By Chika Ewah
With all media attention and frenzy surrounding Swiss international and former Borussia Monchengladbach captain's (Granit Xhaka) move to Arsenal, it is surprising why the media has been unable to do the same on his more offensive and younger central midfield partner Mahmoud Dahoud.
Born in Syria and arriving Amuda (German town with Kurdish majority) in 1996 barely one-year -old, Mahoud announced himself to the world with his impressive displays last season. A natural box-to-box midfielder with a clinical tackling ability and good positional sense, the Mochengladbach midfielder was only promoted to the senior team in the 2014/2015 season by Lucien Favre after scoring seven goals and registering nine assists in 23 games for the club's U17 side . Though things did not turn out as planned after he made six substitute appearances that season, it was not until Andre Schubert took over from Favre in September 2015 that the player showed his potential. This maybe due to the fact that Schubert was his coach in the U23 level . Last season, Mahmoud was a part of a strong tree man midfield of Granit Xhaka who did most of the tackling and supplied the physical grit, Havard Nordtveit who was tasked with redistribution of recovered ball and himself who played deep with his key passing and ability to score wonder goals. The midfielder is not just an anchor man but also a player who is good in dribbling in tight spaces with a lot of offensive contribution even from his deep-lying position.
Last season, Mahmoud scored five goals and provided nine assists in 32 Bundesliga games as Borussia Mochenglabach finished 4th in the table and thus qualifying for the playoffs of the Champions League next season even though former coach Favre lost his first five games before his sacking. With all his talents and attributes, it is difficult to believe that the German is just 20-years-old when one considers his 1.2 shots per game and 83.5 passing accuracy percentage last season. The German's main strength is his accurate long shots, key passes , energy, pace and tackling technique even with his average frame. Already a star at 20, Mahmoud signed for Mochengladbach at 14 in 2010 before making his debut in 2014.
However even with all these attributes, the midfielders weakness is his inability to come on top in aerial duels and attempt to do too much which sometimes makes him lose possession cheaply. This was corroborated by his coach Andre Schubert who said this about the midfielder in January, "He's got a real engine and is a willing runner, but he has to be more efficient and learn to ease off at times and also recognise that he doesn't always have to run." With all there talents at an early age , it is no surprise that Mochengladbach have placed a £25 million price tag on him already for interested suitors with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United all linked with him this summer. Though this is high for a youngster, one doesn't need to look far to see Julian Weigl who at a similar age made an easy step-up from the lower tiers of German football with 1980 Munich for a £2.5 million fee to the German Bundesliga and thus become a regular for Thomas Tuchel side benching established stars like Nuri Sahin, Ilkay Gundagun and Sven Bender and even making the final squad for Germany at the Euro's in France.
Though he is far from a finished product , Mahmoud has shown enough potential to be at the very top and signing him will only become more difficult for suitors if he improves or continues on his present form next season. A fee around £20 million will represent a bargain considering the already inflated transfer market that has seen the likes of Renato Sanches move to Bayern Munich for a high €35 million after a cameo league appearance in the Portuguese Primera Liga.
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