Is Mahmoud Dahoud the missing link?

Back in March, BVB announced that Mahmoud Dahoud will join the club after failing to agree terms with current club Borussia Mönchengladbach. The question is; how will the young prospect fit in? Now, this all depends on whether Tuchel keeps his job or not, and with the pressure and rumours continuing to build, it is looking mostly likely that a different man will be at the helm for next season.

So what does that mean for the current squad? Well, Dortmund currently has an abundance of midfielders, ranging from defensive ones; Sven Bender, playmakers; Julian Weigl and attacking ones; Mario Gotze. You would imagine that whoever is in charge come the summer will have their own ideas of who will be part of the squad next season, for Dahoud, I feel this is the best club for him to develop his skills further.

He plays a role very similar to Weigl sitting deep, creating chances for the more attacking players to take advantage of. Do Dortmund need two of the same style of player as I can’t envision them wanting to get rid of Weigl? With Gotze missing for most of the season and still not being back to his old self, the club have relied heavily on Kagawa, who isn’t bad, but just isn’t the number 10 that BVB fans want. What has been prominent this past season is that Weigl is Dortmund’s only source of creativity and that comes from deep. What BVB have needed is someone who can create in a more advanced position. They have the excitement of Pulisic and Dembele on the flanks, but they lack that penetration from the central area. Could Dahoud be moved into this area?

Dahoud has age on his side and with the experience of Kagawa, Gotze and Schurrle to learn from, the young talent could be tutored well. Already, Dahoud is known for his vision and passing abilities, but he is also agile and fairly quick. He has a very good first touch of the ball and technique is good enough at any level. The only question would be does he have the goal scoring threat that an already suited number 10 would? Well, if you think of German number 10’s; Ozil, Gotze, for example, neither are known for their goal scoring ability. Alright I know Gotze scored the winning World Cup goal but still. They are more known for their assists and killer passing, something Dahoud has in his locker.

What I would like to see is a 4231 set up, with the midfield duo being Weigl and Rode, the attacking trio of Pulisic, Dahoud and Dembele accompanied by Aubameyang as the continued goal getter. This could be the start of a very promising young side and under the right guidance could go onto great things. No one can argue that this season has been a disappointment, the inconstancies, lack luster performances and underachieving. A piece of life needs to be injected into the side; Dahoud could be that person whilst being accompanied by a new manager. It could be the start of a new Dortmund revolution.