Stalemate over a contract extension for Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl

Ruhr Nachrichten reports that there is a stalemate over a contract extension for Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl. 

The former midfielder’s current deal at the club expires in 2025 but away from initial talks no concrete steps have yet been taken to try and extend his contract. The reason is there has yet to be a right time to discuss an extension. Kehl as well as Director of Sport Lars Ricken have said to have set other priorities as Dortmund endure their worst start to a Bundesliga season in over 10 years. 

This has been said to have caused irritation for Kehl as he wants to define his role at the club. Kehl has a good reputation when it comes to his dealings as a sporting director such as his negotiating. 

However, this lack of talks will play into the hands of Dortmund and they can make a decision on whether they wish to get rid of Kehl. Over the past few months, the 44-year-old is said to have had a dispute with Sven Mislintat, he regularly butted heads with Edin Terzic when it came to transfer policy and overall, Dortmund have fallen behind their rivals when it comes to matters on and off the pitch. 

A strong sporting director can drastically improve a club, with the example of Eintracht Frankfurt and Markus Krösche or Simon Rolfes at Bayer Leverkusen. Krösche has built Frankfurt into one of the best teams in Europe at developing young players, even overtaking Dortmund in that field. It can also be argued that Frankfurt’s transfer dealings have been drastically better than Dortmund’s over the past few seasons. At the same time, Leverkusen’s recent success speaks for itself. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan