Borussia Dortmund signed 16-year-old Julien Duranville from RSC Anderlecht in January for €8.5m and are hoping to land the next goal with him after Ousmane Dembélé, Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham. The Belgian teenager hopes so too.
“I think it’s fantastic how young players are developed here. You know, I’ve been a fan of Ousmane Dembélé since I was a little boy. I love his way of playing football and at the time I really wanted to know which club was behind it. This was the first time I really became aware of BVB. The final argument was then Jadon Sancho. A great footballer and he’s at home on the wing like Dembélé and I,” said the Belgian in an interview on the Dortmund club website.
With Isak, Balerdi & Subotic: The most expensive teenagers in BVB history
2017/18 for €7.84m from Manchester City. Transfer fee increased to EUR 20.59 million due to resale participation after Sancho’s transfer to Manchester United.
2016/17 for 15 million euros from Stade Rennes. Transfer fee increased to 35 million euros due to resale participation after Dembélé’s transfer to FC Barcelona.
2018/19 for 15.5 million euros from Boca Juniors – fee increased by 800,000 euros through the resale participation to Boca Juniors of 10 percent after the move to Olympique Marseille.
The move to Borussia Dortmund was well thought out, reports Duranville. Not least because of the proximity to his homeland and the past of his compatriots at BVB – he himself is the sixth Belgian in black and yellow since 2015: “Axel Witsel played great here for four years, now I’m happy about Thomas Meunier’s company. He helps me with the integration, especially when it comes to the language. Besides him there are also Sébastien Haller and Rapha Guerreiro, also two players who speak my mother tongue. And everyone else speaks perfect English, which makes it much easier for me to communicate with the entire team.” In the medium term, however, he “naturally” wants to communicate in German and has been taking language courses regularly since the move.
With a market value of €5m, Duranville is the second most valuable 16-year-old in the world behind Brazilian Endrick, who has already signed a preliminary contract with Real Madrid. He is also in the top 10 in the category of players aged 17 or under. Dortmund equipped the right foot with a long-term contract, the exact length of which is not known. Due to a thigh muscle tear, the youngster has not been an option for the squad so far.
With Wanner, Bellingham & Duranville: The most valuable talents up to the age of 17
13 Paul Wanner (17) | Bayern Munich | Market value: €3 million
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