Hummels and Kramer lament BVB’s midfield issues and lack of world class talent

Hummels and Kramer believe Dortmund lack midfield quality and talismanic presence in their ranks.

Prior to Borussia Dortmund’s 4-0 victory over Villarreal CF, the Westphalian club’s former star Mats Hummels was critical of the BVB midfield setup.

“[It is] a bit diffuse, I would almost say, because they are such different types of players. “With the substitutions and rotation, you get different types of players who offer themselves differently.

“Sometimes you have a defensive midfielder who drops deep, other times you have central midfielders who play between the lines.

“Your game changes, you have to adjust to it every time. There are high-quality players in Dortmund’s midfield, but too many different profiles in my opinion,” he told Prime Video.

Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner and ex-Gladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer also highlighted glaring issues and underlined the lack of game-changers in Niko Kovač’s squad. 

“When you play in this 3-4-3 system, defensive midfielders have the task of staying very positionally loyal. Pascal Groß is by nature someone who drops back a lot, Sabitzer too. 

“But you really need defensive midfielders who mark their man in defense and hold their position in attack, and that’s why Felix Nmecha is, by systemic nature, the ‘go-to guy’.”

“For years they had two world-class players in Mats and Reus, plus another world-class player in Sancho, Dembele, Haaland or Bellingham. So, three world-class players on the pitch.

“You don’t have that anymore. BVB currently has someone in Schlotterbeck who is on his way to becoming world-class. But otherwise, instead of three world-class players, you don’t have a single one,” Kramer added.