Dortmund's Transfer Dilemma: Guirassy and Adeyemi Futures Uncertain

The meeting said everything about where Borussia Dortmund stand this summer. Sporting director Ole Book and managing director Lars Ricken Guirassy sitting down with their star striker, not to celebrate last season, but to convince him that the next one should still be in black and yellow.

They came with plans, with a sporting vision, with arguments. Above all, they came with urgency.

Because the numbers around Serhou Guirassy are as clear as his finishing. A contract to 2028. An exit clause of around €35 million – but only for selected top clubs. And a 30-year-old who has been openly weighing up a move for months.

The market has noticed. Fenerbahce Istanbul have already been dragged into the story, with presidential candidate Aziz Yildirim said to have an agreement in his pocket with the former VfB Stuttgart striker if he wins this weekend’s 6–7 June election. A campaign promise with goals attached.

Inside Dortmund, no one is pretending this is business as usual. Book has already stopped short of the classic summer guarantee.

“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,” he said.

That sentence captures the dilemma. Sporting necessity on one side. Financial reality on the other.

Guirassy’s output makes the sporting case overwhelming. Since arriving at BVB he has scored 60 goals and set up 15 more in 96 appearances. Last season alone he hit 22 league goals, finishing as Dortmund’s top scorer and the reference point of their attack. You do not simply replace that with a clever scouting report and a hopeful medical.

Yet Dortmund are again leaning hard on transfer revenue to reshape the squad. The sales are already stacking up: Joane Gadou for €19.5 million, Kaua Prates for €7 million, Justin Lerma for €4 million. Important sums, but not enough to fund a full attacking rebuild and the “another attacker” the club clearly want.

So every big decision is connected. And one name keeps circling back into the conversation: Karim Adeyemi.

At 24, with a contract running until 2027, Adeyemi sits right at the crossroads of sporting project and balance sheet. If he does not extend, this summer becomes the logical – and probably last – major opportunity for BVB to cash in before the risk of a free transfer looms into view.

Talks, though, are not smooth. Reports point to friction over salary demands and the wording of a potential release clause. Adeyemi has publicly pushed back on that version of events in an interview with WAZ, stressing his bond with the club.

“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.

The affection is clear. The certainty is not.

“Above all, it is important to me to receive a clear signal from the club – regardless of which way the decision ultimately goes,” he added.

That line cuts to the heart of Dortmund’s summer. Players are waiting for signals. The club is waiting for clarity on budgets. The coach is waiting to know who will actually be in his front line when the Bundesliga restarts.

The picture around Guirassy’s potential support cast underlines that uncertainty. Reports hint that BVB want to bring in a player who can create even more chances for their No. 9 if he stays, but the name remains under wraps. In recent weeks, the rumour mill spun hard around a third attempt to bring Jadon Sancho back. The idea was familiar, tempting, easy to sell to fans.

Yet that door has all but slammed shut. According to consistent media reports, another Sancho return is now virtually off the table. Dortmund will have to look elsewhere for the man to feed their finisher – assuming the finisher is still there.

So the club stand at a fork in the road. Keep Guirassy, find the funds to strengthen around him, and build a side that leans fully into his penalty-box ruthlessness? Or accept a big offer, flip the clause, and try to reinvent the attack on the fly with the proceeds – possibly accelerated by an Adeyemi sale?

For now, the only certainty is that the goals of last season are paying for the decisions of this one. And in Dortmund’s offices, every conversation with Guirassy and Adeyemi shapes what kind of team BVB will dare to be over the next few years.