Borussia Dortmund in for Ajax’s Kasper Dolberg?
By John Harbeck
According to a report out of Bild, Borussia Dortmund is entering the race to sign Kasper Dolberg the young Ajax striker who has been drawing attention from both sides of Manchester.
With Adrian Ramos leaving Borussia Dortmund it would be no surprise for the club to enter in negotiations in an attempt to add a second striker. The way BVB operates it would make perfect sense to prepare a young striker in the hopes of having a finished product by the time Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was to leave. Dolberg fits that bill of young exciting and developing striker.
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Dolberg is a 19-year-old who hails from Denmark and currently has been lighting up the Eredivisie in his first season with Ajax. He ticks all the physical boxes that a top club would want in a striker standing just over 6’1″ and while not thick, certainly sturdy enough.
As you can see from the highlight video below, Dolberg already has an ease on the ball of a much older player. During the few matches of his that I’ve watched, he has the type of game that nothing is rushed which is rare for an under 20.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Dolberg’s game is the power generated from his shots from long range. Again, the highlight video below shows just how much damage Dolberg can do (which would be a change of pace after Aubameyang’s mid to short range preference).
Now I hesitate to call Dolberg an outright sure thing star because defending in the Eredivisie is at times optional. It doesn’t take a stretch to believe that some of the highlights would have happened in the Premier League or Bundesliga as the center back would have taken Dolberg to the ground to prevent looking silly. It will be interesting to see how Dolberg ends up, but I believe the potential is massive.
The next question that must be asked is just how likely are Borussia Dortmund to sign him. With the incoming money from both the Ramos sale and the continued Champions League run, I would think that Borussia Dortmund has some cash to spend.
Does it rival the big spenders of the Manchester duo who are also in the running? Absolutely not. However, Borussia Dortmund has one very notable advantage that may just push them over the top. That is the past and more recent success of not only developing young players but also giving them massive minutes.
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With Aubameyang being the clear first choice at striker some might ask how manager Thomas Tuchel could fit him into the squad. To that question, I give the simple answer of perhaps a two striker system on occasion and now it would give more of an opportunity for Tuchel to rotate Aubameyang which hasn’t always been an option with Ramos.
Ultimately I don’t rate the rumor very highly as Tuchel said a week ago, albeit before selling Ramos, that Borussia Dortmund aren’t making any deals. Combine that with the competition of Manchester City and United, I just don’t feel as if BVB have much of a shot. Stranger things have happened so stay tuned in the event that some very exciting news is broken.