Pascal Groß is leaving the Premier League after seven years and is expanding the national team contingent at BVB. Only two Germans have played more often in England’s top flight.
After seven years in the Premier League, back in the Bundesliga: Pascal Groß. IMAGO/Mika Volkmann
Borussia Dortmund was represented in the German European Championship squad with a trio, and two other members of the squad will also wear the BVB jersey in the future: After signing Waldemar Anton (VfB Stuttgart), the Champions League finalist also completed the transfer of Pascal Groß. The 33-year-old central midfielder, which Eintracht Frankfurt tried in vaincomes from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and receives a contract until 2026.
“Pascal has developed into an absolute top performer in recent years. He will make us more stable and flexible, help us with his experience and have a very positive influence as a leader,” managing director Lars Ricken is quoted as saying in the official club statement. “For me, this move is simply a huge deal, because I have been a Dortmund fan since I was a little boy,” the new signing himself said happily.
More history about Borussia Dortmund
BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl emphasized the midfield all-rounder’s “calmness on the ball, outstanding passing and positioning, and versatility.” “But Pascal is also a sly fox and poses a direct and indirect goal threat in many areas. We are convinced that he will enrich our game and strengthen us with his will to win and his personality.”
After relegation with FC Ingolstadt, for whom he made 65 of his 70 Bundesliga appearances to date, Groß moved to Brighton, who had just been promoted to the Premier League, in the summer of 2017 and has been under various coaches in recent years, all of whom valued his game intelligence, reliability and flexibility. With Robert Huth (322) and Dietmar Hamann (268), only two Germans have made more Premier League appearances than Groß, who has made 228 appearances (30 goals, 45 assists).
DFB debut under Flick
The Mannheim native took his first steps in professional football, including his Bundesliga debut, at TSG Hoffenheim before moving to Karlsruher SC in 2011 and then to FCI in 2012, with whom he was promoted to the first division in 2015.
He made his debut for the senior national team last September in the last international match of the Hansi Flick era (1:4 against Japan). He has now made eight DFB appearances – most recently as a substitute in the opening match of the EURO, in which he otherwise had no chance. At BVB he will meet Anton as well as his national team colleagues Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can and Niclas Füllkrug.
