‘It annoys me because he is so good – his development has been insane’: Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke names Joshua Kimmich as the star he’d most like to sign from Bayern… but admits it’s ‘pure fantasy’
- Borussia Dortmund have seen many stars opt for a move to rivals Bayern Munich
- A move to Dortmund from Bundesliga giants Bayern is much less common
- Hans-Joachim Watzke has spoken about Dortmund’s relationship with Bayern
- Dortmund host their Bundesliga title rivals Bayern this Saturday at 5:30pm
Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has singled out Joshua Kimmich as the one player he would love to sign from Bayern Munich as he hailed the midfielder ahead of the huge Bundesliga clash this weekend.
Dortmund host Bundesliga rivals Bayern this Saturday at 5:30pm in a crunch clash that could set the tone for the title race – with both sides currently sitting level at the top with 15 points from six matches.
Dortmund are desperate to step out of Bayern’s shadows once again in Germany, with the Bavarian outfit having won eight consecutive league titles.
Joshua Kimmich’s development has been labelled as ‘insane’ by Hans-Joachim Watzke
The Borussia Dortmund CEO named Kimmich as the player he’d most like to sign from Bayern
Dortmund have been hamstrung by Bayern poaching many of their star players down the years thanks to their massive financial power, including the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze and Mats Hummels – who started off in Munich – despite the latter two eventually returning to the Westfalenstadion.
Lucien Favre’s side have been rightly praised for their recruitment in recent times, signing Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham and Co, but making a move for a Bayern player in their prime is still too far-fetched – according to Watzke.
‘That is pure fantasy, even from a purely economic point of view,’ Dortmund’s chief executive told Sport Bild when asked which Bayern player he would most like to sign.
‘But who I like the most over the last few years is Joshua Kimmich.
‘It always annoys me because he is just so good and he always scores against us. And the way he does it… it’s amazing – his development has been insane. The boy really impresses me.’
Robert Lewandowski hasn’t looked back since his move from Dortmund to Bayern in 2014
Mats Hummels has fluctuated between the two Bundesliga giants’ down the years
Ahead of this weekend’s eagerly-anticipated encounter, Watzke’s Bayern counterpart Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes that his club have made mistakes in the way they have gone about their transfer business in the past.
However, Rummenigge added that that the relationship between the two Bundesliga juggernauts has improved down the years.
‘We have now developed such a weather-resistant relationship that we would speak to each other beforehand,’ Rummenigge admitted to Sport Bild.
‘We had the case of Mats Hummels, who came back to Munich but is now playing for Dortmund again.
‘We solved this in a serious manner, among men. The way we got Mario Gotze in 2013 caused great criticism from BVB at the time. In retrospect, we understand that.’
Gotze’s move to Bayern in 2013 was a difficult one for Dortmund fans to get over – he had spent eight years in their academy before making his debut as a 17-year-old prior to playing an integral role in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 title-winning campaigns at the Westfalenstadion.
Meanwhille, Lewandowski has gone onto become one of the best players in world football after moving from Dortmund to Munich in 2014.
Mario Gotze’s departure to Bayern was an emotional one for Dortmund fans to get over
The Poland international has scored a remarkable 258 goals and created 61 assists in just 299 appearances for Bayern while winning six Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and three German Cups.
Dortmund will be desperate the trend of big-name players moving to their biggest rivals doesn’t continue going forward.
One player they will be eager to keep at all costs will be Haaland, with the club facing a battle to keep their star player on their books next year.
But Watzke recently admitted he is optimistic of Haaland – who certainly isn’t short of suitors – agreeing a new contract at Dortmund.
‘It is about convincing the player of your club and your plans. We really want Erling to stay with us longer and we want to convince him and his agent of this,’ he told Bild.
‘I am quite optimistic. I think Erling is comfortable at BVB. We can definitively say that he took the right step last winter by signing for our club.
‘I would consider it a mistake if he moved on after such a short amount of time.’
Dortmund will be desperate to keep hold of star players going forward, like Erling Haaland