The Jude Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham City is a good example of the effectiveness and the eagle-eyed scouting of the Germans in the transfer market. Although the 17-year old was by no means un unknown player plucked from the depths, (Manchester United were desperate to sign him, and bid upwards of £20 million), it is just a keen observation of how Borussia Dortmund function and build their squad.
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Make no mistake,
they are a selling club. Borussia Dortmund have no delusions of grandeur, and
their activity in the transfer window is a testament to that. While the sales
of Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang happened with Dortmund unable
to wield real control, they still managed to procure the club a combined fee of
£175 million. Dortmund had acquired the services of the two for a combined fee
of £25 million.
Take a look at
Borussia Dortmund’s current squad. The oldest player in the squad is right-back
Lukasz Piszczek, at 35. After that, you see centre-back Mats Hummels, who is 31
and a a starter at the club, midfielder Axel Witsel (31), and captain and
winger Marco Reus (31). To compensate for this experience and pedigree,
Dortmund also have the Jadon Sancho (20), who nearly joined Manchester United
this summer for £100 million, striker Erling Braut Haaland (20), who, if he
keeps on going at the current rate will be another £100 million+ player, and
the exciting Giovanni Reyna (17), who is already starting consistently for the club.
Add to this
mixture, Bellingham (17), Julian Brandt (24), Manuel Akanji (25), and Tobias
Raschl (20), and this is an exciting concoction of players capable of
developing at a high amount, as well as players entering their prime.
And then you have players who are in their prime; Emre Can (26), Raphael Guerreiro (26), Thorgan Hazard (27), Thomas Delaney (29), and Nico Schulz (26). Players performing at a high level with more to go; helping the players in their pre-prime zone while also combining well with the veterans.
While by no
means is there a written rule on how to build a squad, Borussia Dortmund have
seemingly done this in an efficient manner. A squad comprising of experience,
youth and everything in between. Clubs like Borussia Dortmund don’t have the
necessary financial muscle to go after the bonafide superstars; developing
players and selling them on for a profit has proven to work for them.
AS Monaco, during their league-winning season in 2017, built a similar, players about to enter their prime but not yet fully developed squad. That summer, Kylian Mbappe would depart to Paris Saint-Germain for £121 million, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy to Manchester City for a combined fee of £97 million and Tiemoue Bakayoko to Chelsea for £36 million. A season later, Thomas Lemar would leave for £63 million to Atletico Madrid, while Fabinho would depart to Liverpool for £40 million.
And while it
would be fair to say that Monaco took some time to recover from the loss of
their key assets, three seasons and four managers later, they seem to have once
again found their niche in the market, especially with the appointment of Paul
Mitchell as the director of football. The deal to bring exciting young
centre-back Axel Disasi from Stade Reims for £12 million is certainly a step in
the right direction.
And that is why
it is infuriating to see a club like Barcelona function the way they do. A lot
of eyebrows were raised when they decided to spend £108 million on Antoine
Griezmann from Atletico Madrid last summer. Griezmann played predominantly in
areas often occupied by Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and in a young, albeit
extremely injury-prone Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and La Masia’s
prodigious talent Ansu Fati they had requisite manpower. Griezmann arrived, and
subsequently, the £130 million Philippe Coutinho left on loan. The mind
boggles.
This summer,
with a fairly restrained financial outlook, Barcelona have invested in youth,
generally speaking, with an eye towards the future. 20-year old winger
Francisco Trincao has arrived, alongside 19-year old right-back Sergino Dest.
And while the fans and the neutrals were baffled when a 24-year old Arthur was
swapped for a 30-year old Miralem Pjanic, it would be fair to say that a
certain long-term project is under construction, after the 8-2 embarrassment to
Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
While Barcelona
are mired in catastrophe due to financial mismanagement, there is a feeling
that clubs like the Camp Nou outfit can be more adventurous in the transfer
market, due to their pull and history. £10 million gambles here and there go a
long way, and even if one player clicks this way, then you are suddenly sitting
on a superstar player who could, in ideal conditions, last a decade and play at
a high-level for the club.
That’s why
Manchester United’s transfer of Daniel James makes sense. James arrived
last summer from Championship side Swansea City for £15 million. The 22-year
old was, by no means, a superstar in the making. What he could offer was pace
in abundance, capable of running down opposition defences with his sheer
ability to outpace and outrun the defenders. That’s how he thrived at Swansea
City, and that’s why he was extremely close to a move to Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds
United six months before the Manchester United move.
It has not
helped that fans have not warmed to him. James would be a useful player coming
off the bench, especially in the last half hour of games to run at tired
defences. It is not his fault that he started almost every game for Manchester
United, a young Wales international yet to properly develop physically and
constantly fouled due to his slight frame and his incredible pace by defenders.
It is important to understand that players like Dan James are necessary parts of a squad. In a 25-man squad, not all players can be of the same quality, and have the same ability. That would make little sense, and offer no variety to the manager in case he wanted to try something different.
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