Borussia Dortmund have officially announced the sale of Julien Duranville to Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyon. Germany daily news portal Ruhr Nachrichten has reported (via Bulinews) that the transfer fee is in the region of €8.5 million.
The move ends Duranville's nightmare spell at Dortmund, which had been marred by injuries before seeing the second half of last season away to Basel on loan where the Belgian player impressed upon finding consistent gametime.
In 16 appearances for the Swiss team, he struck twice and assisted once.
Duranville had joined the BVB in 2023 from Belgian side Anderlecht, where he came through the ranks at their youth academy before breaking into the senior team just a year before the move.
What was supposed to be a step up in his career, ended up being a forgetful transfer for him and the club, as the forward was injured for most of the time.
He was limited to just 15 league appearances, another nine in the Champions League and one in the DFB Pokal, where he struck his one and only goal for Dortmund against Phonix Lubeck in August 2024.
Duranville had also racked up two appearances for Dortmund in last year's FIFA Club World Cup, coming off the bench against Ulsan HD in the group stages and then again in the quarter-final loss to Real Madrid.
Last season, the 20-year-old spent much of the first half on the sidelines with a joint dislocation and returning to the bench twice after recovery, against Bayer Leverkusen in November 2025 and against St. Pauli in January 2026. But on both occasions, he remained an unused substitute.
The loan move to Basel was a clear indication that he's surplus to Niko Kovac's requirements and watching him now leave on a permanent transfer will hardly surprise any of the Borussia Dortmund faithful.
But even during his injury-riddled spell at the club, Duranville manage to break into Belgium's international team as the forward made his debut on 6 September 2024 against Israel in the UEFA Nations League followed by another substitute appearance against France, three days later.
However, the young gun failed to make it to Rudi Garcia's 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as part of the reason for his move to Switzerland in January was to make a last-ditch effort in making a positive impression on the manager ahead of the team selection, which Duranville clearly failed to.
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