Opinion: Right-backs Borussia Dortmund should consider signing this winter
Amar Dedić
Another name that Dortmund fans will be somewhat familiar with is RB Salzburg’s full back dynamo Amar Dedić. Dortmund have a history with Salzburg players joining the club in the winter transfer window, with the first being Leipzig’s Kevin Kampl in January of 2015, followed by Erling Haaland in January of 2020, and then most recently Karim Adeyemi in 2022. These transfers have spanned across 7 years but also vastly differed in their respective effectiveness, with Kampl being a flop, Haaland of course well and truly making a name for himself in Dortmund, and Adeyemi seeming to stall in terms of his development for now. From the performances Dedić has had in Salzburg colors, the expectation is that he would fall into the “Haaland”category, however, and be a very successful signing.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international has been catching the eyes of many a club across Europe, including the likes of Roma and Barcelona, and for good reason. Dedić has the profile of what one would expect from a modern day fullback: His technique is sound, he has a physical element to his game and he is also very proficient going forward. In terms of goal contributions, Dedić has three goals and two assists for Salzburg across 13 games in the Bundesliga, putting him in the 73rd percentile in terms of non penalty goals and the 96th percentile in terms of total shots, underlining his forward thinking nature. He is also on the higher end in terms of progressive carries with 3.44 per 90 when compared to players in his position across Europes top 5 leagues. He’s also has a quite good passing range, making him able to launch the ball uup to his teammates from a deeper position and contribute in the attack in this way
Defensively, he is luckily no slouch either with the player chipping in with 2.41 tackles, 1.89 blocks and 3.61 clearances per 90 minutes on the pitch. His ability to tackle is very sound and he is a committed runner, something that Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić has shown he values in the types of players he has tried to instill this Dortmund team with ( Julian Ryerson, for example).
Dedić provides a far more attacking option at fullback than the options that Dortmund currently possess, without losing out on the defensive solidity required of a player in his position. In many ways he would be the archetype of player many would have wanted Dortmund to sign in the advent of Raphael Guerreiro’s transfer to Bayern Munich; he possesses a great attacking impetus without the inherent downside of a player like Rapha, who showed on countless occasions that he wasn’t really committed to defending.
On top of what we’ve already mentioned, Dedić also offers a level of tactical flexibility as he can play both at right back and left back, which would allow for far more rotation between him, Bensebaini and Ryerson should he end up becoming a target for Dortmund. Valued at 20 million euros currently, and with a contract valid until 2027, prying him away from Salzburg would take a hefty sum. After losing Haaland to Dortmund for a fee well below the player’s value, the club won’t be likely to do Die Schwarzagelben any favors in terms of their asking price as we saw with the complications surrounding Adeyemi’s move to the Westfalenstadion. Despite this, the player’s performances have made him a solid candidate for the the club to look into and these possible difficulties shouldn’t dissuade them from inquiring about a possible transfer.