The nine players Dortmund need to sell this summer

Niko Kovac's underperforming squad is full of players that simply aren't capable of guiding Dortmund back to the top four next season.

It may seem rather harsh to be taking a swing at Niko Kovac’s squad so soon after a relatively impressive 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in Saturday’s “Der Klassiker”. But while it’s certainly true that die Schwarzgelben put up a spirited fight in the second half at the Allianz Arena, it shouldn’t distract from the very stark reality that Dortmund remain six points off the top four, and have just five league games left to try and clinch Champions League football for next season.

In truth, it seems more than likely that Dortmund will have to contend with a season outside the bright lights and warm glow of Europe’s premier competition and unless Mainz or Freiburg suddenly implode in the coming weeks, Kovac & Co. may not even have the Europa League or Conference League to fall back on. As such, next season may not only be a quieter one for Dortmund but also one of deep reflection. And with time to think, hopefully then comes the means to act and the desire to fix the rut that the club currently finds itself in.

The problem with Dortmund this season

Fundamentally, the problem with Dortmund is that they’re just not very good at anything. While out-of-form teams or fallen giants are nothing new in football, the fundamental issue that continue to plague the Westfalen club in the Bundesliga is that they don’t score enough goals and concede far too many in return. In short: this squad isn’t good enough to be finishing in the top four. And as obvious as that may seem, that is far from a consensus that is shared among most Dortmund fans; even after what has been a disastrous league campaign.