Some introductory remarks: I am a 1.FC Köln fan living in Düsseldorf, so I am a little conflicted about Fortuna’s success last season… And boy, that was really successful! One of the favourites for relegation, they finished 10th last year after a difficult start and had some real highlights to boot: 3:3 in Munich? That’s pretty neat. However, there are also some potential problems on the horizon: There was a nasty coflict in winter between the bosses and coach Friedhelm Funkel (ultimately decided pro Funkel after massive fan and public pressure); there are – again – some important players leaving, either after their loan (Lukebakio, Kaminski) or because somebody payed enough (Raman).

So how do the transfers stack up for next season? As mentioned, they are losing a couple of key players: Raman (wing, 10 goals, 3 assists), Lukebakio (forward / wing, 10 goals, 4 assists), and Kaminski (central defense). Drobny, Ducksch, Usami, and Suttner are also leaving, but played less of a role. In addition, Stöger is still injured with a MCL tear. They did an admirable job with reloading, though: Tekpetey, Thommy, and Ampomah are all wingers with Bundesliga potential, Pledl also will be an option in attacking midfield. What’s still missing is a partner for Kaan Ayhan in central defense. I’d guess Bodzek and Hoffmann are the candidates, but both would be a downgrade. They also brought on a promising keeper in Zack Steffen who might challenge Rensing. Two late additions in the transfer window are Kasim Adams (loan from Hoffenheim, central defense) who might be the missing piece in defense and Lewis Baker (loan from Chelsea) who can challenge in central defensive midfield.

Depth is pretty decent, in addition to the 2 new loanees, Karaman and Sobottka might be options in midfield, Zimmer as right back and Hennings as a striker. Fink is 37 by now and not getting any better. Problematic might be the high turnover of players. Especially on offense, a lot will depend on the new players: Can they thrive in Funkel’s very controlled system? They seem to fit the “defend first, then counter with fast wingers” mould, but there might be an adjustment period. Overall, I think they did a great job of reloading without spending much money (at the expense of again having lots of players on loan) and will again stay up, if with a little less security than last year.

Title odds: 1001:1

Relegation odds: 5:1

Final expected finish: 14

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