Borussia Dortmund have cultivated a reputation for developing some of the globe’s elite footballing stars.
The likes of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland can credit the Bundesliga outfit with giving them the platform (and spotlight) to perform and eventually attract big-money moves across Europe.
It’s unsurprising, then, that some competing outfits have looked to intervene in the assembly line and snap up young talents in BVB’s eye-line.
Red Star Belgrade’s Andrija Maksimovic, 17, may very well be the source of some potential conflict between Liverpool and Dortmund.
Liverpool are interested in Andrija Maksimovic
Christian Falk now reports that the Merseysiders ‘are interested’ and potentially closer to a move by comparison.
You’d have to expect Dortmund could rapidly pivot to get into position, of course, if they truly consider the 17-year-old ‘one of the next big jewels in football’.
“Dortmund see Andrija Maksimovic, 17, as one of the next big jewels in football – like they saw in Jamie Gittens for instance. But it’s not so concrete at the moment that they’re planning on buying him,” the German reporter told CaughtOffside.
“Liverpool and other clubs who are interested are perhaps closer. In Dortmund, they are discussing the name but it’s not so hot at the moment, so not the next one they’re going to buy.
“We’ll see how close the English clubs will get to this deal, but Dortmund are not at the starting line at the moment.”
Who is Andrija Maksimovic?
The teenager is Serbia’s youngest-ever international and reportedly comes with a price tag of at least £12.4m, according to Patrik Berger.
Intriguingly, Liverpool may have to compete with Manchester City again for another top talent, and fans can’t discount the threat of Serie A giants Juventus.
? Exkl. #BVB hat Andrija Maksimovic (17/??) von Roter Stern Belgrad im Visier. Jüngster je eingesetzter serbischer Nationalspieler seit diesem Wochenende. Vertrag bei @crvenazvezdafk noch bis 2027. Preisschild: mind. €15m. Noch kein konkreter Vorstoß, nur abtasten …… pic.twitter.com/XF9EcXmmeP
— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) October 14, 2024
Maksimovic notably made his international debut last Saturday in Serbia’s 2-0 win over Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League.
The youngster has seven goal contributions in 11 appearances (spread between senior and youth football) for Red Star this term.