Borussia Dortmund have signed Emre Can from Juventus FC, both clubs confirmed on Friday. The 26-year-old joins the Black and Yellows on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the 2019-2020 season.
Juventus confirmed that Dortmund will pay a loan fee of €1 million and will be obliged to definitively acquire the player for a consideration of €25m, to be paid in three financial years, if given sporting results will be achieved in the course of the 2019/2020 financial year.
Can, who signed a four-year deal, is looking to find more playing time in Dortmund ahead of the European Championship and has reportedly taken a pay cut to lower his base salary from €14m at Juventus to €8.5m at BVB, signalling an earnest desire to play for the Westphalians.
“With Emre Can, we get a German international, who can cover several positions in altering systems. He can play in the defence and in central midfield. He is a player that not only has great technical abilities and physical prowess but also has a will to win,” BVB-Sportdirektor Michael Zorc said via the official press release.
The player, who passed the medical in Dortmund on Friday, said: „I believe that this team has big potential and is able to win something. I’m convinced that I will be able to help in that endeavour. I want to hustle here, I always had sympathies for this club and can’t to play in front of the world-famous fans for the first time.”
The 1.84m (6ft) tall player arrives at the Westfalenstadion with the experience of 7 appearances for Bayern Munich, 39 for Bayer Leverkusen, 167 for FC Liverpool, 45 for Juventus and 25 for Germany but his minutes on the pitch have dried up more recently. In the 2019-2020 season, he has featured only 280 minutes in Serie A for the Bianconeri under Maurizio Sarri, including two starts.
Can, who was born in Frankfurt am Main, is a Swiss Army knife when it comes to the multitude of positions that he can cover. While he has mostly featured in central and defensive midfield for Juventus, he has also played in full-back and centre-back positions for Liverpool and Germany in the past.
Under Lucien Favre, he could be utilised as a right centre-back in a back-three formation instead of the error-prone centre-back Manuel Akanji but will also be a viable alternative for either Julain Brandt or Axel Witsel in the double pivot.
Dortmund fans are hopeful that Can’s work ethic will lift players like Achraf Hakimi or Raphael Guerreiro, who are prone to lose focus in a match, up.
