Serhou Guirassy's Future at Borussia Dortmund: Seeking a New Challenge

Serhou Guirassy is edging towards the exit at Borussia Dortmund. Not because of the city, not because of the coach as a person – but because of the football.

According to Sky Sport, the 30-year-old striker has decided he wants out this summer. The relationship with Niko Kovac is said to be good, the chemistry fine. The problem lies on the pitch. Guirassy is reportedly unhappy with BVB’s style under the new coach and, at this stage of his career, is pushing for a new challenge.

He has the numbers to back up that ambition. Since arriving from VfB Stuttgart in 2024, the Guinean international has scored 21 goals and added six assists in 45 appearances for Dortmund. Those are the figures of a forward in his prime, not one looking for a safe harbour.

On paper, his situation looks straightforward. A €40 million release clause. Seven top clubs, including Real Madrid and Manchester City, able to trigger it. Yet none of them has moved. The clause sits untouched.

Instead, the real interest is coming from just below that absolute elite tier. AC Milan, Fenerbahce and Tottenham Hotspur are all tracking Guirassy, but their route is more complicated. They cannot simply press the button on the clause; they would need to sit down with Dortmund and negotiate a fee, because his contract runs until 2028.

Inside the club, there is no sense of resignation. Quite the opposite. The hierarchy are impressed by Guirassy’s qualities and fully aware of how hard – and how expensive – it would be to find a like-for-like replacement in the current market. So the charm offensive has begun.

Sporting director Ole Book has already met with the striker. Club legend and current executive Lars Ricken is expected to join the next round of talks, as is Kovac. The message is clear: stay, be the focal point, help shape this team rather than walk away from it.

Whether that will be enough is another question entirely.

Ramaj Loses His Place – And Faces an Unclear Future

While Guirassy wrestles with a decision at the top end of the pitch, another Dortmund player is dealing with a very different reality at the other end.

Until last weekend, Diant Ramaj was 1. FC Heidenheim’s first-choice goalkeeper. Then came the trip to Cologne. A 3-1 win for Heidenheim, a vital result in their fight against relegation – and a new man in goal.

Frank Feller, not the BVB loanee, stood between the posts.

Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt laid out his reasoning before kick-off. Feller, he explained, had actually started pre-season as the club’s potential number one, only to suffer an injury that sidelined him for months. His recent training form has been “top-class”, and with Heidenheim desperate for points away from home, Schmidt decided to reward that level.

“We haven't won many away games, but we have to win today. We're rewarding him for his performances, and maybe he'll bring us a bit of luck too,” Schmidt said.

Ramaj, 24, did not react with surprise. He admitted he had “expected” the demotion and pointed to the blunt honesty that defines Schmidt’s management. The coach backed that up, describing a culture where nothing is sugar-coated and criticism is delivered straight, in the name of team spirit. That approach has kept Heidenheim believing they can still escape the drop after the win in Cologne.

The goalkeeper now looks set for the bench again in Saturday’s season finale against Mainz 05. Once his loan ends in the summer, he will return to Dortmund, who signed him from Ajax in February 2025 on a deal running until 2029.

What awaits him there is far from clear. WAZ has reported that the Bundesliga runners-up are also considering selling Ramaj, a sign of how fluid the goalkeeping picture at the club has become. For a player who once looked like a long-term project, the path suddenly looks crowded and uncertain.

Dortmund’s Next Generation Chases a Trophy

While the senior squad wrestles with transfer dilemmas and squad planning, Dortmund’s future steps onto a different kind of stage on Tuesday night.

A combined U19/U23 side will contest the final of the Premier League International Cup against a Real Madrid selection at 8 pm, with a chance to lift silverware at the end of a long youth campaign.

The competition stretches over several months and pits England’s top U21 teams against leading international academies. Dortmund’s youngsters have handled that test with authority. In the group phase across December and January, they beat Leeds United, West Ham United and AFC Sunderland, progressing despite a defeat to Manchester United.

The knockout rounds have been equally demanding. Dortmund eliminated Everton in the quarter-finals, then knocked out Real Sociedad in the semi-finals at the end of April. Now comes Real Madrid, a name that still sharpens focus at any level.

“Real are a typical Spanish side who have a lot of possession, play dominantly and press high up the pitch,” said U19 coach Felix Hirschnagl as he looked ahead to the final. U23 coach Daniel Rios made it clear Dortmund will not retreat into a shell for the occasion. “We're not going to change our approach now and become significantly more defensive. We are convinced that our style of play—both with and without the ball—gives us the best chance to beat a very strong opponent.”

The squad for the final underlines how closely the academy now feeds into the first team. Filippo Mane and Almugera Kabar are involved, as is 16-year-old Mathis Albert, who made his Bundesliga debut in the 4-0 win over Freiburg at the end of April.

As Guirassy weighs his options and Ramaj waits for clarity, Dortmund’s youngsters step into a final against Real Madrid with a different kind of decision to make: not where to play next season, but how boldly they want to announce themselves to the wider game.