From 1 January, professional footballers whose contracts expire in the summer are allowed to negotiate with other clubs. This is the situation at Borussia Dortmund, VfL Bochum and Schalke 04.
The new year has begun – and with it the winter transfer period. Until the end of the month, clubs can reduce their squads or strengthen themselves for the second half of the season.
But 1 January is also a deadline for planning beyond the current season. From now on, players who are only tied to their clubs until the summer can officially negotiate with other clubs and sign contracts.
This also marks the beginning of a hot phase for the Revier-Bundesliga clubs Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke 04 and VfL Bochum. Those in charge of the clubs must consider, if they have not already done so, which players can leave, which players they want to keep and under what conditions agreements could be reached. And since other clubs could intervene at any time, time is not an insignificant factor.
Borussia Dortmund
At BVB in particular, important decisions have to be made. Eight professionals are entering their final months of contract, including five regular players. The poker with youngster Youssoufa Moukoko has been dragging on for months, so far the parties are far from an agreement.
In addition, the future of Marco Reus and Mats Hummels is still open. The captains are deserving players, identification figures and sporting top performers this season. According to WAZ, BVB wants to start talks with the veterans soon.
In addition, the contracts of Raphael Guerreiro, Mahmoud Dahoud, Anthony Modeste, Felix Passlack and Luca Unbehaun end in the summer.
VfL Bochum
At VfL Bochum, one person in particular is in focus: Anthony Losilla. The captain has been playing at Castroper Straße since 2014 and is the longest-serving professional in the squad. He made the leap to the Bundesliga without any problems at a high footballing age, and this season the Frenchman is also a permanent player and an important pillar in central midfield.
Losilla will turn 37 in March. Those in charge will have to weigh up whether they trust him to play another season at the highest level. Even if not, it is likely that Losilla will extend his contract. He would like to add another year and stay at the club after his career ends. It’s hard to imagine that VfL won’t grant the fan favourite’s wish – even if he could then probably take a seat on the bench more often.
In addition, the contracts of Konstantinos Stafylidis, Silvere Ganvoula, Vasilios Lampropoulos, Tarsis Bonga and Mohammed Tolba expire in the summer. In addition, the loan players Ivan Ordets, Keven Schlotterbeck, Dominique Heintz, Saidy Janko and Marko Johansson will join the club.
FC Schalke 04
Will FC Schalke 04 have their third mega-turnaround in a row this summer? That will probably depend first and foremost on whether the Königsblauen can still avert the threat of relegation or have to return to the 2nd Bundesliga. Should Schalke stay in the league, the expiring loan of Tom Krauß would be converted into a permanent transfer. If that does not work, the midfield talent would have to return to RB Leipzig.
The question: What are S04’s plans for Simon Terodde and Dominick Drexler? Do the currently still-seeded veterans want another change in the autumn of their careers? And does Schalke even want to rely on the then 35 and 33-year-old professionals next season? The league affiliation will probably not be an insignificant factor in these decisions either.
It is already clear that Nassim Boujellab and Timotheé Kolodziejczak have no future in Gelsenkirchen. They no longer play a role and are expected to leave the club in the near future at best, rather than in the summer.
In addition, the contracts of Marcin Kaminski, Maya Yoshida (option for another year) and Michael Langer end in the summer. In addition, there are the loan players Sepp van den Berg and Alex Kral.