Borussia Dortmund had one of the busiest transfer windows this summer with seven new signings and an outlay of over 100 million euros. While the jury is still out on most of them, one player who has seriously impressed is Joane Gadou.
The France U21 international impressed during the preseason and has carried that form into the season proper too, looking almost indispensable in the side right now with consistently top-notch displays.
On Saturday, Gadou had another stormer in defense for the BVB. Starting on the right side of their three-man backline, he was instrumental in denying Union Berlin the chance at creating goalscoring moments from his side of the pitch, particularly in transitions as the 19-year-old combined speed and athleticism to track back and cover any space left in behind.
His first real contribution came in the 36th minute when Gadou produced a fearsome burst of recovery pace to impede a counter-attack from the Iron Ones, clocking a match-high of 35.02 km/h. He also won seven aerial duels, repeatedly denying Union Berlin a chance from those situations too.
Blessed with excellent game-reading ability, Gadou was always quick to react whenever the home side attempted to progress the ball, jumping into seven clearances and two interceptions while also winning both his attempted tackles, once again highlighting his importance in breaking down Berlin's movements.
With 92 completed pass, the French teen played a significant role in the build-ups too, combining superbly with Julian Ryerson and Ethan Nwaneri on the right to offer width and help stretch Union Berlin's defense to create space for attackers to run into.
The player's only sour note was losing possession around the hour mark which led to a chance for Tim Skarke, who drove forward and got a shot away, but fired it over the bar, handing Gadou a huge reprieve.
Aside from that, he had a near flawless match. In fact, Gadou was jointly rated the highest alongside three other of his teammates at 8.1 by SofaScore.
For a player of his age, the former Red Bull Salzburg star is incredibly mature. He's added a layer of resilience and robustness to Dortmund's backline that went missing in the big games last season, while also standing out for his ability to make line-breaking passes.
Sure, he's still rough around the edges, as that one erroneous moment showed, or the tendency to leave space in behind at times, but Gadou has grown into a serious prospect with every outing. If he continues in the same vein, the defender could emerge as one of the best signings in the Bundesliga this season.
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