Who can Borussia Dortmund sign to strengthen their squad in January?
Emanuel Mammana
Alongside Malang Sarr, I believe that another good option for Dortmund to shore up the centre back position is Zenit Saint Petersburg’s Emanuel Mammana. Mammana is a young Argentine defender who started his career with River Plate, before moving to Olympique Lyon in 2016. He then quickly made a switch to Zenit a year later in July of 2017.
With regards to Mammana’s playing style, scouts often describe the player as a “ball playing defender”. Sideline Scouted’s Hanu Trivedi was quick to describe Mamanna by saying that:
"“Mammana is more stylish than he is strong. Although you don’t often see the player getting stuck in and going in for the challenge, he is regularly seen carrying the ball up till the half-way line and starting the attack. Emanuel is at home with the ball, contrary to textbook defenders who look out-of-place and strange with possession.”"
A “ball playing” centre back certainly fits the bill for Dortmund, with Diallo, Akanji and Zagadou all comfortable with the ball at their feet. Trivedi also highlights both Mammana’s passing prowess, (a relative pass success percentage of 91.2%), and his relative speed, stating that he uses these skills to defend rather than his strength. All of these traits have earned him praise, which has seen him likened to Javier Zanetti and Javier Mascherano.
With regards to price, Mammana should be an affordable option for Borussia Dortmund. The current market valuation of the player is £10.8 million, and at 22 he still has room to grow and improve. His ability to play right back could also be valuable. Considering our early injuries to the defense this season there’s no telling what position we’ll need to cover down the line, and the Argentine could be our insurance that Dortmund don’t get caught off guard with no one to fill any potential gaps.
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In the end, we can only guess at what the scouts in Dortmund are looking for currently, but if I were part of their team these would surely be the three key areas I would look towards filling. These are all merely suggestions, but I am a firm believer in the quality that these players possess, and each of these talents would surely help us down the line. The Bundesliga season is long and winding, you never know who we’ll need to see out the winter into spring, and beyond.