in world football. But I’m very happy in Germany and never imagined it would be so good there.”

Andres’ start in Stuttgart:

The midfielder has had an immediate impact at Stuttgart, putting increasing pressure on club captain Atakan Karazor when it comes to who partners Angelo Stiller in the heart of VfB’s midfield. 

Andres is not the only summer signing to hit the ground running for Stuttgart. Forward Bilal El Khannouss has also had an impactful start to his career at the MHP Arena, and VfB are already looking at trying to make his loan more permanent. 

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Talks between die Fohlen and the current Red Bull Salzburg sporting director have already taken place. Schröder is said to be very interested in the job and is open to moving to Borussia Park at such short notice. 

However, Gladbach will have to pay to release Schröder from his contract at the Austrian side, which is still valid until 2028. 

Rheinische Post reports that Schröder is not the only person the club are seriously considering as they look for their replacement for Roland Virkus. 

Schröder’s history with Gladbach:

Schröder was a candidate to replace Max Eberl at Gladbach back in 2022, but the move fell through. The 49-year-old has a wealth of experience in the Bundesliga, taking up the sporting director role at Werder Bremen, Mainz, Schalke and RB Leipzig, where he worked with Eberl before moving to the Red Bull club’s sister side in Austria. 

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It was previously reported that the 25-year-old wants a guaranteed salary of €10m per year, whilst also seeing Dortmund’s progression towards a title-winning team. While Bayern Munich and Real Madrid both monitor the centre-back’s situation. 

BVB’s first offer for their defensive leader was a contract until 2030 with a base salary of €8m, but that could increase with a successful season, as well as Bundesliga bonuses worth €1m. 

It is questionable whether these figures will be enough. However, die Schwarzgelben have not set a deadline for when Schlotterbeck must make a decision, and they intend not to put any pressure on him. 

Dortmund’s plans for Schlotterbeck:

Extending the contract of the central defender will be the main task of sporting director Sebastian Kehl. It has been made clear, repeatedly, that Schlotterbeck is set to be a big player for Dortmund’s future. The 25-year-old is expected to be made the face of the club going forward and will be made captain in the medium term, most likely replacing Emre Can. 

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Gladbach are still working on hiring a replacement for Roland Virkus before making a decision on the head coach. With die Fohlen still working on this, Polanski will be allowed to stay on as head coach until the November international break.

This means Polanski, who was originally not meant to be in charge for long, will be in charge of games against Union Berlin, Bayern Munich, Karlsruhe in the DFB Pokal, St.Pauli and then the Rhein derby against 1.FC Köln. The derby could be the game that decides the future of Polanski at Borussia Park. 

Gladbach’s tough start to the season:

Gladbach have struggled in the early stages of the Bundesliga season as they have yet to win a game and find themselves 17th in the table. Under Polanski, die Fohlen have drawn twice and lost once, but the 6-4 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was the most damaging and resulted in the resignation of Virkus. 

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The clause is worth €65m and must be activated by January 31st 2026, by the striker himself, which would then allow him to leave the Bundesliga champions the following summer. 

Bayern have no desire to try and buy out the clause, which could prove to be a financial burden. Instead, they will wait for the clause to expire before beginning talks with Kane to extend his contract beyond 2027, a new deal would not see an increase in his €24m a year salary. 

Could Kane leave Bayern in the summer?

Considering the Englishman’s recent comments about staying in Germany, it is unlikely that Kane will leave Bayern next summer as things stand. 

When asked about staying in Bavaria earlier this week, Kane said:

“If you had asked me when I first left to go to Bayern, I would have said for sure I would come back. Now I have been there a couple of years I would probably say that has gone down a little bit, but I wouldn’t say I would never go back.”

The 30-year-old is clearly enjoying life at the Rekordmeister, both on and off the pitch. He has started this season tremendously and has 18 goals and three assists in 10 games for the Bundesliga leaders this season. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan