Loan Watch: Can we expect Ansgar Knauff to have a future at Borussia Dortmund?

Ansgar Knauff has been on loan with Eintracht Frankfurt since January of this year, so far putting in performances that have been noticed by his parent club as well as clubs abroad.

Since January, Borussia Dortmund have been following the progress of one of the club’s loaned players with concrete interest. Ansgar Knauff is a player that came through BVB’s own academy system. He was loaned out to fellow Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt as, at least under Marco Rose, there didn’t seem to be much room for him in the team.

Fast forward to September, head coach Edin Terzić has been in charge of Die Schwarzgelben since the summer transfer window, and according to reports, Terzić has his eye on the academy product. Dortmund have seemingly been quite pleased with Knauff’s development, and it’s no surprise. Knauff was one of the key players in Eintracht Frankfurt’s push and eventual triumph in the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League.

Ansgar Knauff managed to score in the quarter finals against FC Barcelona, and then backed that up scoring an important goal against West Ham United in the following semi-finals. He put in these displays, most impressively, while playing as a right wing-back. The player had previously plied his trade slightly higher up the pitch down the wing.

This season, Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Oliver Glasner has used Knauff both defensively and in midfield, but the player has yet to register a single goal or assist. His stats over the course of the year remain strong in many aspects of his game when compared to players who occupy a similar position.

He is in the 93rd percentile in terms of non penalty goals and in the 97th percentile in terms of total shots taken. His progressive carries (83rd percentile), dribbles (98th percentile) and progressive passes received (82nd percentile) all see him ranked quite highly amongst his peers, highlighting his attacking inclination.

Defensively, Ansgar Knauff excels in terms of pressures and tackles, while underperforming in the areas of interceptions, blocks and clearances. He still outperforms current BVB right-back Thomas Meunier in many of these areas including pressures, tackles and interceptions. Meunier does however outperform the Germany U-21s international in the areas of passes attempted (93rd percentile) and passes completed, with a pass success percentage of76% to Knauff’s 63%.

The question is whether Borussia Dortmund really need a more attacking minded full-back. Depending on how they choose to play moving forward, they may be better off trying to bring in a player that is more balanced than either Meunier or Knauff in terms of their output on the pitch.

I do believe that Ansgar Knauff’s ability to play multiple positions makes him an attractive option for Borussia Dortmund to bring back and reintegrate, especially if he puts together a run of strong performances with Eintracht Frankfurt this season. It will be a point of pride for the club to see another academy product succeed and become a useful part of the senior squad moving forward.