Million-pound competition beaten! Borussia Dortmund apparently secure Italian top talent - including a strategic shift in transfers?
According to information from Ruhr Nachrichten, Borussia Dortmund are on the verge of signing 16-year-old Roberto Scaglione from CFC Genoa, who is set to sign soon despite competition from several big-name clubs.
Talks over a move for the Italy U17 international are in the final stages and close to being wrapped up. The attacking midfielder will sign a long-term contract with the Bundesliga club.
The club are still waiting to announce the deal officially because they must first receive approval through FIFA's minor application, which is mandatory for international transfers involving under-18s.
Dortmund are paying CFC Genoa a fee of around one million euros for the youngster. Scaglione had only signed his first professional contract there at the start of the year.
BVB see Roberto Scaglione as having potential for the first team
Paying a fee of that size for a 16-year-old underlines how highly the Westphalians rate their new signing. Academy officials Paul Schaffran and Thomas Broich are not handling the deal. Sporting director Ole Book and managing director for sport Lars Ricken have taken charge instead.
Under the sporting plan, the midfielder is initially set for appearances with the U19s and U23s. Internally, though, Scaglione is already seen as a player with a route into the first-team squad. The scouting department for top talents had been tracking the Italian and believe he is capable of stepping up into the senior game.
As for the race for his signature, BVB beat off high-profile competition. Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus Turin, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich had also shown interest in signing him, but Dortmund's offer won out by laying out a first-team perspective.
Who have BVB signed so far?
The transfer could also form part of an adjusted strategy in the market, the newspaper writes. If the Scaglione move develops as hoped, the club's leadership intend to invest more often in international talents from this age group in future.
Elsewhere, BVB are already putting more emphasis on younger players in the current transfer window. Aside from the signing of 27-year-old Joey Veerman, Dortmund have mainly brought in players aged between 17 and 23 in Justin Lerma, Kaua Prates, Joane Gadou, Konstantinos Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias. Takato Yamamoto has also joined for the second team.
Meanwhile, the club are still looking for reinforcements at right-back to cover for Yan Couto's loan departure to Como. 20-year-old Hector Fort of Barcelona is considered a candidate.
