The U23 of Borussia Dortmund has announced yet another new player. This will already be the 31 man in the BVB II squad for the 2023/2024 season.

A striker for the third division reserve of Bundesliga vice-champion Borussia Dortmund: Paul-Philipp Besong, who was last loaned to FC Erzgebirge Aue by 1. FC Nürnberg, returns to the Ruhr area.

The 22-year-old played for BVB’s youth team from 2009 to 2019 and then moved to Nürnberg. However, the striker was unable to establish himself at the “Club”. He was denied a second-league debut in the FCN jersey. He played in the Nuremberg reserve team. Here he hit the net eight times in 19 appearances in the Bavarian Regional League.

For the 2022/2023 season, Besong was then loaned out by Nuremberg to third-division club FC Erzgebirge Aue. In Aue, he played 34 competitive games (five goals, two assists). Now he is returning to Dortmund.

“Paul is known as a Dortmund boy and definitely wanted to play in Schwarzgelb again. We are sure that we will have a lot of fun with him,” says Ingo Preuß, sporting director of Dortmund’s second team.

The third league season starts on the first weekend in August (4 to 6 August). It is not yet known which team the BVB talents will face in the season opener. The German Football Association (DFB) plans to publish the match schedule for the 2023/24 season by 15 July.

BVB U23: Preparation dates at a glance

26 to 28 June: Testing at Ruhr University Bochum

29 June: Start of training

2 July: Test match at Lüner SV (time open, Westfalenliga)

8 July: Test match at ASC Dortmund (3 p.m., Oberliga Westfalen)

14 July: Test match at Mainz 05 II (2 p.m., Regionalliga Südwest)

15 to 22 July: Training camp in Kirchberg/Tyrol

29 July: Test match at Go Ahaed Eagles Deventer (2 p.m., Eredivisie)

4 to 6 August: Start of season 3rd league

The current squad 23/24 at a glance

Goal: Marcel Lotka, Tiago Estevao (SV Rödinghausen), Marian Kirsch (own U19), Silas Ostrzinski

Defence: Soumaila Coulibaly, Nnamdi Collins, Hendry Blank (all own U19), Antonios Papadopoulos, Bjarne Pudel, Mario Surver, Prince Aning, Guille Bueno, Tom Rothe, Lion Semic, Felix Omoruyi Irorere (Karlsruher SC), Patrick Göbel (FSV Zwickau)

Midfield: Abdoulaye Kamara, Maik Amedick (was loaned to SC Wiedenbrück), Franz Pfanne, Franz Roggow (FC St. Pauli), Dennis Lütke-Frie, Falko Michel, Rodney Elongo-Yombo, Michael Eberwein, Göktan Gürpüz

Attack: Jayden Braaf, Cyrill Akono, Moses Otuali, Ted Tattermusch, Justin Butler (FC Ingolstadt), Paul-Philipp Besong (1. FC Nürnberg)