Julian Ryerson
- 26
- Gregor Kobel 1
- Mateu Morey Bauza 2
- Nico Schlotterbeck 4
- Ramy Bensebaini 5
- Salih Özcan 6
- Giovanni Reyna 7
- Felix Nmecha 8
- Sébastien Haller 9
- Marco Reus 11
- Niclas Füllkrug 14
- Mats Hummels 15
- Julien Duranville 16
- Marius Wolf 17
- Youssoufa Moukoko 18
- Julian Brandt 19
- Marcel Sabitzer 20
- Donyell Malen 21
- Emre Can 23
- Thomas Meunier 24
- Niklas Süle 25
- Karim Adeyemi 27
- Ole Pohlmann 30
- Abdoulaye Kamara 32
- Alexander Meyer 33
- Marcel Lotka 35
- Jamie Bynoe-Gittens 43
- Antonios Papadopoulos 47
The 25-year-old defender has been a Borussia Dortmund player since January 2023. The Norwegian previously played for 1. FC Union Berlin. As of June 2023 (reference date for all stats), he has made 20 appearances for BVB across all competitions, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
"We have big sporting challenges ahead of us which require defensive stability,’’ said sporting director Sebastian Kehl upon the Norwegian’s arrival from Berlin, adding: “Julian Ryerson is an intelligent player who – in a positive sense – defends very aggressively. We really like his profile, his character and his desire to leave the pitch on the winning side under all circumstances. In addition, he can be deployed on both the right and left of a back four and a back three, which gives him and us additional flexibility. We're looking forward to having Julian and are happy that we have been able to execute this transfer at such short notice.’’
The high hopes and expectations have been met! BVB started 2023 in sixth place and ended the campaign in second with qualification for the Champions League. Ryerson had a big part to play in this. He started 17 of the Black & Yellows’ 19 Bundesliga matches, seven times on the right side of the defence and ten on the left. Kehl wasn’t lying when he promised Ryerson would offer flexibility.
Ryerson made his debut with Viking Stavanger in his home country's top flight at the age of 17. Before his 20th birthday, he had become a regular with the club, but experienced relegation from the top tier in 2017. In 2018, he moved to Union Berlin, but was not an immediate starter as the Köpenickers moved up from Bundesliga 2 to the Bundesliga. That changed in December 2020. While he was still shuttling between a seat in the stands and one on the bench (with several substitute appearances) over the course of the first nine matchdays, his name was missing from the starting line-up only six times in the remainder of the season. He was later promoted to the role of vice-captain.
He made a total of 109 competitive appearances for Union before moving to BVB in mid-January 2023. "It is not easy for me to leave Union Berlin, because I owe a lot to this special club, my fellow players, the staff and the fans. I will always have fond memories of my time at the Alte Försterei," said Ryerson, adding, "Now I am looking forward to a new chapter at Borussia Dortmund. I've already been able to experience the atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park as an opposition player - I was impressed and I'm already excited to see how it will feel to have the famous Yellow Wall behind me." The fans admire the fighting spirit and ambition of the Norway international, who made his debut for the senior national team on 18 November 2020.