Borussia Dortmund to Part Ways with Dan-Axel Zagadou This Summer

Borussia Dortmund’s incumbent Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl has confirmed in an interview with Ruhr Nachrichten that the club will not be extending Dan-Axel Zagadou, and that he will be free to pursue a contract with another club this summer. Zagadou was frequently a subject of contract discussions this season, but his injury history and inconsistent play by him have driven BVB to make the unfortunate decision to part ways with him.

Big Zag was always the player that “could have been.” He arrived at the young age of 18 and looked quite promising for many years, but he unfortunately never developed into a reliable starting center back. For three weeks, he could be completely lights out, but the next week he would commit a catastrophic error that would single-handedly tank the fanbase’s opinion of him. He’s had too many errors to count in games just against Bayern Munich, which have factored heavily into Dortmund’s long string of defeats against them.

Then there’s his injury history, which appears to be the ultimate reason for Dortmund’s decision to part ways. According to Transfermarkt, he’s missed 50 games for BVB just in the past two seasons. That’s simply too many, especially for a club so short at the center back position.

Despite these negatives, I will always have a soft spot for Big Zag. He seems like a chill and even funny guy in his off-pitch interviews, and his sheer size of him produced some comical images:

I absolutely wish him the best with whatever club laps him up, and hopefully he is able to get over his injury woes and build a successful career. He’s still only 22, so he’s still many years of his prime left to do so.