Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel has defended his club over their recent exodus, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan being the latest player to leave the Bundesliga club.
The Armenian midfielder joined Manchester United on a four-year deal last week, leaving Dortmund fans agitated with the club over the constant exits.
Over the last few years, they have seen the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Mario Gotze and Mats Hummels leave for bigger fish in Bayern Munich. Ilkay Gundogan has also departed for Manchester City.
With this latest loss, Tuchel has insisted that Dortmund did everything they could to keep the players.
“A lot has happened. It feels a bit like a fresh start. Three extremely important players have left us,” Tuchel said in a news conference (via Four Four Two).
“We have lost three key men with the departure of Hummels, Gundogan and Mkhitaryan. They are three players of the highest level. We did everything within our powers to hold on to them. The offers were pushing our boundaries. We have to acknowledge that there are clubs higher in the food chain.
“The three players who have left have had an enormous influence on the team. They were examples for the others.
“I am no more disappointed about losing Mkhitaryan than about losing Mats and Ilkay. Of course, I was disappointed to see him go. I am a huge fan of Mkhitaryan. But I am looking forward to working with our new signings.”
It’s not all bad, though, with the club to replace their departed stars with promising young talent in Ousmane Dembele, Emre Mor and Mikel Merino. Tuchel is looking forward to the rebuilding process, and hopes that the risks can be rewarded.
“We have decided to go with talented youngsters. We are no longer thinking about what we had, but are focused on creating something new,” he said.
“We have to be creative and find solutions. It might be a risky path, but risks can get rewarded. All our new players are fully committed to BVB. We want to develop a team the fans can identify with.
“We want to challenge the big teams in the Champions League, fight for the Bundesliga title and win the DFB-Pokal.”
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