Borussia Dortmund should have made a move for Michy Batshuayi

Michy Batshuayi was loaned out yesterday to Valencia for the 2018/2019 season and Dortmund fans were left wondering, why Valencia and not BVB?

As we all know Michy Batshuayi came to Dortmund and enjoyed a very successful loan spell with Borussia Dortmund in the second half of last season. Immediately finding chemistry within the team and building a relationship with the fans. Here are the reasons why it’s so hard to understand why the Borussia Dortmund higher ups weren’t interested enough to acquire him at least on loan for another year.

 Success at Dortmund

Although Batshuayi only played 10 Bundesliga matches with BVB, he had an instant impact and relative sustained success over those 10 games. Scoring two goals and grabbing an assist in his very first game for Dortmund is a feat in itself. When you also consider he only had days of training with the team to try to learn a new system before his first game then it becomes all the more impressive. Going on to score 7 goals and assisting one in those 10 games, Dortmund got a great return from a player who was not playing consistent minutes at Chelsea.

Clear positional need

It’s no secret that Borussia Dortmund need a striker. Maximilian Philipp has shown some very promising moments in pre-season and as a huge fan of the player, I do believe that he will do very well as the BVB frontman. However, over a 34 game season I don’t believe he will be enough to lead the line single handedly for a squad of Dortmunds quality.

There are other alternatives, Marco Reus can also play as a striker. This isn’t ideal though as he is much more impactful for Dortmund playing behind the striker or out wide so he can be more involved in the build up as well as still getting into the box to create opportunities. He is also potentially the most offside prone player in all of football, not an ideal trait for a striker.

And lastly, there is Alexander Isak. Very promising 18 year old who has been with the club for a couple years now. Although promising it is worrying that he has not been able to at all seize the opportunities to make his mark. When Batshuayi got injured at the end of last year or thus far in the seasons preparations, with really only Philipp to compete with in pre-season. As much as all Dortmund fans would love to see him get an opportunity and succeed the fact that the coaches clearly don’t have the trust in him yet goes to show that he must not be ready for such a large role.

BVB aren’t currently willing to spend big on a striker

There have been rumours recently that Borussia Dortmund won’t be able to buy a striker unless a few more players leave. With that looking unlikely at the moment it would seem buying a striker isn’t on the cards for this summer. Sebastian Kehl and Michael Zorc have both stated that the full turnover they are working towards won’t happen in just one summer, they would likely need two. Now if buying a striker isn’t going to happen then a loan deal makes perfect sense. Not only a loan, but the loan of a player who is familiar with the club, the players and already loved by the fans. Michy Bastshuayi ticked all the boxes.

This solution to the striker issue at Borussia Dortmund seemed too easy as the biggest reason Michy wasn’t purchased right away was Chelsea’s ridiculous asking price. Since that was no longer a factor when looking at a loan deal, it’s hard to understand why Batshuayi will not been wearing Black and Yellow once again this season.

The risk

Now that the time has passed and Batshuayi is no longer available, hopefully Borussia Dortmund can find another solution for their attack prior to the end of the transfer window. If they don’t and Maximillian Philipp gets injured or for whatever reason not working as expected as a striker, the decision to pass over Michy Batshuayi could be a haunting one.