Dortmund's Struggle to Retain Guirassy as Transfer Market Closes

Borussia Dortmund’s summer is being shaped not on the pitch, but across negotiating tables and behind closed doors. At the centre of it all: Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi – two forwards, two contract sagas, one tight transfer budget.

Sporting director Ole Book and managing director Lars Ricken have already sat down with Guirassy, laying out their transfer plans and making their pitch for him to stay. They know exactly what is at stake. The 30‑year‑old’s contract runs until 2028, yet an exit clause – reportedly around €35 million for selected top clubs – hangs over every conversation.

Guirassy has not hidden the fact he is weighing up a move. His name has been floated around Europe for months, with recent reports tying him to Fenerbahce Istanbul. Presidential candidate Aziz Yildirim is even said to have agreed a transfer with the former VfB Stuttgart striker, contingent on him winning this weekend’s 6–7 June election. Politics, power and a prolific striker: Guirassy sits at the crossroads.

Book will not pretend everything is under control. He stopped short of any public guarantee that Guirassy will remain in black and yellow. His message was clear instead: “His goals make him incredibly important, so our stance is clear: we do not want to lose him. But if an exceptional offer arrives, we will consider it.”

That is the reality at Dortmund right now. Ambition meets arithmetic.

A squad rebuild funded by departures

BVB’s transfer strategy this summer is brutally simple: sell smart to buy smart. The club is heavily reliant on outgoing deals to finance new arrivals, especially another attacker who could either complement Guirassy or replace him if the release clause is triggered.

The cash register has already started ticking. Joane Gadou has gone for €19.5 million, Kaua Prates for €7 million and Justin Lerma for €4 million. Useful income, but not enough to reshape a forward line on its own. Someone bigger may have to go.

That is where Karim Adeyemi comes in.

The 24‑year‑old’s contract runs until 2027, but without an extension, this summer becomes a critical decision point. Sell now and Dortmund can still command a fee. Wait too long and the risk of losing him on a free grows with every month. From a purely economic standpoint, a sale in the coming window starts to look more likely if no breakthrough arrives in talks.

Negotiations have not been smooth. Reports suggest discussions have stalled over salary demands and the structure of a possible release clause. Adeyemi, speaking to WAZ, pushed back against that narrative. “I have spoken out in support of Borussia Dortmund on many occasions and have always emphasised what I value about this club and how passionate I am about it,” he said.

Then came the line that really matters: “Above all, it is important to me to receive a clear signal from the club – regardless of which way the decision ultimately goes.”

The ball, in his view, is now in Dortmund’s court.

No Sancho return, no clear creator – yet

One key question lingers over all these moving parts: if Guirassy stays, who will supply him? The current report stops short of naming the potential creator-in-chief who could feed the striker even more chances.

In recent weeks, the obvious name kept resurfacing – Jadon Sancho. A second reunion had been heavily rumoured, the kind of romantic move that excites a fanbase and solves a tactical problem in one swoop. But the mood music has changed. According to consistent media reports, a fresh Sancho deal is now virtually off the table.

So Dortmund find themselves in a delicate spot. They want to keep their most reliable finisher. They need to unlock funds for reinforcements. They have to decide what to do with a talented winger whose contract clock is ticking. And the marquee creative signing who might have tied it all together appears to be out of reach.

Guirassy’s numbers underline the dilemma

Strip away the noise and the figures explain why this is such a fraught debate. Guirassy has scored 60 goals and delivered 15 assists in 96 appearances for BVB. Last season alone, he hit 22 league goals, finishing as Dortmund’s top scorer.

Those are not the numbers of a player you casually cash in on. They are the numbers of a striker you build around.

Dortmund’s hierarchy know that every conversation about their summer – every sale, every stalled negotiation, every rumour from Istanbul – ultimately feeds back into a single, hard question: can they afford to lose the man who guarantees them goals, just to afford the rest of the rebuild?