Dortmund's Battle to Retain Guirassy Amid Transfer Uncertainty

Borussia Dortmund’s summer is being shaped not on the training pitch, but across meeting tables and in contract clauses.

Sporting director Ole Book and managing director Lars Ricken Guirassy have already sat down with the club’s star striker, laying out transfer plans and doing everything they can to convince him his future still lies in black and yellow. The message from the hierarchy is clear: Guirassy remains central to what comes next.

The problem? His contract says something different.

The 30-year-old’s deal runs until 2028, but contains an exit clause set at around €35 million for selected top clubs, according to consistent reports. For a forward of his output, that figure is tempting in a market where proven goalscorers are rare and often far more expensive.

Guirassy has not exactly hidden his curiosity about a new challenge. He has been openly contemplating a move for some time, and his name has already surfaced in one of the summer’s more eye-catching political-football subplots. In Turkey, Fenerbahce presidential candidate Aziz Yildirim is said to have agreed a transfer with the former VfB Stuttgart striker if he wins this weekend’s 6–7 June election. A boardroom vote in Istanbul could end up deciding the fate of Dortmund’s main source of goals.

Book, for his part, has stopped short of any grand promises. He knows the numbers. He knows the market.

“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. In one sentence, he summed up the tension at the heart of Dortmund’s summer: sporting ambition versus financial reality.

And that reality bites hard.

Dortmund are heavily reliant on transfer revenue to fund new signings, especially the search for another attacker. They have already cashed in on Joane Gadou (€19.5m), Kaua Prates (€7m) and Justin Lerma (€4m). Those sales are not the end of the story; they are the prelude. The squad still needs reshaping, and the market does not wait.

Karim Adeyemi's Situation

Karim Adeyemi sits right on that fault line.

If the 24-year-old does not extend his contract, which runs until 2027, a summer sale looks likely. This window is Dortmund’s last realistic chance to secure a significant fee before the risk of losing him on a free becomes very real. Every month that passes without a breakthrough raises the stakes.

Reports suggest talks have hit turbulence over salary demands and the wording of a potential release clause. Adeyemi, though, pushed back on that narrative in an interview with WAZ. “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 not in doubt.

Then came the line that matters most to the club’s decision-makers: “Above all, it is important to me to receive a clear signal from the club – regardless of which way the decision ultimately goes.” In other words, he wants clarity. So do Dortmund. So does the market watching from the outside.

While Adeyemi waits for that signal, another storyline has quietly faded.

There had been fresh rumours in recent weeks of yet another attempt to bring Jadon Sancho back. The idea was obvious: reunite Guirassy with a creative wide player capable of feeding him the kind of chances that turn good seasons into great ones. But according to consistent media reports, that move is now virtually off the table. The dream reunion appears to have run into the hard wall of finances and priorities.

So the question lingers: who will supply Guirassy if he stays? The report does not name a specific target, and that uncertainty only sharpens the focus on the club’s internal choices. Keep the goalscorer and build around him, or cash in and start again?

What cannot be disputed is Guirassy’s importance. Since arriving at BVB, he has scored 60 goals and provided 15 assists in 96 appearances. Last season he struck 22 times, finishing as Dortmund’s top scorer and often dragging the team through tight games almost by force of will.

Those numbers are exactly why Book and Ricken Guirassy are working so hard to keep him. They are also why a €35 million clause feels like both a shield and a trap.

One decisive phone call, one election result in Istanbul, one firm offer from a top club – that could redraw Dortmund’s attacking line in an instant.