€25m for a benchwarmer? Bundesliga club working magic under the radar | OneFootball

Jobe Bellingham, Daniel Svensson and then? Nothing. For a long time, impatient waiting characterized Borussia Dortmund's transfer summer. Now Sebastian Kehl & Co. have made two purchases. Carney Chukwuemeka has already proven his suitability for BVB. Joining him is a mystery from the Ruhr area, Fábio Silva, who cost a hefty 25 million euros. There's no place in the first eleven, lots of criticism - and a really clever plan.

At first glance, the skepticism of many BVB fans is very understandable. Silva managed a measly four goals in 62 Premier League games. Previously, Wolverhampton Wanderers had invested a club record sum of 40 million euros in the striker. "I had no time and no space to make mistakes," the Portuguese described his biggest problem to 'The Athletic'.

There will be little of both in Dortmund as well. The top dog in the attack is Serhou Guirassy, who coach Niko Kovač, after 34 goals in 45 games last season, rightly refers to as a "life insurance" time and again. He will not give up on him voluntarily. In addition, sporting director Sebastian Kehl emphasized at 'Sky' in early August that the possibilities of his club were "economically somewhat limited". And now a million-man for the bench?

That's exactly the plan. "We need a large squad with high quality," Kovač explained to 'Sport Bild' almost two weeks ago. Only in this way can the "dance on three weddings" succeed. A repeat sprint for the CL places should be avoided at all costs. Acting instead of reacting is the new order of the day at Westfalenstadion. Investing fits into this, not just linguistically.

Because at second glance, the Silva deal offers multifaceted potential with manageable risk. Despite his 23 years, the new Portuguese national player has already six years of professional football under his belt and believes he has "matured" during this time. He has dealt with the pressure of success from his Wolves time with a mental coach.

"In recent years, I have not put myself under so much pressure," he summarized the success of the measure at 'The Athletic'. Doubts have given way to a pronounced self-confidence: "All the noise around me before... I don't read anything anymore. I know what I can give my team." The facts underline this.

During his last stint at Gran Canaria with UD Las Palmas, the goal rate was right. Ten goals in 24 games for a relegation team are decent. A symbolic highlight of his career was the duel against FC Barcelona last November. Despite a hip-high pass, Silva processed the ball strongly and scored the 2:1 winning goal.

With his pace and - according to his own statements - a preference for duels, Silva can set impulses at any time as a joker or starter. With his style as a "success-driven, working striker", as Kehl described it in the press release about his signing, he also fulfills the often desired Ruhr area cliché of the worker.

Even if Silva never fully develops his promising profile in Dortmund, the probability is low that it is a bad deal for BVB. Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl are also aware of this. In the aforementioned announcement, the Borussia bosses speak of "great potential" and that "this transfer is very valuable for us." The new signing is also an expensive speculative object.

The idea behind it, on the other hand, is quite low-risk. If Silva hits harder than the Essen striker on Yan Cuoto's knee, BVB, as a renowned premium training club, will not be able to fend off inquiries. If he plays little because things are going well with Niko Kovač's team, the money will come back in other ways. If something happens in between, for example a quota like at Las Palmas, there is still a good chance that a wealthy PL club will fall in love with him and open the wallet wide.

Is it nonsense? Then ask in Stuttgart what can be earned with a 23-year-old, playful center forward who scored twelve goals in 28 Bundesliga games last season. Which BVB fan would still remember how late in the transfer window Silva was signed?

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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