Plagued by injuries and managerial shifts, the Belgian prodigy faces an uncertain future as Strasbourg and Monza circle for a cut-price deal away from the Signal Iduna Park.
Julien Duranville’s future seems to be getting closer to a conclusion as reports have emerged that he is set to be sold by Borussia Dortmund this summer.
According to Sacha Tavolieri, Julien Duranville has been offered to Strasbourg, currently managed by the ex-Bournemouth coach Gary O’Neil, who has him on a lengthy shortlist as a potential addition to his French outfit in the situation that players depart Strasbourg in the attacking position. Furthermore, Strasbourg are not the only club interested in the Belgian forward, as AC Monza, just promoted to Serie A, has reportedly had an offer of £1.3 million turned down by Dortmund.
Initially signed for £7.4 million from Belgian side Anderlecht, Dortmund are highly unlikely to receive that fee back in any sale of Duranville, especially after he failed to impress on a recent loan at Swiss side Basel in the 2nd half of the season just gone, scoring just 2 goals in 16 appearances for the Swiss giants, who did as a team severally underwhelm, leading to the sacking of their manager Ludovic Magnin just 4 days after Duranville signed for the club on loan.
The 20-year-old forward was considered a hot prospect in his youth career, being nicknamed "lightning bolt" due to his speed during his rise through the youth ranks and touted as one of the next best to come through and establish themselves at Borussia Dortmund back in early 2023. However, several factors have heavily impacted his development in the critical years of his career.
Considered at one point as the next Jadon SanchoFirstly, his injury record while at Dortmund has been dreadful, with him missing 77 games for club and country since the start of the 2023/24 season, with major muscle injuries becoming a common occurrence for the winger. Another issue has been the 3 permanent managers in 3 years at Dortmund with different systems, and now with the current manager, Niko Kovac, he clearly isn’t in his plans going forward. Whether that is due to Kovac not believing that he fits his system or that he doesn’t trust Duranville’s fitness to be able to rely on him.
These issues combined have led to the current conclusion that a parting of ways is best for both parties, and according to BILD, the Belgian does, in fact, play no role in the club's plans going forward, with Dortmund wanting to get back as much of the £7.4 million they paid for him as possible. While for Duranville, he needs to move to a club where he can hopefully stay fit and have a consistent environment around him, under a manager that trusts him, because if you can get those two things to align, a club somewhere could have a real player on their hands.
But the question remains, who is going to meet or get close to Dortmund’s valuation of Duranville, or will Dortmund have to lower their demands in order to facilitate a move for a player who clearly needs a fresh start elsewhere?
