Chelsea Reportedly Want Mahmoud Dahoud

What would be the bigger cause of fury among Liverpool supporters? Mahmoud Dahoud becoming another highly-rated young player to join Borussia Dortmund or Chelsea muscling in on the race to sign the talented midfielder?

A report from the Guardian has identified the talented Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder as a Chelsea target. Chelsea currently have N’Golo Kanté, Nemanja Matić, and Cesc Fàbregas to call upon as central midfield options, but greater depth and options will be required next season with the return of Champions League football.

The 21-year-old is out of contract at the end of next season and is believed to move on this summer after failing to sign a contract extension. A composed and intelligent midfielder with the requisite mobiity and appetite for work would be high on many club’s wishlists. The Liverpool Echo’s James Pearce recently said there was nothing new to report on the Reds’ pursuit of a player that was generally agreed to be a top target in Jürgen Klopp’s first summer transfer window as Liverpool manager.

The rumoured transfer to Borussia Dortmund has been reported to be for just €10 million—a figure that would represent quite the bargain. Whether these reports in Germany are accurate or not, he is going to move somewhere this summer. Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus are also believed to be interested in Dahoud, but are Liverpool still interested in bringing Dahoud to Anfield?

Increased competition would make an transfer more difficult to complete, and such stories underline the importance of Champions League football. While Liverpool have signed good players without the carrot of what is arguably football’s best competition, it’s not a strategy that Liverpool should be interested in continuing much further. Still, criticising FSG, Klopp, the transfer committee, or the club’s transfer strategy on the basis of rumours is probably as unfair as it is unwise.