Was about to ask how he had been doing this season? I guess not that well.
It's actually not as bad as the numbers suggest imho. I think he's been doing what he's supposed to do (being a passing outlet in tight spaces) pretty well and very consistently, what's mostly been missing thus far are moments of individual brilliance though.
Dortmund usually set up in a asymmetrical 4141/4231 hybrid with two attack minded midfielders in front of Weigl. Götze's problems are that he's really more of a no10 than a no8, something which is also true for Kagawa and Castro and leads to Guerreiro apparently being a safe starter when he's fit, because he's the only one who interprets the role in a aggressive and dynamic way and as a result there is one slot for the remaining three players.
Yesterday Tuchel changed to sort of an asymmetrical 352/4141 though (adding Durm as sort of a RWB), something he already did last season to add more bite against the ball. Now the problem for Götze with this is that it's very likely his role that's being sacrificed for Durm, since the R"CM" has to operate in the right half space and on the wing in attack, so naturally Dembele takes that spot.
Dortmund officially sign Toprak (for the summer). As a Dortmund-sympathizer I can't say I like this transfer. Toprak is pretty mediocre.
The thing is that the CB position has been (one of) Dortmund's biggest problems this season.
Bartra is missing consistency, he's not reliable enough to be a certain starter, Bender has his usual injury problems and Ginter imho seems to lack the talent to be a top CB.
So signing Toprak is a decent first step for Dortmund, because at the very least he should be an upgrade to 3 of their 4 CBs and since the fee they have to pay is relatively low they should still have the option to sign another CB shoould a good opportunity present itself.
Tbh I think their entire defense needs an overhaul this summer.
If i was Zorc, I'd look for a BPD in addition to Toprak, an attack minded LB (since Guerreiro should be considered a CM now) and a new RB (age seems to have caught up with Piszczek). And while he's at it maybe a talent as a back up for Guerreiro, since their reliance on him seems a bit unhealthy.
