Robert Lewandowski in the best form he was ever been in. He is making all the difference for Borussia Dortmund this year, but next season his absence will be far more of a negative difference for Dortmund than a positive impact for Bayern Munich.
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But since BVB can't clone Lewandowski, nor reproduce the kind of signing they made in 2010 when the Polish star was hired, Dortmund have to come up with new ideas.
Long process to greatness
It was around 2009 when Lewandowski popped up on Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc's grid.
After being consecutive top scorer in Poland's third and second division. Lewandowski played an impressive first year at Lech Poznan, where he scored 14 goals -- one must not forget he was just 20 years old at the time -- which earned him his first try-out at Borussia Dortmund. But they found he was still "too light", as Juergen Klopp put it.
However, Dortmund kept a very close eye on the Pole, having a scout observing him almost every week. Playing another year at Poznan was the right choice: Lewandowski won the Polish championship as top scorer (18 goals) and was the Ekstraklasa player of the season in 2009-10. He was ready for the next step in his career and Borussia Dortmund, who were scouting him for almost two years by then, were the ones in pole position to sign him.
Coming into the Borussia Dortmund side wasn't easy for Lewandowski. When he was signed in 2010, he was still playing second fiddle to BVB's star striker Lucas Barrios, when it seemed there was no way to get past the Paraguayan international.
Also, at 4.5 million euros, Lewandowski was Borussia Dortmund's top transfer of the summer and the fans made him feel the weight of their expectations. Frustrations arose and the Pole was already dubbed a bad purchase. With low confidence, the striker was too wasteful in front of goal and didn't show his quality on the pitch.
It, of course, isn't unusual that players coming into the Dortmund side need a long time to adapt under Klopp. But if it wasn't for Barrios' injury at the Copa America in 2011, things might have turned out differently.
Finally, in his second season, Lewandowski received his chance to play in the striking role from the beginning and a hat-trick against FC Augsburg on match-day 8 brought the breakthrough. Lewandowski found the confidence he needed as a striker and took off, leaving Barrios in his dust.
The dilemma
Two years later, Lewandowski is a superstar. With four goals against Real Madrid, he ensured Dortmund's arrival to the Champions League final. But by not extending his contract with Borussia Dortmund, he made his intentions to leave quite clear. It was his desire to play for FC Bayern, but with Mario Goetze already leaving the club, BVB made the decision to pass on a 25 million euro offer and kept Lewandowski instead.
In hindsight, it has been the right decision. With Mats Hummels and Ilkay Guendogan being out injured for long parts this season, if Goetze and Lewandowski had both been gone, Borussia Dortmund would have had to cope with compensating for the loss of their entire creative vertical axis. The injury woes, which have already taken their toll, would have been simply too much to ask. Lewandowski is the top goal-scorer in the Bundesliga with fifteen goals and ten assists and BVB wouldn't have survived the tight Champions League group without his six goals and two assists. And more often than not, the Pole is a big factor in Dortmund's goals, even when he doesn't grab an assist.
His influence is immense for Dortmund. It is now safe to say that with his help, BVB will finish in the top three and reach the Champions League quarterfinals -- which, in the long term, is worth way more than 25 million euros.
But the more Klopp's side relies on Lewandowski, the tougher the loss will be in the end. The problem for Dortmund is that since Lewandowski was signed at BVB, ambitions within the club have changed and they cannot afford to give a player the amount of time that was given the young Pole to flourish. Yet, they cannot pay the wages for a striker that is even near the class of the Bundesliga's leading goal-scorer for an immediate impact.
Internal solution?
Lewandowski is sidelined with a knee ligament strain for this weekend -- nothing severe, just precautionary. It is a big shame that Marvin Ducksch is injured as well. It would have been the perfect opportunity for the youngster to show his qualities on a bigger stage than Germany's third tier.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang might get the gig to lead the line against SC Freiburg on Sunday. The young Gabonese is a different type of player, as his back-to-goal and link-up play are nowhere near Lewandowski's qualities, yet there is a striker in him, as his goal tally proves. What speaks for the 13 million euro signing is that even in his first year, he is already picking up goals consistently and will already have adapted to Klopp's ideas by the start of next season.
Compromises
With Lewandowski on the way to Bayern and Guendogan potentially joining him there, there is a maximum of only two key players leaving BVB this summer. This means that the core of the team will stay together, providing stability which will lead to improvement. That will also make it much easier for any new striker signed to find his feet in the team; much more so than if one had been added prior to this season.
So far, BVB can plan with Ducksch and Dong-Won Ji upfront, since Julian Schieber and Dortmund will part ways in the summer. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke already announced that Borussia Dortmund will invest quite a bit next summer, trying to bolster up the squad in depth and quality. It leaves a lot of room for speculation -- probably two additional attackers, for around 20-30 million euros on possibly Kevin Volland, Ciro Immobile, Adrian Ramos and others. The list of players Dortmund is linked with is already long and will only extend as the new transfer window comes closer.
What is certain is that it won't be a high profile superstar who every kid in the world already knows. Dortmund will be looking for a more experienced striker that can make his mark on the international stage, as well as a highly talented youngster who can be nurtured along with him -- one that gives Klopp a real option, something that Schieber sadly isn't. It will be a tough balancing act between short term thinking and sustainability, but also a new exciting chapter in Dortmund's transfer agenda.
What we already do know is that whoever it will be, they won't be as good as Robert Lewandowski.