He was meant to be sold! Bundesliga club changes system for striker

He was meant to be sold! Bundesliga club changes system for striker "He knows his role in the team. Serhou Guirassy is our number one striker. He is the challenger." With these clear words, Niko Kovač made it plain at the press conference ahead of the season opener against Hamburger SV who is in charge in Dortmund's attack. But in football, two weeks can feel like an eternity. By now, the black-and-yellow world looks very different. Because Fabio Silva has now become so important that he could even prompt a system change at Dortmund. Guirassy himself also raved about his competitor. "Fabio Silva and I really enjoy playing together and we have a lot of fun in training. He is a great player," he said after the Champions League win against Villarreal to the microphone of 'Amazon Prime'. You can see what else the two say about each other here in the video. Coach Kovač was also full of praise after the win against the Spaniards. Fabio Silva repeatedly worked his way into clear-cut chances and rewarded himself for his effort. "You can see that we can play this system with two strikers just as well as with one striker. If we now add Fabio (Silva, editor's note) alongside Serhou (Guirassy, editor's note) too - and we will - then we really have something special," said the BVB coach happily. Few would probably have expected the Portuguese forward to be receiving this kind of praise right now. In the summer, there were rumors about a transfer because Silva had only rarely been able to meet expectations. According to 'Sky', the Bundesliga club would have been open to talks starting at a fee of 20 million euros. Both a loan and a sale were reportedly considered. Only a year ago, they had signed him from Wolves for 22.5 million euros. There were also said to have been offers, with clubs from Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal apparently interested. But the striker ultimately turned them down himself. Instead, he was said to want to establish himself with the black and yellows. In doing so, he may also have prevented a move by Jamie Leweling to Dortmund. Shortly before the end of the transfer window, those in charge were reportedly considering a deal, but only if Silva had been sold. As 'Sky' reports, Kovač in particular was seen as a major supporter of the transfer. Silva, meanwhile, did not let his coach's remarks about the striker situation get him down either. Instead of sulking, he put in extra shifts and made a strong case for himself as a super sub. In his first four competitive appearances, he has already recorded four goal contributions as a substitute (three goals, one assist) and noticeably energized the attack every time. The bosses are pleased with that. "It's a good feeling when you know you have a player like that sitting on the bench. That can make the difference," Lars Ricken said after the Champions League match. Ole Book also had nothing but praise for Silva's performances and gave him hope of more playing time: "If Fabio performs the way he has in the last few games, then of course he is underlining his ambitions for more minutes." That is seriously shaking up the old understanding of roles. Within just a few weeks, the former "challenger" has become an indispensable factor. Niko Kovač now has to fundamentally rethink the striker hierarchy he had at the start of the season. Because Silva has fought his way from backup to a true equal partner. And who knows, maybe the two will line up as a strike duo against Paderborn. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.