After a total of five years at FC Bayern, Niklas Süle will move on to Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jürgen Kohler can understand the situation of the central defender, as the 1990 world champion also played for Munich and BVB during his active career. The 56-year-old sees the Süle change not only positively.
“From a sporting point of view, I find the change questionable. It’s more of a step backwards for me. He’s moving from the first club in Germany to the second,” said Kohler in an interview with “sports1“. At BVB, Süle should play a leading role in the coming years. However, Kohler is not sure whether this plan will really work out.
“You can say, tell and wish for everything: in the end, only the performance counts. He still has to prove that he can be a leading player,” said the former defender: “I’m very curious if and how he will take on this role from the summer. It will be important that he leaves the front – even if things aren’t going so well for BVB. I don’t know if he’s mentally strong enough for it.”
“He’ll probably earn more at BVB in the near future”
All in all, Kohler considers Süle’s free transfer to be a “good transfer”, although he sees a “certain risk”. “He’s already had two serious knee injuries. In my opinion, Niklas is not a world-class defender, there’s still a lot missing, especially consistency over a number of years. But if he stays healthy and stable, he’s definitely one of the top European players, but I don’t see him at the top there either,” the ex-national player explained his opinion.
Kohler rates the deal positively for Süle. “Niklas Süle wants a change of scenery because he doesn’t feel valued at Bayern. The overall package at BVB is obviously better for him personally and from a human point of view,” said the 56-year-old, adding: “He’ll probably earn more at BVB soon , than currently at Bayern. In addition, there is probably the earnest money, which you also have to add to your salary. Economically, that’s certainly good for him.”
Kohler knows both BVB and FC Bayern. The former defender played in Munich between 1989 and 1991 before appearing for Borussia from 1995 to 2002. Kohler won the Champions League with BVB in 1997 and is still considered a Dortmund club legend today.