Borussia Dortmund legend Sebastian Kehl heaps praise on Jude Bellingham

Sebastian Kehl is full of praise of new Borussia Dortmund signing Jude Bellingham, as well as youngsters Youssoufa Moukoko and Ansgar Knauff.

Jude Bellingham has made quite an impression on both fans and BVB bosses since his summer move from Birmingham City. The 17 year old has stood out in Borussia Dortmund’s pre-season test matches, and head of licensed players department Sebastian Kehl has now praised the young midfielder.

Speaking to BVB-TV (H/T: Ruhr Nachrichten), Kehl said:

"“Jude has integrated really well. With the boy you can tell that he is in his element, he was only out for a week. He is bursting with self-confidence. He brings us exactly this aggressiveness, this physicality in the midfield, which is very, very good for us.”"

The Borussia Dortmund legend also spoke about Youssoufa Moukoko and Ansgar Knauff, who were promoted from the U-19s team and joined the first-team for pre-season training. The duo now look set to be part of the first-team squad for the upcoming season, although Moukoko will have to wait until he turns 16 to make his debut.

"“It was an exciting experience for both players,” Kehl said. “Youssoufa Moukoko has waited a long, long time for the opportunity to train with the professionals, but unfortunately he is not allowed to play until November. Of course we would have loved to see him. Within a very short time he showed us why we have high hopes for him. We also wanted Ansgar Knauff to be there, and we tested Nnamdi Collins. It is important to show the young players a new perspective”"

Kehl also believes that Borussia Dortmund laid some solid foundations during their training camp in Switzerland earlier this month. With 15 players now out on international duty, Lucien Favre will not have his full squad available to him for the next ten days.

"“It was clear that the international break would result in a small break. With the training camp in Switzerland we have laid a solid foundation. It was also important that we had all the players with us from the start. (The corona period) brought the boys closer together – that’s good for all of us.”"

Borussia Dortmund are due to take on Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam on September 07 in their final pre-season friendly, and they could be boosted by the return of club captain Marco Reus, Mahmoud Dahoud and new signing Reinier Jesus for that game.

The Black and Yellows begin the new season on September 14 with a trip to third division side MSV Duisburg in the first round of the DFB Pokal. They open their Bundesliga campaign five days later against Borussia Mönchengladbach.