Edin Terzic heaps praise on 'hard-working' Hendry Blank

Edin Terzic was full of praise of young Borussia Dortmund defender Hendry Blank, who celebrated his first-team debut on Saturday.

With Mats Hummels and Emre Can both unavailable, Edin Terzic was in a spot of bother when Niklas Süle injured his back during Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga clash against FC Köln on Saturday. But up stepped Hendry Blank, who delivered an encouraging performance on his first-team debut and showed that he belongs at the Bundesliga level.

The 19 year old came on at half-time and made four clearances and won one tackle, helping Borussia Dortmund overcome the challenge of a resilient Köln side. He was tested right from the start, but did a great job of dealing with everything that came his way.

Terzic hailed Blank's impact after the game and said that the centre-back deserves to be part of the first-team squad. "Hendry is with us for two reasons: because he's good and because he deserves it," Terzic said (via Kicker). "He's done exceptionally well. Hendry is a great guy and a hard-working kid who thought he might not make it to the top. Then he comes in and shows that he is capable of playing in the Bundesliga after all. It is a wonderful story. Hopefully, this is the start of many good performances from him."

Hendry Blank joined Borussia Dortmund in 2019 and has enjoyed an impressive breakthrough campaign with the U-23s this season. He earned his maiden call-up to the Germany U-20s squad late last year, and has also established himself as the fourth-choice centre-back in the Borussia Dortmund first-team. And if he continues to impress like this, more appearances could follow in the coming weeks.