The sharp eyes of Borussia Dortmund’s talent-spotters have now settled on the Swedish top-flight and high-flying Malmo.
The Signal Iduna Park-based outfit are said to be ‘interested’ in star midfielder Hugo Larsson, described as ‘the star of the league’ in the Allsvenskan.
“Dortmund are interested in Hugo Larsson, who I’d refer to as the next project, given how the club tend to work,” Christian Falk exclusively revealed to CaughtOffside in his latest column.
“Larsson is 18, the amount they have to pay for him is much lower than what they forked out for Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City – it should be €11-13m – and he’s the star of the league.
“Dortmund have the right arguments in terms of pointing out how they developed Bellingham. I’m very confident that we’ll see him in the Bundesliga next year.”
Fans may remember the ‘top talent’ as having come excruciatingly close to a mid-season switch to Premier League outfit Bournemouth in January, only for the move to fall apart, as was then reported by Guardian journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.
Hugo Larsson, top talent to watch — Bournemouth had deal in place for €12m with Malmö in January for the midfielder born in 2004 but then collapsed due to personal terms ????
Top European clubs now following Hugo as huge talent, likely to break Swedish transfer record. pic.twitter.com/xnmXI1EtNg
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 21, 2023
The one that got away for Bournemouth as Dortmund could strike oil again?
Decision-makers at Bournemouth will be kicking themselves if Borussia Dortmund steal a march on the man who came close to signing for them this term.
With Premier League status for 2023/24 officially secured, the Cherries may still harbour hopes of landing the 18-year-old in the summer (midway through Malmo’s season).
There can be no denying Dortmund’s huge pull when it comes to attracting young, raw talent, of course, given their stellar reputation – which will surely have only been enhanced further by Jude Bellingham’s remarkable development and reportedly impending switch to Real Madrid.