Manchester City host Borussia Dortmund this week in the UEFA Champions League, and to say there’s already a narrative heading into this blockbuster fixture will be something of an understatement.
The Premier League’s top goalscorer, Erling Haaland, will face off against his former side, whilst Manuel Akanji is also in line to take on Dortmund after also joining City from the German giants in the summer transfer window, with the Bundesliga side also having some links to the English champions.
City and Dortmund both got off to big wins in their opening Champions League fixtures, and their clash in Manchester this Wednesday could be one of the most entertaining of the entire matchweek given the quality in both squads, though Pep Guardiola’s side will be feeling confident about a result.
Indeed, City have already signed two players from Dortmund this summer, and here are five other players the Manchester giants could sign from their Champions League rivals, with many names in the Bundesliga side’s team having the potential to become quite special in the future.
Nico Schlotterbeck
Dortmund were one of the busiest sides in the transfer window this summer in Germany’s top-flight, and the signing of Nico Schlotterbeck was arguably one of the shrewdest deals the Bundesliga titans managed to pull off, with the likes of Newcastle United and Tottenham also reportedly interested in the centre-back.
Already a Germany international with the potential to become a superstar for the European titans on a global stage, Schlotterbeck has taken the jump from Freiburg to Dortmund with incredible ease, and for City, the defender could be a potential signing given his modern style of play and his sensational defensive qualities for a player who is still only 22-years-old.
Jude Bellingham
After the departure of Haaland this summer, attentions quickly turned to when and where Jude Bellginham will move next, with the Dortmund superstar already being consistently linked with a reported £100m move to Liverpool next summer in what would be a club-record and joint-Premier League record signing.
Whilst the Reds are the frontrunners to land Bellingham, that doesn’t rule out City in the slightest, who have the money to match Dortmund’s asking price and next summer could be in need of a younger midfielder to lead the club into the future, with Kevin De Bruyne and Illkay Gundogen all in their thirties and Bernardo Silva’s future still up in the air.
Giovanni Reyna
Son of former City star Claudio Reyna, the Sunderland-born Giovanni stole headlines after breaking through at Dortmund for his incredible talents and superb goals alongside his USA nationality, with the 19-year-old set to become a star for America one day in the future.
Whilst injuries have been a concern for the teenager over the years, Reyna has the potential to become one of the best in the world if he can maintain his fitness and his form for Dortmund, and City seem tailor-fit for the versatile attacking midfielder, with the youngster perfect for Guardiola’s fluid attacking system.
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens
Jadon Sancho caused shockwaves around the English footballing world when in 2017 he decided to reject a new contract with City and instead leave Manchester for Dortmund, a decision that proved incredibly successful, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens could be the second reincarnation of the England international.
Like Sancho, the teenager left City to sign for Dortmund at a very early age, and this season has seen the England youth international explode onto the scene, with the winger already featuring regularly for the senior team and even scoring in the Bundesliga, and a Champions League debut against his former Manchester side seems likely in the coming weeks.
Youssoufa Moukoko
Dortmund are viewed by many as THE premier development club for any young player looking to make a name for themselves with a top side and to become a superstar on the world’s stage, and for Youssoufa Moukoko, the records the teenager has already broken so early in his career is quite astounding.
The youngest Bundesliga player ever as well as the youngest goalscorer in the league’s history, the 17-year-old is already approaching 50 appearances for Dortmund’s first-team, and for City, there’s a strong chance that the Champions League hopefuls will be one of the many sides looking to sign the attacking wonderkid one day in the future.
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