Chelsea, Manchester City ‘keeping tabs’ on Borussia Dortmund’s Mahmoud Dahoud — report

Thomas Tuchel has three midfielders at his disposal whom he fully trusts: Jorginho, Mateo Kovačić and N’Golo Kanté, with Billy Gilmour the emergency fourth midfielder. However, Gilmour is likely to head out on loan in the summer to continue his development, and therefore, Chelsea will need another midfielder who can compete with the other three.

In principle, the best way to address this would be by promoting someone who’s already with the club (say, Conor Gallagher, for example), but this being Chelsea, we will undoubtedly look in the transfer market as well. According to Daily Mail, one such player could be Mahmoud Dahoud of Borussia Dortmund, in whom Chelsea have a long-standing interest.

Dahoud’s move to BVB was agreed when Thomas Tuchel was in-charge there, however, Tuchel had left by the time Dahoud arrived at the club. He is predominantly a central midfielder, although he is also adept at a holding midfield role. He has made 19 appearances for Dortmund so far this season, and 89 appearances altogether since his arrival in 2017.

He has been in and out of BVB’s starting lineup throughout the years due to his inconsistent form, with his first season acclaimed as the most fruitful of his career, wherein he made 34 appearances. However, the 25-year-old appears to be on the path of resurgence — which has been helped by Axel Witsel’s Achilles tendon rupture — and has started the last seven games, which have resulted in five wins and just one defeat.

In addition to Chelsea, Manchester City are said to have a keen interest in the player, with Tottenham Hotspur and Everton also monitoring the midfielder. Dahoud’s contract with BVB expires in 2022, and he is one of the names who has been rumored to be on the outgoing list at Dortmund, so he could well prove to be the utility midfield player that we need.