Should Chelsea be targeting Mahmoud Dahoud?

Chelsea are reportedly looking at Mahmoud Dahoud as a potential midfield jigsaw piece. Is he the right player for Antonio Conte’s Blues?

Chelsea have a good working relationship with Borussia Monchengladbach. Gladbach have already benefited from this relationship as they were able to pick up Thorgan Hazard for a relatively cheap fee in an inflated market. They also got a talent like Andreas Christensen for a couple of years for nothing.

The Belgian has been impressive this season in a flailing side that has undergone a managerial change while the young Dane recovered from a shaky start to the season to reestablish himself as a candidate for future first team involvement at Chelsea. Gladbach also have young a German U21 international of their own who has attracted interest from top clubs around Europe.

Mahmoud Dahoud broke into the side last season under Andre Schubert and became a regular. Alongside Granit Xhaka, Dahoud helped Gladbach finish in the Champions League spots, notching 5 goals and 9 assists on the way.

He is an energetic box-box presence with good attacking instincts and a willingness to get stuck in. However, the most impressive aspect of his game is his ability to break opposition press and drive his team forward. He has excellent technique and is great at close-quarters dribbling.

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At the age of 21, Chelsea would be buying a player with much potential who could develop into a Verratti-esque midfield presence. Dahoud’s contract will be up in 2018 which would mean that Chelsea could pick him up at a cut price. However, Dahoud attracted interest from fellow Premier League club Liverpool last summer and it does look like there will be a bidding war for him this time.

Even though Dahoud is only 21 years old, he already has racked up a lot of starts in the Bundesliga, in addition to gaining valuable European experience. Chelsea have shown that they want to sign a box-box midfielder in January when they tried to recruit Atalanta’s Franck Kessie. In Dahoud, they would be going for a more experienced candidate who has played at a higher level. Even though Dahoud is not a physical monster like Kessie, he is scrappy like N’Golo Kante and can more than handle the rigors of Premier League football.

Dahoud saw his move to Liverpool blocked last summer because Gladbach had already let Xhaka join Arsenal. He hasn’t committed himself to the club long term and is looking to make the step up. So it is up to the club to convince him to join Chelsea instead of their rivals.

Dortmund are the strongest competitors and their recent record of signing and developing promising young players may prove more attractive to Dahoud.

Either way, Gladbach are not going to lose the opportunity to make money off him so a summer transfer is bound to happen. That and their good relationship with Gladbach mean that Chelsea should be able to cut a reasonable deal with them. This is in sharp contrast to the trouble they have had dealing with Serie A clubs in recent years.

Even though Chelsea are flush on cash thanks to Oscar’s move to China, there is no reason to be frivolous with the funds. Chelsea need major reinforcements to be able to keep up with the Manchester clubs next season and compete in the Champions League at the same time. Shrewd signings like Dahoud and Bernardo Silva can help Chelsea improve their team.

It is always better to sign players entering their best years rather than players who have left their best years behind them. Spending big money on the likes of Radja Nainggolan or Arturo Vidal, given their age, would be a short sighted move that could potentially leave Chelsea with a large wage bill full of players past their prime. Bernardo Silva and Mahmoud Dahoud are going to be future stars and Chelsea would do well to sign them like they signed Eden Hazard 5 years ago.