Dortmund sporting director Kehl pleased with player transfer results

Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl says he is happy with the way things stand at the end of the winter transfer window.

"Overall, we are very satisfied with the assessment. With Jadon and Ian, we have acquired two great players," he said on Sky ahead of the Bundesliga fourth-placed team's match on Friday at Heidenheim.

The club recently signed Jadon Sancho from Manchester United and Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, both on loan. But Kehl said it was unlikely that returnee Sancho and full-back Maatsen could be signed permanently at the end of the season.

"Unfortunately, purchase options were not realistic for either player. In the case of Ian, we made a strong case for it, but the negotiating position was not there in the end."

Maatsen's contract with Chelsea FC reportedly contains an exit clause of €35 to €40 million.

Kehl left open whether Dortmund will endeavour to buy the 21-year-old Dutchman in the summer despite this high sum.

"That doesn't concern me at the moment. But in the end, something like that always has to do with economic components," he said. Such a transfer would not be possible without qualifying for the Champions League.

After the end of the transfer period, Kehl will begin to build a team for the coming season. The expiry of a total of eight contracts this summer makes this task more difficult.

This also includes the working papers of the two veterans 34 year-old Marco Reus and 35 year-old Mats Hummels.

"Marco is a fantastic player for Borussia Dortmund - still is. We extended Marco's contract last year, just like we did with Mats. We conducted the talks in a spirit of trust. We'll do that again now, look each other in the eye when the time is right and see how we can move forward," said Kehl.