Roland Virkus, here on October 22, 2023, was at the forefront of Borussia’s transformation in the past few months.
Copyright: IMAGO/Chai v Laage
The past transfer summer for those responsible for Borussia was anything but ordinary!
Borussia Mönchengladbach’s squad planning was already in full swing up until the training camp at Tegernsee when it suddenly became public that another top performer could imagine leaving Gladbach.
Gladbach: Player chats about transfer plan
Manager Roland Virkus (56) previously asked Florian Neuhaus (26) and Nico Elvedi (27) to announce promptly whether they would extend their contracts, which expire in 2024, in the long term. Neuhaus’ contract extension was announced at Tegernsee, but things initially went differently at Elvedi.
For him, until “deadline day” at the beginning of September, the signs were pointing to farewell – but a change to the Premier League was not finalized. The Swiss has now extended his contract until 2027 – and committed to Borussia.
Parallel to the impending Elvedi transfer, Borussia was also planning personnel for the central defender position. Who could replace the Swiss if he moves in the coming week?
Virkus acted quickly and signed Maximilian Wöber (25) on loan from Leeds United. But as has now become public, it was obviously not just the Austrian who was in the foal manager’s sights.
In an interview with the Italian journalist Gianluca di Marzio, a Brazilian confirmed thisthat Borussia was also interested in guiding him to the Lower Rhine: defender Marlon (28).
The 28-year-old currently plays for Fluminense in the Brazilian first division, but is actually under contract with Borussia’s former Champions League opponent Shakhtar Donetsk.
In the summer of 2021, the 1.82 meter man moved to the Ukrainian first division club. Now he is on loan for the second time as a result of the Ukraine war. In the previous season he played for Serie A club Monza, now back in his home country.
In the 2016/17 season, Marlon was even under contract with FC Barcelona when the Catalans and Borussia met in the Champions League group stage. The former junior international was used in the group game against Celtic (2-0) and was on the pitch together with Lionel Messi (36) and Neymar (31). He followed the Gladbach duels from the stands.
Marlon, here on August 7, 2017, was also under contract with FC Barcelona, among others.
Copyright: imago/AFLOSPORT
In conversation with di Marzio, Marlon explained that he had a few opportunities to stay in a top five league in the summer – but turned them down. Napoli and Lazio were interested. The French first division club OGC Nice even made an offer.
However, according to his own statement, it was more important for him to return home after recent turbulent years in Europe – five stops since 2017 – in order to prove himself for the national team: “I chose this path to get closer to my goal. Many may have thought that I did it to be close to my family and friends, but I want to wear the Selecao jersey.”
Due to the circumstances that another Marlon loan was very likely in the summer of 2023, he may have been an alternative to the Wöber signing. The loan option for the Austrian international arose due to his relegation with Leeds United.
Just six months after moving to the Premier League, the 25-year-old decided to move to the Bundesliga in order to best prepare for the upcoming European Championship in 2024.
He has long been the undisputed regular player in Gladbach and is well on his way to becoming a leading player at Borussia. The final transfer decision by those responsible for the foals was definitely a success with this personnel.
2023-10-26 10:38:18
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