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Borussia Dortmund will sign Joane Gadou from FC Red Bull Salzburg for the upcoming season. Who is the 19-year-old center-back who is costing BVB as much as Erling Haaland once did?
Ultimately, it’s a question of definition as to whether Joane Gadou from FC Red Bull Salzburg is Ole Book’s first transfer. The 19-year-old center-back is indeed being bought during the just-started tenure of Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director. That much is certain. However, the transfer, which costs BVB 20 million euros plus potential bonuses of five million, is not solely attributable to Book.
The pool of young, aspiring talents has become far too transparent for such a consideration. Every reputable top club has known about Gadou for a long time, including BVB. They had already set their sights on him in the summer of 2023, when his contract with Paris Saint-Germain’s youth academy still had two years left. A year later, Bayer Leverkusen narrowly failed to sign him. Even in March, Book’s predecessor Sebastian Kehl inspected him at Vienna’s Allianz Stadium.
In the 1.95-meter tall Gadou, Westphalia is getting a defender who, «at this age, is already further along than Dayot Upamecano was at that time.» This is the opinion of Michael Unverdorben, deputy head of the sports department at Salzburger Nachrichten. In an interview with SPOX, he says: «He is certainly Salzburg’s best center-back. It was always known that he would be a big transfer because he simply has incredibly good attributes and enormous potential. He is strong in duels and aerial battles and possesses everything a defender of international caliber needs.»
The Austrians had already recognized this potential in Gadou in 2024. They paid an atypically high ten million euros to lure the then 17-year-old from Paris to Salzburg. Only his designated future teammate Karim Adeyemi was more expensive at that age – he cost Salzburg only 100,000 euros more in 2018.
Joane Gadou Had No Prospects at PSG
Gadou won the U19 championship in his last season at PSG but had no prospects. Although he trained regularly alongside stars like Kylian Mbappe, he only made three senior squad nominations. The competition from Marquinhos and Lucas Beraldo, and later Willian Pacho, was simply too immense.
Coach Luis Enrique was also reportedly not entirely convinced of Gadou, whom the English Guardian included in its list of the 60 most talented players worldwide in 2024. In Salzburg, they held a completely different view; they had been observing him since his debut for the French U16 national team.
«Jogad,» as he’s called by his friends, moved with his mother and seven-year-old brother. His father, like his mother, is from Ivory Coast, and his other three siblings remained in Nangis, Gadou’s hometown, about 80 kilometers southeast of Paris.
Joane Gadou Broke Through Under Thomas Letsch
Gadou had a slow start in Salzburg. Under the new coach Pepijn Lijnders, the team wasn’t performing well at all, so he only gradually got playing time. In his third game, Gadou was sent off with a red card after 43 minutes for a reckless foul. Within the next 16 months, he received two more expulsions, including a second yellow card within two minutes.
According to Unverdorben, such mishaps were not uncommon when Gadou played for Salzburg: «His big problem is that there was a situation in every game where he had a lapse. You can also see that in the three red cards. Sometimes he’s too impetuous, sometimes he plays an incomprehensible misplaced pass. That’s his biggest area for improvement. He still lacks consistent reliability.»
Under Lijnders’ successor Thomas Letsch, who was replaced by Daniel Beichler in February after 13 months in office, Gadou quickly made the leap to an undisputed regular player. 25 appearances, including the Club World Cup, 21 of which were in the starting lineup and 19 played for the full 90 minutes, is a very respectable record for a player who had not yet played a single professional game before.
«Very Surprising»: Joane Gadou No Longer Playing for Salzburg
Letsch was a big fan of him and called Gadou a «raw diamond that we need to polish – but then he will be a real gem.» The former VfL Bochum coach elaborated: «Jo impresses with his maturity. He has excellent positional play, is strong in duels, and exudes a lot of composure. He has a great future ahead of him, that’s obvious.»
Salzburg, therefore, didn’t hesitate. Just five months after his transfer, they extended the contract of the now eight-time U19 international until 2029. A clever move, as the BVB had to fork out so much money for him partly due to the long contract duration.
However, Dortmund will not be getting a regular starter (anymore). Although Gadou started 31 of his 33 season appearances so far, the right-footed player was not included in the squad for the last five games. He wasn’t even on the bench three times. According to Unverdorben, this was «very surprising.»
Joane Gadou: The Same Transfer Fee as for Erling Haaland
After Salzburg, however, rotated heavily under Letsch, including in central defense, the directive is now reportedly to ensure stability and continuity. And since Gadou’s departure was anticipated, others who will still play for the club next season are now getting their chance. The rumor that Gadou’s absence was also due to disciplinary reasons could not be verified.
However, the information that the BVB has already informed their new signing that he will be planned as the right-sided player in a three-man defense in the future is confirmed. There is also space there: Niklas Süle is leaving the club and will even end his career in the summer, Emre Can is injured for months, and Luca Reggiani is at best planned as a challenger.
The path for Gadou, who defended in the center of a back four in Salzburg, to Dortmund’s starting eleven is clear. The experience alongside him, in the person of Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck, which he often lacked in Austria, should benefit his sometimes inconsistent play.
Whether and how Gadou will succeed at Borussia will then primarily depend on himself. The talent and potential are there, and just as great as the scope for improvement. BVB has had good experiences with deals from Salzburg. Perhaps it is an omen that Gadou costs the same transfer fee as Erling Haaland once did.
Joane Gadou: Overview of His Career to Date
| Team | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Paris Saint-Germain U19 | 37 | 1 | 0 |
| FC Liefering (Salzburg’s farm team) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| FC Red Bull Salzburg | 58 | 0 | 0 |
| FC Red Bull Salzburg U19 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
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