Borussia Dortmund allegedly interested in Udinese’s Lazar Samardžić

Borussia Dortmund are allegedly looking to strike a deal with Lazar Samardžić and his entourage despite the player having an agreement in place with Juventus.

According to reports, Borussia Dortmund may be interested in Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardžić. The interest from Die Schwarzgelben reportedly comes despite the Serbian International allegedly agreeing a five year deal with Juventus.

The 21 year old, who was born in Berlin, has been attracting interest for some time now from a number of clubs aside from the aforementioned Dortmund or Juventus. Inter has also allegedly had thrown their hat in the ring once more despite a collapsed deal for the player this past summer.

For Juventus, it is clear as to why the club are keen on signing the player, with both Paul Pogba and Nicolo Fagioli embroiled in scandals that have led to their suspension. As for Dortmund, targeting Samardžić seems like an odd move considering the positions the player occupies.

According to his stats, there’s no doubt that Samardžić is a quality player. Samardžić finds him self in the 93rd percentile for non penalty goals, 98th percentile for shots (total) and shot creating actions over the course of 90 minutes when compared to similar players across Europe’s top five leagues. The former RB Leipzig prodigy has established himself as an attacking force in midfield for Udinese, but is this the type of player that Dortmund really needs?

Samardžić, at his core, is considered a trequartista, or attacking midfielder in the simplest of terms. At Dortmund his role would likely have to be just that – as an attacking midfielder, which the squad has ample supply of. Marco Reus has had a late renaissance in terms of his form, Julian Brandt has consistently been one of the club’s most important players all season, and Gio Reyna is finally getting more minutes on the pitch, signifying a strong level of depth and competition. Samardžić would have to displace one of the aforementioned names in the pecking order, a tall order considering all three have been either finding their form or already performing at a high level.

The report in question also indicates that Dortmund would be willing to pay 20 million euros for the player, which, if there was an urgent need for such a player would be a good price. The fact remains that this would seem an odd deal to strike considering the fact that there is need for far more pressing positions to be filled. At this time there seems to be little stock in this claim, and considering the club’s needs elsewhere on the pitch, it is expected that available funds will be put to adding depth in these aforementioned areas of need instead.