German center-back Mats Hummels has officially rejoined Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich following a three-year stint at the Allianz Arena from 2016 till 2019. Bayern Munich agreed to sell the big defender after he helped them to three Bundesliga titles, one DFB-Pokal and three Supercups in a £33 million transfer fee delivering a massive blow for to Premier League giants Manchester United.
Hummels initially had an eight-year stay at Dortmund where he helped the club to win back to back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp’s reign in 2011 and 2012 as well as the German Cup in 2012. Although the 30-year-old came through the youth ranks of Bayern Munich he joined Dortmund in 2008 on a loan deal and completed a permanent move to the club next season. Under Klopp’s guidance, Hummels went on to become one of the finest defenders in the world and the duo reached the finals of the Champions League with Dortmund. This earned him a place for the FIFA World Cup squad in the German national team which eventually went on the win the tournament in Brazil.
In 2016, Hummels signed a five-year contract with Bayern Munich and became one a key member of the team. But towards his final season at Munich, Hummels found his game time drastically reduced when Niko Kovac took charge of the Bundesliga champions. However, a move back to his former club Borussia Dortmund should create quite a controversy following the switch that he has made with the arch rivals Bayern Munich on two occasions. Hummels made a switch to the Westfalenstadion yesterday after Bayern agreed to a £34m bid which was tabled by Dortmund. A few months ago, Hummels was also informed by German national team coach Joachim Low that he would not be considering the defender in his plans for the foreseeable future for the country.
One club that is in dire need of a top quality central defender is Premier League side Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils endured a torrid season and finished sixth on the Premier League table which meant that they will be playing in the Europa League next season. But there is a massive rebuilding that needs to be done at Old Trafford because there is a big gap between the clubs at the top of the table and Manchester United.
The red half of Manchester is usually the club renowned for competing for major honors and silverware but has been struggling to live up to that reputation for quite a while now. United was dealt another blow with Hummels joining Borussia Dortmund as he would have been a great addition to their defensive ranks at Old Trafford.
Known for his aerial strength, powerful tackling, ability to read the game and passing, Hummels is an accomplished defender that could have bolstered United’s squad. What would hurt the English side, even more, is the fact that he was purchased for a transfer fee of just £34m by Dortmund in this market which is quite a cheap price for a defender the quality of Hummels.
