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Borussia Dortmund have signed Emre Can on loan from Juventus with the deal set to be made permanent in the summer.
Can, 26, joined Juve from Liverpool on a free transfer in 2018 but did not feature during the Champions League group stages this term. When hearing about his omission from the squad while with the Germany national team in late August, Can said he was “extremely shocked.”
He explained he only opted to remain at Juve “under the condition that I am part of the Champions League squad.”
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Although Can was regularly called up to the matchday squad in Serie A, he only made eight appearances for Juventus this season, with two as a starter. Looking for crucial playing time ahead of the 2020 European Championships, the versatile defensive player is now hoping that he can become a regular for Dortmund.
Dortmund waited until the departure of Julian Weigl to Benfica and Paco Alcacer to Villarreal had been completed before signing Can.
Can is set to replace Weigl, with the 24-year-old having mostly featured as a centre-back during the first half of the season.
Dortmund coach Lucien Favre changed his formation from 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-1-2 in late 2019. Can, who also played as a right-back at Liverpool, could play alongside Mats Hummels and one of Manuel Akanji and Dan-Axel Zagadou in a three-man defence or replace Akanji should Favre return to a four-man defence.
It is less likely that Can will be played in midfield where Belgium international Axel Witsel and Germany’s Julian Brandt have slowly grown into a force to be reckoned with.
Can returns to the Bundesliga for the first time since leaving Bayer Leverkusen in 2014.