Who can Borussia Dortmund sign to strengthen their squad in January?
Krzysztof Piatek
The first striker on my list, if I were Dortmund, would be Genoa’s red-hot striker Krzysztof Piątek, and believe me, it’s for reasons that exceed the fact that I have deluded fantasies that I’ll one day see another Polish Dortmund trio, or that I’ve missed having Robert Lewandowski at the club since the day he moved to Bayern Munich and secretly that pain has never gone away. Why did you leave me, Robert?
Jokes aside, let’s look at Piątek and what kind of player he is. Firstly, Genoa bought Piątek this past June for £3.5 million from Cracovia Krakow. Since joining the club, Piątek has scored 13 goals, 9 in Serie A, and 4 in the Coppa Italia. He also scored a goal against Portugal in the UEFA Nations League. Not a bad return for a player who was relatively unknown outside of Poland’s Ekstraklasa before this season started.
Piątek’s playing style is also very interesting. Being a very big striker, standing at 1.83 meters, it makes Piątek a good target for balls to be lobbed in from crosses, which is something we lack at Dortmund. The added height up front could be used to threaten opposition goals from corners and dead ball situations. Of course, Piątek’s height is not the only quality facet about his game.
"Jack Sear quotes Genoa’s manager Davide Ballardini in stating that, “I am struck above all by his generosity towards his team-mates. He holds the ball up, he looks for the pass in behind, he runs, he battles and he’s the first to track back.”"
A striker that’s willing to be selfless with the ball and come back to defend is a fantastic asset to any team. Hence, not only can he score, Piątek has a solid work rate and ethic that could help us immeasurably.
The great news regarding a potential Piątek transfer is that he has already been linked with the club. The problem is that we are not the only club circling the Polish striker. Gianni Verschueren and Bleacher Report indicate that both Napoli and Barcelona are interested as well, with Napoli having had their most recent bid rejected. Bayern Munich also seem to be in the running, and the list goes on. We can say that Dortmund faces stiff opposition for their man, but I’m hoping BVB’s interest is serious. If the board was willing to dish out €100 million for a striker the likes of Lewandowski, €35 million doesn’t seem that bad for his would be successor in the national team, especially seeing as the striker seems willing to move, his desire being to play in the Champions League, per Sky Sports.