Salih Oezcan is benefiting from the fact that Borussia Dortmund squad was trimmed down in the winter and can now look forward to the Champions League. Niko Kovac view of the Bundesliga table remains unchanged.
Until late Thursday evening, clubs that have reached the knockout phase of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League still have a final window to adjust their European squads.
UEFA permits up to three additional registrations for the remainder of the competition, as long as the overall squad size rules and the local player requirements continue to be satisfied. It is a small administrative detail on paper, but in practice it can shape a club depth for a decisive part of the season, especially when injuries, suspensions, and winter exits have already changed the balance of the squad.
Borussia Dortmund are using that option, and Niko Kovac confirmed that Salih Oezcan will be added to the Champions League list. The decision had been anticipated, and Kovac made it explicit on Thursday: yes, Dortmund will do it. In Dortmund current context, it is not a luxury move. It is a move driven by necessity and by the basic reality of what is coming next in the calendar.
The club winter window went in a clear direction. Dortmund reduced the size of the squad, and an important part of that was the departure of midfielder Pascal Gross to Brighton. At the same time, sporting director Sebastian Kehl and the club leadership chose not to bring in reinforcements. That combination, exits plus no arrivals, inevitably tightens the options for rotation across competitions. With the Bundesliga entering a stretch where every point matters and the Champions League moving into high intensity knockout football, Dortmund cannot afford to operate with a thin bench. Kovac summed it up bluntly: we need every player.
His reasoning is also grounded in workload management. Dortmund still have 14 Bundesliga matches ahead, and Kovac is clearly framing the Champions League as something the club hope will extend beyond the minimum. He referenced the possibility of having more than two Champions League matches, which is an indirect way of saying that Dortmund do not want to treat the upcoming tie as a short adventure. If they progress, the schedule becomes even more demanding, and the demands on the same core players can become unsustainable without meaningful rotation.
That urgency is made worse by Dortmund current personnel issues, particularly at centre back. Kovac admitted he is dealing with problems in central defence ahead of the away trip to Wolfsburg on Saturday at 15:30. When a team has instability in the back line, it often forces tactical compromises elsewhere. Midfielders might need to play deeper or cover more ground, full backs might be instructed to stay home rather than push forward, and the entire pressing structure can become more cautious to protect a weakened defensive core. In that kind of scenario, a defensive midfielder who can provide structure, discipline, and tactical reliability becomes even more valuable.
This is where Oezcan situation becomes interesting. He was not registered for the Champions League in the summer despite not being injured, meaning he could not feature during the league phase. That decision was based on selection priorities and competition for places, but it also meant he was effectively removed from an important part of Dortmund season. Now, with squad depth reduced and the calendar tightening, Dortmund are bringing him back into the European picture at exactly the moment his profile fits what the team may need.
If the paperwork is completed, Oezcan could appear in a Dortmund Champions League squad again for the first time since last April, when he was included for the quarter final second leg against Barcelona, a match Dortmund won 3-1. The timing is notable because the next Champions League challenge is immediately demanding: the knockout round play offs against Atalanta Bergamo on 17 and 25 February. Atalanta are known for intensity, aggressive pressing triggers, and a style that forces opponents into uncomfortable decisions in buildup. In ties like that, midfield control and defensive coverage can be decisive, not only to stop transitions but also to keep the team calm when the match becomes chaotic.
Kovac has also been signalling that Oezcan role domestically is likely to grow. Around two weeks earlier, he had already suggested the 28 year old would get more minutes in the coming months, noting that Oezcan has played far too little this season due to competition in the squad. That is not just a sympathetic comment, it is a practical promise tied to how a long season works. Coaches do not talk about increasing minutes unless they expect to need that player, either because of form issues elsewhere, tactical requirements in specific matches, or the simple arithmetic of fatigue across multiple competitions.
From Dortmund perspective, adding Oezcan now offers several immediate benefits. It increases the number of reliable options for the double pivot or the holding role, it reduces the risk of overplaying a small group of midfielders, and it gives Kovac a different type of profile for certain match plans. In Europe, especially, there are situations where a coach wants a more conservative midfield presence to stabilise the team, protect centre backs, and manage game states when the opponent is pushing. Oezcan can also become useful as a late match option to close spaces, slow the tempo, and help Dortmund defend leads or survive difficult away periods.
The broader story, though, is that Dortmund winter strategy has created a scenario where every available player becomes more important. Selling or moving players out without replacing them is always a risk, because it leaves less margin for error when injuries hit or when form dips. Kovac comments about needing everyone and rotating are essentially an acknowledgement that Dortmund are entering a phase where squad management will be just as important as tactics. The Champions League list update is one part of that, but it also reflects the bigger reality: Dortmund cannot rely on a small core if they want to compete on two fronts until the end of the season.
For Oezcan personally, this is a clear opportunity to re enter the spotlight. He goes from being left out of Europe entirely to potentially featuring in a knockout tie against a physically demanding opponent, while also being told by his coach that more Bundesliga minutes are coming. In football terms, that is the definition of a door opening at the right moment. If he performs well, he can quickly move from squad filler to a genuine part of Dortmund solution for the decisive months ahead.
