Borussia Dortmund’s five recent expensive transfer flops

Emre Mor

Emre Mor was signed by Borussia Dortmund in a move for nearly €10 million as an 18 year old coming from the Danish league with little professional experience. It was a big risk as €10 million wasn’t a small amount at that time, especially for Borussia Dortmund. The risk had more than equal reward potential though as Emre Mor was mesmerizing with the ball. Dubbed the “Turkish Messi” he has a very similar dribbling style combined with physical appearance that made running at and past defenders look easy at times.

The problem with Emre was that he didn’t really have another option if the dribble didn’t work. Too often he would get caught in possession trying to take on defender after defender until eventually it ended in a turnover. It is unfortunate because as far as raw ability goes, Emre Mor by all means should be a star.

He is a prime example of how important the mental aspect is to achieve success in football. Blessed with incredible dribbling ability combined with quickness and pace that is near impossible to match. His inability to learn and adapt was the killer for Dortmund, it’s okay if as a youngster you start out trying to do what had worked for you in other leagues.

However, when it’s apparent that no longer works, the ability to learn from that and change parts of your game is crucial if you are continue growing as a player. Emre Mor was not able to do that and his time with Dortmund came to an end after a single season.

Luckily, the club were somehow able to make a profit on him, as Celta Vigo signed him for 13 million euros an year later. Things haven’t worked out for Mor in Spain either though, as he has struggled with disciplinary issues and poor form, and could be on the move again this summer.