Borussia Dortmund’s reputation as a proving ground of some of the best young players around has long been established. The Bundesliga club is renowned for scouting the game for talented prospects they can introduce to the first team and ultimately sell on at massive profit. Not a transfer window goes by without one of their players being linked with a mega-money move to the Premier League or La Liga.
At present, Christian Pulisic is a staple of the transfer gossip column, with the young American linked with a move to one of either Liverpool or Manchester United on a nearly weekly basis. Andriy Yarmolenko is a slightly difference case in that the Ukrainian has failed to make much of an impression at Dortmund since joining from Dynamo Kyiv last summer, but he too could be on his way to England, with Everton thought to be interested.
Dortmund see Wilfried Zaha as a potential replacement and a player to add to the list of exciting, young talents to have passed through the club in recent years. Recent reports claim the Crystal Palace winger could make the move to the Bundesliga as he looks to take the next step in his career. It could be the perfect place for him.
Zaha has turned his career around since making the move to Selhurst Park two years ago. He was damaged goods upon leaving Manchester United having failed to bed in at Old Trafford, but Palace have given him an environment to develop and grow as the player he always promised to be. But now the 25-year-old must make a step up.
Let me put this simply for you. If we sell Zaha, we will be relegated. He is irreplaceable. There is nobody who could come in and do what he does.
Let's not even think about it yeah
He could go to Arsenal or Spurs, or even back to Manchester United. The Premier League’s great and good have all been linked with a move for Zaha at one point or another, but at that level he could find himself suffocated once again. Zaha needs to join a club where he will be embraced, where he will be harnessed. Dortmund are that club.
There he would learn to cope with the pressure that comes with the expectation to win week-in, week-out. He would also play in Europe, possibly in the Champions League, at the very least in the Europa League. Zaha might have that chance at a club like Spurs, thought to be the most interested of the Premier League contingent in his services, but it would most likely be as a peripheral figure.
There is a risk attached to making a move abroad, but the benefit could take Zaha to the next level in his career. Dortmund have a proven track record of producing superstars and the Ivory Coast international must join their production line if the opportunity presents itself this summer.
