You can talk about talent, tactics, the passing or finishing ability all you want, but neither of those will help the team if you haven’t got players who are prepared to run for 90 or more minutes. Borussia Dortmund have identified one of those tireless runners as their number one target – Koln’s Tunisian midfielder Ellyes Skhiri.Friday, 21.30: (2.50) Union Berlin (3.30) Koln (3.10)With the legendary big-haired playmaker Axel Witsel’s contract running out at the end of the season, Borussia Dortmund and their coach Marco Rose are working hard to bolster their midfield options in time. After scouting around Europe, they found a solution on their own doorstep. Well, less than 100 kilometres away, in the city of Cologne. Since arriving from French club Montpellier in 2019, Koln’s 26-year-old player Skhiri has gained the reputation as a midfield engine every team could use. He finished the 2020/21 Bundesliga season as the player with the most distance covered – a total of 396.23 kilometres in total. That’s eight kilometres more than the second-best in the list.🇹🇳 Borussia Dortmund are looking for a strong and aggressive number six and have set their sights on Ellyes Skhiri, a player with many qualities that Marco Rose likes. (🌗) | 🗞 @SkySportDE #BVB pic.twitter.com/Zh63Bd7REU— BVB Newsblog (@bvbnewsblog) March 28, 2022 Rose wants the French-born African, whose contract with the Billy Goats has just over a year to run. BVB are hoping to secure the midfielder at a cut price of around $15 million. However, they should move quickly because Bayer Leverkusen are also admirers of the 45-times capped Tunisia international.Earlier this year, Skhiri played in his second Africa Cup of Nations with Tunisia, having reached the semi-finals of the 2019 edition. He also played for his country in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and will likely be in the plane to Qatar later this year.
