Although much of the transfer speculation surrounding Borussia Dortmund this summer has been based around those supposedly leaving the club, there have been suggestions that Thomas Tuchel may in fact sign some more talent ahead of the new season.
One such name that has popped is Adem Ljajic from Roma. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder was reported to be a transfer target for Dortmund, according to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero (h/t Football Italia), as a possible replacement for the departed Ciro Immobile.
The Serbian international may have once been well regarded in the Italian capital, yet of late he’s found himself on the outskirts of Rudi Garcia’s team and could potentially favour such a move. But what exactly would Dortmund be getting for their money?
Ljajic wouldn’t come into Dortmund’s squad as a direct replacement, considering the fact that he’s more of a wide player or central, attacking midfielder, yet that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be of some use to Tuchel‘s new-look side.
Over the course of the pre-season we’ve seen Dortmund bend to new shapes and sizes under their new manager, which has in turn meant the likes of Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and others have had to begin playing different football in different positions.
As such, it would suggest to most fans that if Tuchel were to bring in another forward, he would indeed need to be capable of playing across a front line. Luckily for this Serbian international, that’s exactly what he can do.
In Serie A last season, Ljajic regularly started one game on the right only to spend the next match on the left with little difference in his performances or what he brought to the side. A clear sign of what he could offer Tuchel in terms of options in attack.
Unfortunately, that’s probably where Ljajic‘s positives run out in terms of what he’d offer Dortmund this season.
The first negative to attach to the Serbian midfielder from a Dortmund point of view is the simple fact that the Bundesliga side probably don’t need him. Another striker may indeed be useful to cover Immobile’s old spot, but when it comes to attacking midfielders, Tuchel is all but sorted.
If the club did indeed sign the Roma star, he’d be fighting it out with Reus, Mkhitaryan, Kevin Kampl, Jonas Hofmann and
There is also the fact that Ljajic didn’t have the best of seasons last year, despite playing in quite a large portion of Roma’s games throughout the Italian league campaign. According to Transfermarkt, the Serbian international picked up just eight goals and two assists in 32 Serie A games last season. Not a terrible return but certainly not one to prick the attention of Dortmund.
We also have to consider the fact that once we dive into those eight goals and two assists, it doesn’t reflect too well on the kind of player Ljajic seems to be. The vast majority of the goals and assists came against lesser sides in the league, such as Atalanta, Torino, Chievo and Cagliari.
In fact, the only two games that could suggest Ljajic is indeed cut out for the big games were his assist against Inter Milan and goal against Fiorentina, but aside from that we saw very little from the player whenever Lazio or Juventus came to town.
Add to that a history of turmoil and petulance at every club he’s ever played for, and there is very little about Ljajic that should interest Dortmund in his signature. This Roma talent may one day become the player he was expected to be, but he’s far too much of a risk for Tuchel‘s squad this season.
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