Friday’s final pre-season friendly will be somewhat of a reunion for Sunderland midfielder Jan Kirchhoff.
The 25-year-old spent the duration of his playing career in his native Germany prior to moving to Wearside in January, with the bulk of that time spent playing under current Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel.
Tasked with replacing the enigmatic Jurgen Klopp, Tuchel promoted Kirchhoff to the first team during his time at Mainz where he also featured alongside BVB’s newest signing Andre Schurrle.
And the former Chelsea forward isn’t the only familiar face Kirchhoff will see on Friday, with the midfielder previously featuring alongside the likes of Mario Gotze and Sebastian Rode.
“Thomas has taken a lot of guys from Mainz to Dortmund and I worked with them for five years, so he was a big part of my career because he was one of the guys, or the main guy, who brought me into professional football.
“It will be nice to see some old faces again and play against them.”
He continued: “There are a lot of people I played with in youth teams, the Bundesliga and youth international teams, so there are a lot of connections for me with Dortmund and a lot of faces I can say hello to.
“It’s nice to see how it goes in life and in their careers, for example I played with Andre Schurrle from under-19 to first team level with Mainz, so although our ways split a little we will see each other again.
“There is always the opportunity to see old friends.”