Borussia Dortmund are in a pretty rough phase right now.
In the 2022/23 season, the club was only one game away from winning the Bundesliga title and ending FC Bayern’s streak, but failed to win against FSV Mainz at home, ending the season with huge disappointment.
An even harsher loss was that of their star player after that season.
Young English superstar midfielder Jude Bellingham left the team to join Spanish side Real Madrid, leaving a huge hole in the heart of the team.
Dortmund tried to find a replacement in Marcel Sabitzer and Felix Nmecha, but the Austrian, who has now turned 31, suffered a knee injury in their game against RB Leipzig, while Nmecha also struggles with injuries.
All the other midfielders around Bellingham dropped in their performances after the Englishman left Dortmund, especially captain Emre Can, who has trouble with his poorly ageing game and is not playing his best football right now.
The club attempted to revamp its midfield, but summer signing Pascal Groß has not had the desired impact, and winter loanee Carney Chukwuemeka is currently receiving minimal playing time and is expected to leave again in the summer.
In this data and tactical analysis, we will establish a profile close to Jude Bellingham and, from there, examine four different midfielders who would elevate Borussia Dortmund’s midfield this summer.
Creating An Ideal Profile
Looking at what Borussia Dortmund are missing in their midfield, some might say they miss everything, which might be an overstatement, but it still has some truth to it.
Jude Bellingham is a very rare type of player who has no fundamental weaknesses in his game.
He is one of the best midfield all-rounders we have seen in a long time.
His passing and technical ability definitely stand out.
He plays a lot of passes and progresses the ball through the lines with ease.
His technical abilities, such as his elite first touch and good carrying ability, enable him to find a solution in every situation.
His passing can have an impact in the middle and final third.
Still, Bellingham also has a lot of impact in the box, scoring and assisting many goals for a midfielder.
He is known for always scoring in crucial situations when his team needs him the most.
Unlike other midfielders with this profile with the ball, Bellingham is also a very good player against the ball, especially in the press.
He has also learned to defend in a deeper block. He moves well against the ball and uses his long legs to his advantage most of the time.
Obviously, it would be unfair to expect Borussia Dortmund to sign a world-class midfielder this summer.
That wouldn’t fit their transfer strategy and is simply impossible for the club.
Looking at what we can take away from Jude Bellingham, we can definitely see that the club needs a motor for its midfield.
This motor can do a bit of everything, but it excels especially in pressing during an attacking press.
It has an impact in the transitional phase of attacks and can provide goal contributions in the box as well.
Considering age, with Sabitzer, Can, and Groß all being older than 30, the possible signing should not be older than 28 simply to provide a structure for the team’s future.
Javi Guerra Scout Report: Valencia’s Dynamic Midfielder
The first player we are going to take into consideration is Spanish U21 international Javi Guerra.
The 21-year-old midfielder plays for his hometown and boyhood club, Valencia, and has been their starting midfielder for the second consecutive season.
Javi Guerra Radar Map
Looking at his data profile, we can see that Guerra excels in the final third and in attacking play compared to other midfielders.
With one goal and three assists this season so far for a very bad Valencia side, Guerra has proven vital for their attacks in almost every situation imaginable.
Still, the young midfielder has had trouble finishing this season and should have more than just one goal to show for his offensive efforts.
Another very good thing about Guerra is his size and speed.
At 1.87m, Guerra stands tall in the midfield, but he isn’t a strong or bulky midfielder.
He is incredibly agile and fast, allowing him to cover great distances with the ball between the boxes and, therefore, progress the ball very well.
His progressive passing is good as well.
His vertical passes and switches are executed well, and he is able to break the lines with his passing a good amount of the time.
But his passing is a problem as well.
Guerra struggles with getting open in the build-up phase of the game and does not like to play with an opponent in his back.
He also lets the pressure get to him too often, and this combination leads to him not completing many passes and having a low completion percentage for a midfielder.
This lack of ball security in vital areas is a big problem for him right now.
His defensive work isn’t great either.
He moves well in the press and always has his tasks in mind, but he struggles immensely when he actually has to defend and engage in duels.
Overall, Guerra has his troubles, but given his club’s current situation and his age, his performances have been really impressive, and he needs to take the next step soon.
His work in the middle third and his strengths in finishing off attacks are definitely something the Dortmund midfield has been lacking ever since Bellingham left, and the right coach will be able to remove Guerra’s woes from his game through good coaching.
Kenneth Taylor Scout Report: Adding Threat In The Box
The second player we are taking a look at here is Ajax’s Kenneth Taylor.
Like Guerra, Taylor currently represents his boyhood club and is having an absolute breakthrough season under Francesco Farioli this year.
The 22-year-old’s career started like a dream, but then tougher years came, and it seemed like Taylor was never going to make the next step at Ajax.
However, he has had a strong season, which earned him a call-up for the Dutch national team again.
Kenneth Taylor Radar Map
While Taylor went through Ajax Amsterdam’s legendary academy ranks, he is not the type of midfielder you would expect, considering Ajax’s legacy.
The young Dutchman is a workhorse, doing his best in attacking play and quick combinations in the middle third to progress attacks.
Taylor does not play many passes for a midfielder at Ajax, and he isn’t even really accurate with the ones he is playing.
However, his quick lay-offs between the line and high-risk passes towards the final third allow him to quickly play through the entire defensive formation, as seen in his radar with his good rankings in progressive and especially dangerous passes.
However, his biggest strengths lie in the box, where he is absolutely lethal.
Ranking in the 98th percentile in goal contributions per 90 minutes compared to midfielders, there are only very few midfielders in world football right now that can compare to his output.
21 goal contributions so far this season and 55 goal contributions in his overall Ajax first-team career are elite, and there is no denying that Taylor will be able to carry this ability to his new team at the next level if he decides to switch teams this summer.
The problem with the Dutchman is his work against the ball.
Taylor is clever and does not let his team down from a tactical or motor perspective.
Still, as seen in the radar above, he cannot directly have an impact against the ball by winning defensive duels or in the air.
This will hold Taylor back throughout his career because aggressiveness is a highly regarded value for midfielders these days.
However, with the 22-year-old’s attacking impact, there will be a team that will roll the dice on him in a more advanced position.
Maurits Kjaergaard Scout Report: Danish Dynamite
What made Dortmund very successful over the last couple of seasons was the acquisition of players like Bellingham and Jadon Sancho, young and hungry players trying to prove themselves on the biggest stage.
BVB excelled at developing these players, not just the two Englishmen but also players like Ian Maatsen, Erling Haaland, and even Ousmane Dembélé.
Therefore, we are going to take a closer look at the third player: Maurits Kjaergaard, a 21-year-old Danish midfielder playing for Red Bull Salzburg.
Maurits Kjaergaard Radar Map
Looking at the Danish U21 international’s data profile, we can see that, like Bellingham, Kjaergaard has no weaknesses in terms of attacking output and efficiency or his passing game.
At 1.92m in height, Kjaergaard is a very physical midfielder.
He dominates the midfield with his good physicality, quickness, and pace.
As a Red Bull player, Kjaergaard excels in the counterpress and attacking press.
While he might not be the player to actually win the ball back or even get into a duel, Kjaergaard’s positioning and movement patterns are top-notch.
They constantly allow him to alter passing angles and apply pressure to the ball even without getting into duels.
In fact, his defensive ability is good enough for his managers to play him as a left back occasionally, and he did well there, too.
Other than that, Kjaergaard is just a very well-rounded player.
His passing game is good in the transitional phase.
He has good vision and is calm on the ball.
He finds vertical solutions often and can even use his dribbling to keep the ball.
His work in the final third is also outstanding.
He has a knack for finding the soft spots in the defence’s coverage and, therefore, gets a lot of touches in the red area and the box for his team.
He is very efficient at converting these situations into shots, thanks to his good passing and effective ball shielding.
To start off this season, he also found his finishing, something he lacked over the last couple of seasons.
His physicality is also showing in the box now, and he has made huge improvements to his shooting technique over the summer.
While this all reads nice, Kjaergaard has one major red flag: He is very injury-prone, has missed significant time over the last two years, and is currently injured again with an ankle sprain.
Nadiem Amiri Scout Report: Providing A Spark
The last player we’ll discuss is Nadiem Amiri, whose name may sound familiar to Bundesliga watchers.
Amiri has a very special story and is different from the other players on the list.
He is not a young talent or a typical central midfielder; his story is different.
Rising through the academy of 1899 Hoffenheim, Amiri made his Bundesliga debut at the age of 18 and impressed throughout the early stages of his career.
After the start of his career, there was a lot of promise for the attacking midfielder, and Bayer Leverkusen decided to pick up Amiri a couple of years later.
At Leverkusen, Amiri struggled and never managed to establish himself as a clear starter.
Towards the end of his time, he was barely playing.
In the winter of 2024, FSV Mainz decided to swoop in and sign Amiri to help them survive their relegation battle.
Amiri later stated that taking a step back and realising that he needed to take on more responsibility to reach his full potential had an instant impact on the Mainz squad.
It brought them back to life and has now secured them a place in the UEFA Champions League in the Bundesliga.
Nadiem Amiri Radar Map
For Mainz, Amiri now plays in a deeper position and has way more impact on their passing game in the middle third.
Amiri is elite at progressing the ball by any means.
He is an excellent dribbler who can get past any defender in any position on the field.
His progressive passing is very good as well.
He moves well after playing the ball, too, and therefore, he is a player who can incite combinations anywhere on the pitch.
As the radar shows, Amiri also receives and plays a good number of passes in his deeper position.
Therefore, he is taking on the responsibility in the midfield of Mainz, something that the Dortmund midfielders are currently struggling with.
His attacking output at Mainz is still elite.
His past as an attacking midfielder shows in the final third, and his quick decision-making and good shooting technique also make him a threat for goals from a distance.
He is also very good at taking set-pieces and scoring multiple direct free kicks, and his corners are dangerous.
While he is a willing worker against the ball, his past as an attacking midfielder has the obvious downside of making him a poor defender for the position, and the data confirms that.
Amiri is a willing worker, though, and therefore manages to have some defensive impact, but it’s definitely his biggest struggle right now.
Apart from that, Amiri has had a renaissance over the last 12 months and was called up by his youth coach, Julian Nagelsmann, to the national team again after years of absence.
Borussia Dortmund could use a player like him to ignite their midfield back again.
Conclusion
Losing a world-class player like Jude Bellingham is obviously a blow that a club like Borussia Dortmund can’t just walk off.
Still, the club’s attempts to replace their superstar did not go as planned, and their midfield is now in a bad spot in terms of age and quality.
There are many talented central midfielders in world football right now, and the four presented in the article are just a sample.
The club now needs to choose a direction.
If it wants to reach the heights it has experienced over the last couple of years, it needs to act quickly and improve its squad this summer.
With their history of young players, signing a young talent might seem like the only option for BVB, but I believe a player like Amiri could also provide them with the qualities they desperately need.
It will be interesting to monitor the rumours about Borussia Dortmund over the next couple of months until the transfer window opens in July.
