Don't call it a comeback: Is Niklas Süle ready to replace Mats Hummels at Dortmund?

The former Bayern Munich star has been a notable disappointment since swapping red and blue for black and yellow. But now back to match fitness, Süle could be due a dramatic comeback at Dortmund.

There are few things in German football as tantalising as seeing Niklas Süle in full flight. Like those videos that appear every year of the unknown college linebacker that shows up to the NFL Scouting Combine and proceeds to break sprint records despite having the dimensions of a fridge freezer, there’s something unnatural but undoubtedly exciting about seeing the central defender hit top speed. To rejig an old Futurama quote from Zapp Brannigan describing an interstellar waffle house, the Borussia Dortmund defender may be built like a steakhouse, but when fit and in the mood he can handle like a bistro.

That, to the delight of fans of the Westfalenstadion side around the world, certainly seems to be the case this summer. Last season Süle was overweight, disinterested and largely encapsulated the make-it-up-as-we-go approach that Dortmund seemed to have under Edin Terzic. Which undoubtedly came to its conclusion when the defender was pictured ahead of the Champions League final with a notably expanded gut, showing little interest in actually being match fit for what could have been the biggest game of his career. The internet lit up, Dortmund fans were enraged and reports in Germany stated that the player was severely reprimanded. If Süle ever wanted to play for Dortmund again, he’d have to get back into shape. So that’s exactly what he did. 

According to Bild, the defender spent the off-season on holiday with a fitness trainer and lost eight kilograms before returning to team training at Dortmund. Considering the size of him, one would imagine that entailed some Rocky IV style workouts that involved bench pressing horse-drawn carriages, chopping down trees in the arctic snow and running through the woods of northern Russia. The 28-year-old star even dyed his hair blonde, perhaps as a late homage to Marco Reus’ departure from the club. He looks like a new man. "It was a statement from Niklas to come back like that,” said sporting director Sebastian Kehl on the club’s pre-season tour in Bangkok. “He has shown that he is ready, that he wants to perform here and fight for his place." If this was a classic Hollywood movie about the great redemption arc, we would be on the cusp of the third act and about to see whether all the hard work was worth it.