Anthony Modeste’s move from Cologne to Borussia Dortmund last summer was supposed to be a game-changer for the veteran striker. However, as things stand, it seems like the move has done more harm than good to his career. While he was a fan favorite in Cologne, he has become a discontinued model in BVB. According to reports, the move was solely a financial gain for Modeste, who received six million euros for the transfer.
However, the move has failed to pay dividends for both parties. While Borussia Dortmund burned a lot of money on the eleven million package, the FC team has been struggling without Modeste as a flank exploiter. Despite still delivering the most crosses in the league, the 416 crosses have only resulted in ten goals so far. Furthermore, FC has been currently without a striker for 789 minutes.
Ahead of the two teams’ meeting on Saturday, FC coach Steffen Baumgart expressed his emotions about Modeste’s departure. Baumgart said in an interview that it hurts him to see Modeste on the bench, and that he should have stayed with the team. Baumgart also said that Modeste made the wrong sporting decision, but he can understand why he wanted to play for a championship.
Following his move to Dortmund, the attacker has only scored two goals, compared to the 20 league goals he scored for FC in the previous season. This has led to experts like Lothar Matthaus expressing disappointment in Modeste, stating that he could have made a monument for himself in Cologne instead of moving to Dortmund.
Despite Modeste’s struggles in BVB, coach Edin Terzic used him in 25 competitive games. However, he too was disappointed by the frustrated French, as was the case in the 2-2 win at Schalke, where the striker only got the ball three times in 13 minutes. The move to sign Modeste was supposed to be a replacement for Sébastien Haller, who was suffering from cancer. However, if the transfer had not been completed on August 8th, Borussia Dortmund would have dealt even more intensively with Cristiano Ronaldo, who was offered to BVB a few days later.
