Major League Soccer expansion side St. Louis City SC has signed Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki. The club announced the transfer on Wednesday morning. Bürki will join the club in July and has signed a contract until 2025.
"We're delighted to have a top international goalkeeper like Roman joining St. Louis City SC," sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a club statement. "He's a player that has proven himself throughout his career and has played on the biggest stages in world football like the Champions League. He will play an important role on our roster by providing leadership to our young and exciting team.”
Securing the goalkeeper position checks off an essential part of the roster build for sporting director Pfannenstiel. “As a former goalkeeper myself, I know how important it is to have a leader on and off the field, and we have found that in Roman. He is a modern goalkeeper, who is great with both feet, brilliant shot-stopper, and brave coming off his line. Roman's playing style fits perfectly into our philosophy, and we're thrilled to have him as a pillar of our ambitious club."
Bürki will add significant leadership to the squad. Although the goalkeeper lost the starting position at BVB at the start of the season, the nine-times Swiss national team goalkeeper has featured in 232 games for the Black and Yellows across all competitions (83 clean sheets).
That sort of experience made him interesting for other clubs as well. Bürki turned down offers from Galatasaray and Lorient in the winter; Bayern Munich was another option. The Rekordmeister is currently looking for an experienced backup keeper for Manuel Neuer and has had an eye on Bürki. Another option is Stefan Ortega, but he favors a move to Bayer Leverkusen.
Pfannenstiel, however, was able to convince Bürki to come to the United States instead. "He wants to be on the field," Pfannenstiel said in an interview with Transfermarkt. "Roman is in the best goalkeeper age, and I believe he will be a top keeper in MLS. I always said that we want to build a legacy and not buy a legacy. The arrival of Bürki underlines this message."
Speaking of messages. Pfannenstiel himself set a clear message with the signing. Bürki is now the fourth player to arrive at the club. St. Louis City SC has previously signed Selmir Pidro from FK Sarajevo, super talent Tomas Ostrak from 1.FC Köln, and Hoffenheim striker João Klauss. The four players cover vital roles at the club and have strong links to the Bundesliga.
In an interview with Transfermarkt, Pfannenstiel also pointed out that he wants to put together the team’s spine by the summer and have the players play in MLS Next Pro. The final piece in that puzzle would be a defender—likely to be Arminia Bielefeld’s Joakim Nilsson. That, however, does not mean that Nilsson will be the final foreign signing while the club prepares for the inaugural MLS season in this year’s MLS Next Pro. Pfannenstiel did make it clear that the club will continue to scout the European and South American market to fill the eight foreign spots permitted in Major League Soccer.
Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth
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