With a wide variety of Bundesliga stars trading life in the German top-flight for England in recent years, rare is the occasion, by contrast, that a player goes in the opposite direction.
Top talents like Sadio Mane and Joao Cancelo are perhaps the most prominent examples, and it now looks like Shea Charles could follow in their footsteps by departing Manchester City for Dortmund.
In an exclusive reveal for CaughtOffside, BILD journalist Christian Falk pointed to the Signal Iduna-based outfit’s ace up their sleeve in the form of their reputation of developing young English stars like Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho into world-class talent.
“Shea Charles is 19 years old and playing in the holding midfield role – Dortmund are preparing to lose players in this position,” the German wrote in his exclusiveCaughtOffside column.
“It fits perfectly and they have very good arguments; they told him about Bellingham, Sancho and Bynoe-Gittens.
“So, that’s the card they can play. He has a contract until 2027, so it makes things difficult with money. But they hope to get him and they have good arguments, but they can’t compete with City as far as money is concerned.”
Whether the finances around the deal prove obstructive remains to be seen, though one might reasonably imagine that some arrangement can be worked out that benefits both clubs involved, even if a buy-back option is inserted.
Ultimately, the Bundesliga outfit does have a stellar reputation when it comes to developing talent, so it would surely be in the player’s best interests to seek more regular game time.
Over in Manchester, the task of breaking into the first team will be more challenging by far, particularly whilst Rodri continues to hold down the fort. At his current age (26), that’s looking likely to be a long-term possibility.