Borussia Dortmund has made a name for itself in recent years as a talent factory in European club football. With Julien Duranville, the next youngster at BVB is already in the starting blocks. The Belgian is apparently believed within the club to be even better than Jadon Sancho. But are such comparisons even justified?
Of all things, Julien Duranville celebrated his competitive debut for Borussia Dortmund last May at the big showdown of the Bundesliga on the 34th Bundesliga matchday. The 17-year-old came on for Julian Brandt in the 62nd minute of the seemingly hopeless 2-0 deficit against 1. FSV Mainz 05.
Although many fans rubbed their eyes in astonishment at coach Edin Terzic’s decision to change, one thing became clear: Duranville brought exactly that carelessness into play that BVB lacked that day.
The 2-2 win meant that Dortmund lost the title, but for the winger the duel with Mainz represented a milestone in his career. Duranville, who had been out for months due to a torn muscle, wore the black and yellow jersey for the first time.
BVB sees “great potential” in Duranville
Last January, BVB transferred around 8.5 million euros to RSC Anderlecht for the trained right winger. A proud amount for a then 16-year-old talent. But Duranville has already made four appearances in the UEFA Conference League, and according to media reports, other top clubs are said to have been interested in the Belgian youth hope – including FC Bayern.
So BVB had to work hard both at Duranville itself and at RSC Anderlecht in order to win the contract. Sports director Sebastian Kehl ultimately praised the U-national player as a “fast, technically strong and creative winger in whom we see great potential”.
Duranville undoubtedly has great potential. Especially with his enormous speed and his strength in dribbling, the young BVB professional should always pose problems for the opposing defense.
Will BVB do without Sancho because of Duranville?
With those attributes, Duranville could become an increasingly important factor under head coach Edin Terzic in the upcoming season. After all, Borussia often lacked a one-on-one difference player after Jadon Sancho left in the summer of 2021. It was only in the second half of last season that Donyell Malen, who had been much criticized before, found his form and was able to fill the Sancho gap with a long delay.
This is probably one of the reasons why the name Jadon Sancho has been haunted by the gazettes around Dortmund in recent weeks, and there has been speculation about a return campaign. However, according to “Bild”, there are currently no serious efforts to actually guide Sancho back to Westphalia. This is said to be related primarily to Duranville.
According to the tabloid, BVB bosses are convinced that the Belgian can do even better than Sancho. For this reason, Dortmund seem to prefer promoting Duranville to tearing their former player away from Manchester United for a high sum of millions.
BVB talent Duranville a future Ballon d’Or winner?
But the youngsters are not only expected to have a great career at BVB. Former Anderlecht coach Vincent Kompany even brought Duranville into play on ESPN as a possible future Ballon d’Or winner.
In order to get into such spheres, the right-footed player still has to take several development steps. Duranville still needs to improve physically, which is not surprising given his young age. In the end, the 17-year-old can also improve.
Duranville sees itself as the right address for this. “I think it’s fantastic how young players are developed here,” he enthused in the members’ magazine “Borussia”. Incidentally, the offensive jewel named Ousmane Dembélé and Jadon Sancho as role models.
The duo showed how you can reach the top international level in Dortmund. Duranville should now follow suit.
Jannik Kube