(Football news) Nikolas Sule has joined Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer from Bayern and he will join the club when the current season finishes. Sule spent the last four-and-a-half years at Bayern after completing an £18million move from Hoffenheim in 2017 and was quite successful in his tenure. However, he will now join Marco Rose's side in June after leaving Bayern, winning four Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and the Champions League during his 158 appearances in all competitions. 

Sule's contract is going to expire in the summer of 2022 as he was unable to negotiate fresh terms with Bayern and other clubs during the January transfer window. Sule spoke to several clubs about leaving Bayern on a free transfer after failing to reach an agreement with the reigning champions over a contract extension. The 26-year-old had been linked with moves to Chelsea, Newcastle and Barcelona during the transfer window but Dortmund were able to fight off the other interested parties to secure Sule's services ahead of the 2022-2023 season. The Bundesliga giants have reportedly agreed on a four-year deal with the defender. The German international also got 37 caps and featured in five of Germany’s World Cup qualifiers last year, and might play a very important role in this year’s World Cup.

The move makes a lot of sense for Dortmund but it is a surprise on the player’s behalf as he was scouted by the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Newcastle but he wanted to stay in Germany and help Dortmund win the league after the 2011-12 season. Usually it's the other way round as Bayern are mostly poaching Dortmund players but after just days after turning his contract extension he signed with Dortmund, this will mostly likely make him the main center back for Dortmund next season and also with the possibility of Manuel Akanji leaving in the summer Sule can actually reach his potential of becoming a world class center back

The club's sporting director Michael Zorc confirmed the news by saying: 'We are pleased that we were able to sign a German national player in Niklas Sule and retain him for four years.' 

Sebastian Kehl – who will succeed director Zorc in the summer – also shared his excitement about Sule's arrival at the club and said: 'Niklas has shown us in personal discussions that he is very interested in Borussia Dortmund. He has a lot of experience, calmness in the build-up game and the necessary physique to take the next step with us from the summer.' 

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