Blow for Dortmund: former youth star called up to Germany squad | OneFootball

After being sold for only one million euros, Nnamdi Collins makes the leap to the German national team. At BVB, the defender was left out - now he's making his breakthrough in Frankfurt.

Borussia Dortmund let go of a promising homegrown talent in the summer of 2023 - and probably regrets this transfer by now. Nnamdi Collins, who played for BVB since he was twelve, moved to Eintracht Frankfurt for just one million euros. Now, the defender has been called up to the German A-national team for the first time.

"If one day I had the chance to help the A-national team on the big stage... who wouldn't be happy about that?", Collins said in December on Sky Sport. Now this dream could soon become reality: The 21-year-old is in the squad for the World Cup qualifying matches against Slovakia on September 4 and Northern Ireland on September 7.

The Düsseldorf native began his career in 2016 at Borussia Dortmund's youth performance center, where he played for seven years and even became German A-Junior Champion as captain of the U19 team. Despite his talent, he didn't make the leap to the pros in Dortmund - only eight appearances for the second team in the 3rd league are on record.

Collins celebrates leap to the German national team

In Frankfurt, Collins continued to develop. After initial appearances in the regional league, he made his Bundesliga debut in April 2024 and is now a regular player in the three-man defense of coach Dino Toppmöller.

National coach Julian Nagelsmann was impressed by Collins' versatility. About the role of the young defender, he said: "What he plays, I won't tell you. Maybe it will be a mix of both." In addition to Collins, goalkeeper Finn Dahmen and Paul Nebel are also in the DFB squad for the first time.

At BVB, there is no buy-back option or resale participation for Collins. Sebastian Kehl, Dortmund's sporting director, commented on the departure of the talent: "Nnamdi approached us with the strong desire to change clubs this summer. We wish him all the best for his future."

While Dortmund is currently struggling with personnel problems in defense, Nnamdi Collins is lacing up his boots in Frankfurt and experiencing his steep rise - now crowned with the nomination to the national team.

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