5 Transfers That Could Make the Difference for Dortmund Next Year
By Mark Sendon
Tonny Vilhena (22); Feyenoord
Look at Borussia Dortmund’s current roster, and you see an abundance of talent in the midfield. From World Cup winner Mario Gotze to future World Cup winners in Julian Weigl and Mahmoud Dahoud, BVB possesses a wide variety of skills and personalities at their disposal.
Weigl plays the more traditional defensive midfield role, intercepting passes and distributing to the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Marco Reus.
Mahmoud Dahoud offers a more attacking presence in the midfield with his silky-smooth dribbling and an eye for playing the perfect ball forward. Step in Feyenoord’s Tonny Vilhenna, the missing link to balance Dortmund’s uber-talented lineup.
Originating from Maassluis in western Holland, Vilhena’s name rings a bell to scouts searching the Netherlands for the next generation of Dutch talent. Working his way up from Feyenoord’s U-17s, Vilhena has been monitored closely for several years by Europe’s giants waiting for him to blossom into the perfect box-to-box midfielder, and he finally has.
Vilhena’s unique personality on the field makes him irreplaceable in Feyenoord’s weekly lineup leaving opponents bruised and mentally weakened when the full 90 minutes are up. As previously mentioned, Dortmund has the finesse of Weigl and the creativity of Dahoud but lack the power and smash mouth mentality Vilhena offers.
His contributions on the field led Feyenoord to their first Eredivisie title in 18 years. Currently valued at 7,00 Mill. € per Transfermarkt, Vilhena outweighs his price tag and would be a bargain for any team at that price. Surely the Yellow Wall would love the physical dominance he displays on the pitch every week.