HomeNewsBANKING ON YOUNG GUNS

BANKING ON YOUNG GUNS

By Ratul Ghosh

Published on:

Updated on:
129
Attachment Details transfer-verdict-borussia-dortmund

Borussia Dortmund have had a long and successful history of developing young talent into world-class stars. Names such as Mario Gotze, Robert Lewandowski all starred for the club and have been followed by the likes of Erling Braut Haaland and Gio Reyna.The transfer activity of Dortmund this season suggests more of the same as the players brought in are all 23 or younger.

 

 

Regarding their outgoings, the main departure has of course been that of a fleet-footed attacker while keeping hold of Haaland was another objective accomplished. FootTheBall analyses how the German club performed overall and what can be expected of their new players.

 

INCOMINGS

GREGOR KOBEL (STUTTGART)

DONYELL MALEN (PSV)

MARIN PONGRACIC (WOLFSBURG) LOAN

ABDOULAYE KAMARA (PSG) FREE

SOUMAILA COULIBALY (PSG U19) FREE

 

The two headline signings of Dortmund, Kobel and Malen, are the result of dogged scouting and planning for the future. The Swiss goalkeeper joined from Stuttgart for €15m after just one season with his former club in the Bundesliga. Kobel made 33 starts and kept five clean sheets, along with saving seven penalties.

 

 

He has already begun the season as the first-choice goalkeeper over the more experienced Roman Burki and Marwin Hitz, having a brilliant outing in his last match.

Malen, on the other hand, has been earmarked as the successor to Jadon Sancho after his blistering form in 2020-21 with PSV. The 22-year-old striker scored 24 goals and had eight assists across all competitions which made him one of the hottest prospects in Europe.

 

 

Though he is yet to get off the mark this season, once he starts firing on all cylinders, that €30m transfer fee will be chump change over the upcoming seasons.

The rest of the new faces are likely to remain on the fringes of the senior squad for at least this year. Kamara has joined up with Dortmund’s reserve team after declining a professional contract with PSG. Coulibaly came from the youth side of PSG and it remains to be seen whether he makes his first-team bow this term.

 

 

Meanwhile, Pongragic joins on loan shoring up the defence from fellow rivals Wolfsburg for whom he made 10 appearances in the league last season.

 

OUTGOINGS

JADON SANCHO (MANCHESTER UNITED)

THOMAS DELANEY (SEVILLA)

MARCEL SCHMELZER FREE

LUKASZ PISZCZEK (LKS GOCZALKOWICE-ZDROJ) FREE

JEREMY TOLJAN (SASSUOLO) LOAN

SERGIO GOMEZ (RSC ANDERLECHT)
LEONARDO BALERDI (MARSEILLE)

 

 

Sancho’s transfer saga with United finally came to an end this summer as the Red Devils forked out €85m. His time in Germany was filled with goals, assists and a whole lot of brilliant trickery on the pitch. No doubt Dortmund would have loved to keep him for longer but as a club, they just could not refuse this mammoth fee.

 

 

Two of the most seasoned veteran full-backs also left on free transfers with Piszczek going back to his homeland after 11 years at the club. A further departure in the same department came with Toljan’s permanent move to Serie A. Marseille continued their squad revamp under Jorge Sampaoli as they snapped up promising centre-back Balerdi for €8m from the Yellow Black.

 

 

Sergio Gomez left for Belgium after spending the last two seasons in Spain, having failed to break into the Dortmund team. However, one of their key exits came towards the end of the window. Their midfield jack-of-all-trades player Thomas Delaney, who made more than 100 appearances for the club over the past three years joined Sevilla for €6m.

 

FINAL VERDICT

Compared to last season’s team that finished 3rd in the Bundesliga, it is hard to gauge right now how the current team will do. For one thing, they are without two, quite possibly three key pieces.

Sancho and Delaney are two of the foremost in the world in their respective positions while Piszczek’s leadership is also gone. They have made moves to steady the ship, most notably Malen being brought in for his goal scoring nous.

 

 

In midfield, the meteoric rise of Jude Bellingham along with more regular game time for Gio Reyna. Nevertheless, the absence of a Delaney-like enforcer might prove to be an issue given how Axel Witsel has often been asked to play in defence. Now that is where Dortmund may have missed a trick.

 

 

The failure to sign a central defender of proven capabilities as highlighted by us was one of their pressing needs. However, with no such player coming in, it falls into the hands of the current crop who have looked fragile at best to begin the season. Rose’s team have conceded eight goals in five matches over all competitions, five of them being in the league.

 

 

Finally, one great story of success for the club has been making sure Haaland stays for this season. There was some serious interest from clubs abroad, notably PSG and Chelsea, but were scared off by Dortmund’s firm insistence on not selling. Though the Norweigian’s departure is sure to come next season as his release clause comes into force, it will not hurt all that much if they manage to get their hands on some silverware.

 

 

Indeed, Haaland has started the season in scorching form with six goals and two assists already. With a healthy Marco Reus as well as Reyna/Malen coming to the fore, there are good chances of them outperforming last season.

 

OVERALL GRADE: 7.5/10

Ratul Ghosh
His name means Red and a fan of devilish food, which equals to his favourite team being Manchester United. Can be found sleeping or in front of the TV otherwise. Hates waking up early but loves staying up late for football.

also read

©2024-2025 foottheball. all rights reserved.
From the stable of Buffalo Soldiers