In the midst of the promotion battle, ASC 09 Dortmund is suddenly facing the threat of unrest. Three key players are being targeted by other clubs.

24 games, 50 points – ASC Dortmund is well on course for the Regionalliga West. But in Aplerbeck, they are also aware of how close the four-way battle at the top of the table is.

“SV Lippstadt 08 and Westfalia Rhynern still have games in hand. But they have to win them first. We are happy that we are on track and – except for Easter and the district cup – no longer have any midweek games,” says Dennis Hübner, who wants to submit the license application for the Regionalliga West by March 31.

March is a busy month for the ASC’s sporting director. Together with Magnus Niemöller, who will take over as coach on July 1, Hübner is also pushing ahead with squad planning.

“It’s an exciting month. We are talking to our players, but also to external candidates. The talks are ongoing regardless of the league,” emphasizes Hübner.

The players currently being talked to include 26-year-old midfielder Lars Warschewski (26 games, eight goals, three assists), center back Keanu Diskau (22, 1, 1), and striker Maximilian Podehl. The decision has already been made regarding Warschewski. “Lars will be leaving us. As he has informed us, he will be moving to Regionalliga West,” reveals Hübner. A move to former ASC coach Marco Stiepermann, who will take over Westfalia Rhynern in the summer, therefore seems rather unlikely. Nevertheless, Hammer have apparently not completely written off the midfielder.

Rhynern’s current coach and sporting director David Schmidt told “wa.de”: “The whole league agrees that Lars is an exceptional footballer. It would be nice if we could reach an agreement with him, but we can’t report any progress yet. So far, there have only been loose talks.”

Diskau is also on the radar of several clubs. “Keanu also has offers from higher-ranked clubs. We are also looking at him. But it’s still unclear which direction things will go,” said Schmidt. And then there’s Podehl. The 28-year-old has already scored 22 goals for ASC this season. “Of course, it’s not just his extreme goal-scoring rate that has caught our attention,” said Schmidt. “But we don’t want to become ASC 2.0, so we’re not just looking at players from Aplerbeck.” Hübner is also hoping for this – especially in Podehl’s case. The striker has scored an impressive 198 goals for ASC in 270 games. “He’s an institution at ASC. I can’t imagine him playing for another Oberliga club,” says Hübner.