Union Berlin’s transfers: Ruhnert 90% satisfied – Gosens took advantage of “last chance”

Manager about expenses & risk

Sports managing director Oliver Ruhnert is generally happy with Union Berlin’s activities on the transfer market, although he does not believe that the optimum has been achieved. “I think the transfer period went quite well. We managed almost everything the way we wanted. But just almost everything. That’s why I’m 90 percent satisfied with the overall result,” explained the 51-year-old in an interview with “Sport Bild”. For him it’s not always just about signing new players.

A lot has happened with the “Irons” in this area in particular. With the two DFB experienced Robin Gosens and Kevin Volland, Lucas Tousart, Mikkel Kaufmann, Benedict Hollerbach, Alexander Schwolow, Alex Kral, Brenden Aaronson, David Datro Fofana and defensive icon Leonardo Bonucci, ten new faces joined the team, as well as defender Diogo Leite firmly committed after a previous loan. 32 million in expenses were offset by only 2.1 million euros in income for player departures. No Bundesliga team has such a transfer deficit as Union, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time.

“Of course, Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim and Leipzig made a lot of money through player sales. But when you see how much these clubs have invested, it’s a magnitude that we can’t handle. “We still strengthened ourselves as much as we could,” explained Ruhnert. However, as league leaders, RB has a transfer increase of 88.2 million euros, while Bayer 04 (-12.1 million euros), the “Wolves” (-400,000 euros) and Hoffenheim (-7.3 million euros) have more expenses as income. For many clubs, “not just those mentioned,” it is a “thorn in the side (…) when a club like Union is so successful and causes them such difficulties. That’s not their claim.”

The manager cannot answer whether the rapid development at Köpenick is progressing too quickly. One thing is clear: “We want to remain successful – that is the wish of many. This creates the risk that you will no longer be able to deal well with setbacks that will come. We must be aware of this danger.” Despite the “premier class” highlights against Real Madrid and Co., the Bundesliga is the core business. In terms of squad value, the FCU is in sixth place in the league with 192.5 million euros.

Gosens turned down Union Berlin and in the end agreed – Ruhnert put the pressure on

Gosens, one of the most well-known new signings and Union’s new record purchase since this summer, was presented on August 15th after the left-footer had only decided to say goodbye to Inter Milan after some hesitation. Ruhnert’s persistence also ensured that the 29-year-old ended up at the Alte Fösterei. “My wife is having our second child soon and we said that now is actually not the right time to move to a new city and look for a new home. “Especially since we (…) felt very comfortable in Bergamo,” Gosens revealed in an interview with “11 Freunde”.

At the same time, Inter signaled that it could accept the competition with Federico Dimarco. “It wasn’t a decision against Union, but rather for the family comfort zone,” the national player initially explained his rejection. During the preparation it became clear to him “that I would not get a fair chance to be the focus again. “As a result, I became increasingly dissatisfied,” says Gosens. “Meanwhile, Oliver Ruhnert kept asking me and signaling: You can still choose Union.”

After three weeks, two things came together. On the one hand, Inter made it clear to him that he was clearly falling behind Dimarco. “On the same day, Olli wrote that this was my last chance at Union. On the one hand, I had the feeling that I was being pushed towards the exit a bit, but on the other hand, the door was being pushed open because Union was really keen on me and I was keen on the club, the Bundesliga, Champions League and the capital. “It’s complicated in terms of the family, but we have to find a solution quickly,” explained Gosens. The Emmerich native managed three goals in his first four Union games.

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