Serhou Guirassy's Borussia Dortmund Exit: What's Next?

Serhou Guirassy is edging towards the exit at Borussia Dortmund. Not because of the city, not because of the coach as a person, but because of the football.

According to Sky Sport, the 30-year-old striker has made up his mind to leave BVB this summer, disillusioned with Niko Kovac’s playing style despite enjoying a good relationship with the coach himself. At an age where every season counts, Guirassy wants something different. A new league, a new rhythm, a new stage.

A €40m clause, but the giants stay still

On paper, his situation looks simple. Guirassy has a €40 million release clause. Seven top clubs are said to be in a position to trigger it, including Real Madrid and Manchester City. None of them has moved.

Instead, the chase comes from just below that financial and political stratosphere. AC Milan, Fenerbahce and Tottenham Hotspur are circling, all interested, all needing to negotiate directly with Dortmund because they are not activating the clause. Guirassy is tied to BVB until 2028, so any deal that bypasses the clause will have to satisfy a club that knows exactly what it would be losing.

And it would be losing plenty. Since arriving from VfB Stuttgart in 2024, the Guinean international has produced 21 goals and six assists in 45 appearances. Those are not the numbers of a squad player. They are the numbers of a centre-forward you build around.

Dortmund fight to keep their No. 9

Inside the club, nobody is pretending this would be an easy departure to absorb. Sky reports that the hierarchy have not given up on keeping him. They admire his profile, understand his value to the dressing room and, just as crucially, recognise the cost and difficulty of finding someone of similar calibre in a market where every proven striker is priced at a premium.

Sporting director Ole Book has already sat down with Guirassy. Lars Ricken and Niko Kovac are expected to join the next round of talks as Dortmund launch a full-court press to change his mind. This is not a token gesture. It is a coordinated attempt to sell him a project he currently no longer believes in.

The question is whether tactical dissatisfaction can be talked away. Guirassy wants a style that suits him better. Dortmund want to convince him that style can evolve with him at the heart of it.

Ramaj loses his place – and maybe his Dortmund future

While Guirassy weighs up his options, another Dortmund player is dealing with a very different kind of uncertainty.

Until last weekend, Diant Ramaj was the undisputed No. 1 at 1. FC Heidenheim. Then came Cologne away. A 3-1 win for Heidenheim, but with Frank Feller, not the BVB loanee, in goal.

Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt laid out the reasoning before kick-off. Feller, he explained, had started pre-season as the likely first choice before a long injury lay-off. His training performances in recent weeks had been “top-class”, and with Heidenheim desperate for an away win, Schmidt chose to reward that form and, as he put it, maybe grab a bit of luck as well.

Ramaj saw it coming. He “expected” the decision, according to Schmidt, who stressed the club’s direct communication: no sugar-coating, no mixed messages, no players left guessing. It is a blunt culture, but one Schmidt believes underpins the team spirit that has given Heidenheim a real shot at avoiding relegation after that victory in Cologne.

Ramaj will almost certainly watch the season finale against Mainz 05 from the bench. Then he heads back to Dortmund when his loan ends this summer. BVB only signed the 24-year-old from Ajax Amsterdam in February 2025, handing him a contract through to 2029.

Yet his long-term place in Dortmund’s goalkeeping hierarchy is already in doubt. Regional outlet WAZ has reported that the Bundesliga runners-up are considering a sale. For a goalkeeper who has just lost his starting spot on loan, that is an uncomfortable backdrop.

Youth on the big stage

While the first team wrestles with transfer dilemmas and squad planning, Dortmund’s academy continues to push for trophies.

On Tuesday at 8 pm, a combined Borussia Dortmund U19/U23 side will play for the Premier League International Cup against a Real Madrid selection, a final that caps a months-long campaign against some of Europe’s most highly rated youth setups.

BVB’s youngsters navigated the December–January group phase with wins over Leeds United, West Ham United and AFC Sunderland, advancing despite a defeat to Manchester United. In the knockout rounds they eliminated Everton in the quarter-finals and Real Sociedad in the semi-finals at the end of April.

Now comes Real Madrid.

“Real are a typical Spanish side who have a lot of possession, play dominantly and press high up the pitch,” said U19 coach Felix Hirschnagl before the final. U23 coach Daniel Rios made it clear Dortmund will not retreat into a shell for the occasion. “We’re not going to change our approach now and become significantly more defensive. We are convinced that our style of play—both with and without the ball—gives us the best chance to beat a very strong opponent.”

The squad reflects the club’s ambition. Filippo Mane and Almugera Kabar are involved, as is 16-year-old Mathis Albert, who already has a Bundesliga debut to his name after featuring in the 4-0 win over Freiburg at the end of April.

So while the senior side risks losing its main striker and weighs up cashing in on a goalkeeper, Dortmund’s future lines up under the floodlights, chasing silverware against Real Madrid. The immediate question is whether Guirassy will still be around to lead the next phase. The deeper one is whether the club can align style, opportunity and ambition strongly enough that its best players, young and old, choose to stay.