Dortmund victorious in January Transfer Triangle!
January transfer deadline day offered up one of the most convoluting and bizarre transfer sagas of recent history.
In one of the most head-scratching transfers of all time, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed for Arsenal, with Olivier Giroud of Arsenal joining Chelsea in the process, while Michy Batshuayi of Chelsea then replaced Aubameyang at the Signal Iduna Park on loan.
The Gabon centre-forward scored on his debut for the Gunners against Everton as the former Dortmund man and his new side trounced all over the Toffees 5-1.
Meanwhile, Batshuayi made his debut at away to Bundesliga bottom club Cologne in a 3-2 Dortmund win, where he bagged a brace and assisted former Chelsea man Andre Schurrle’s 84th-minute winner.
While the Belgian was doing the business at his new loan club, his current parent club Chelsea were losing 3-0 to Bournemouth and had to play without a striker as Alvaro Morata was injured and Giroud was ineligible to play.
Who got the better deal?
On paper, it seems like Borussia Dortmund have lost as they sold a world-class talent in Aubameyang for a Chelsea substitute who was deemed not good enough by manager Antonio Conte.
However, despite his appearances being limited to the odd 20-30 minutes from the bench Michy Batshuayi actually has 14 goals in 25 appearances this season, which is extremely impressive considering the fact that he has been seen as an impact player, rather than a first choice centre-forward.
In addition to this, the Belgian also has a point to prove as he was allowed to leave on loan from Chelsea; therefore he will be even more motivated to prove that he is good enough for his parent club, which will make him more dangerous and effective for BVB.
As part of the Aubameyang deal, Dortmund also got Arsenal to pay the loan fee for Batshuayi, meaning the Belgian hitman did not cost them a penny.
BVB also received £55.4 million for the former Saint Etienne forward, meaning they not only have the money to invest but also have time to assess their options and not panic buy.
Only time will tell if Giroud and Aubameyang light up the premier league, but considering Dortmund’s new hitman Batshuayi has twice the goals as Aubameyang, all be it in one game, and did not cost a single penny, it is surely fair to say that it is first blood to Dortmund.
