Less than five weeks have passed since the last competitive match of the 2021/2022 season, and Borussia Dortmund's U23s are already back on the pitch at the Hohenbuschei training ground as they start their preparations for the upcoming Drittliga season. 

After two days of performance diagnostics at the Ruhr University in Bochum, assistant coach Pascal Bieler oversaw the first training session on the pitch at 11:00 CET on Thursday. Despite the summer break, the players stayed very active during their holidays, meaning they could enjoy their first sessions with the ball right from the start of pre-season.

There were eight new signings involved: Valentino Vermeulen (FC Eindhoven), Mario Suver (1. FC Nürnberg), Can Özkan (Fortuna Düsseldorf II), Falko Michel (VfB Stuttgart II), Bjarne Pudel (SC Wiedenbrück), Michael Eberwein (Hallescher FC), Jayden Braaf (Manchester City) and Niklas Lübcke (ETB SW Essen). 

The dates for the first pre-season friendlies have now been finalised. On 24 June, the team will play against Fortuna Düsseldorf's U23s, and four days later, they will face Regionalliga side Preußen Münster. At the beginning of July, the Black and Yellow U23s will travel to the training camp in the Kitzbühel Alps for ten days to get the best preparation for the start of the season on 23 July.