Borussia Dortmund Targets Giovanni Baroni in Youth Strategy

Borussia Dortmund are doubling down on a strategy that has served them well for more than a decade: find tomorrow’s stars before everyone else does.

Fresh from securing the signatures of Justin Lerma and Kauã Prates, the club are already circling another South American prospect. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, BVB have entered the race for Giovanni Baroni, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder from Argentina who is also attracting serious attention from Chelsea and Fiorentina.

Baroni, who holds an Italian passport, is tied to a reported €25m release clause. Di Marzio reports that the figure could drop to around €15m plus bonuses, a price that suddenly drags Dortmund firmly into the conversation. For a club that has built its identity on turning raw talent into elite performers – and selling them on for huge profit – that kind of deal sits right in their sweet spot.

This isn’t a one-off punt on youth. It’s a pattern.

Lerma, signed from Independiente for around €4m, and Prates, brought in from Cruzeiro for roughly €7m, were both secured earlier but could only officially join once they turned 18. Those deals were done quietly, efficiently, and with a clear eye on the next three to five years rather than the next three to five months.

The appointment of Ole Book as sporting director has only sharpened that focus. One of his first major moves was the €19.5m capture of Joane Gadou from RB Salzburg, a defender regarded as one of the most intriguing young centre-backs in Europe. It’s a sizeable fee, but one that fits Dortmund’s long-standing belief that paying up front for upside is cheaper than scrambling later for finished products.

There’s already evidence of a pathway. Samuele Inácio and Luca Reggiani both forced their way into the spotlight in the latter stages of last season, underlining that this is not a club stockpiling prospects for the sake of it. Minutes are there for those who prove they can handle them.

So Baroni would not just be another name on a long list. He would be the latest piece in a deliberate, accelerating rebuild of Dortmund’s next core – a new generation being assembled while the current one is still on the pitch.

The only question now is whether BVB can outmanoeuvre heavyweight competition once again in a market they increasingly treat as their own hunting ground.