First published in Dogma Issue 10 (September 2023), we looked ahead to what the signing of Mahmoud Dahoud could bring to the Albion. As he departs for Stuttgart with his Brighton career never having got off the ground, could things have been any different?

Ben McFadyean is the founder and president of the Dortmund Fan Club London 2013, host of a podcast of the same name, and a Bundesliga writer.

Mahmoud Dahoud, known affectionately by fans as Mo, didn’t leave the Westfalenstadion as a legend, but he is undoubtedly a player who will long be remembered for his skill, warm personality, and above all outstanding commitment.

Mo arrived in Dortmund in the summer of 2017 from the ‘other Borussia’, Moenchengladbach, a product of the club’s academy, where Dahoud developed into a key player in a midfield featuring Christoph Kramer and former BVB player Jonas Hoffmann. Across his time at Borussia Moenchengladbach he played 75 games for the five-time Bundesliga champions, between 2012-2017, including 42 appearances in season 2016/17, the year that Die Fohlenelf impressively finished in a Champions League spot.

In 2017, with one year left on his contract, on his own initiative, Mo was allowed to depart.

BVB bought Dahoud for €12m which put him amongst Dortmund's twenty most expensive signings of all time, a figure similar to what the club paid for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raphael Guerreiro. Due to the large fee and the crucial role he’d played at ‘Gladbach, the expectations from then manager Peter Bosz were high from the start.

Dahoud was brought in as an alternative to Andre Schurrle, who was struggling to make his mark, and Gonzalo Castro who also failed to look the part in midfield. But he was used sparingly during his six seasons with the club, making just 141 appearances.

Preference was given to Axel Witsel in particular, but also Denmark international Thomas Delaney. Jude Bellingham then followed, a creative ‘tour de force’ in BVB's midfield, who barely missed a game.

In spite of Dahoud’s strong defensive skills in a BVB midfield which has often been beset by a surprising lack of robustness, preference was given to Turkey international Salih Özcan, and in the past season, Emre Can, who has been one of Dortmund’s outstanding performers.

At times, Dahoud’s progress with Borussia Dortmund was frustrating. A highly creative and versatile player, he has the attributes of a strong box-to-box midfielder, who loves the ball at his feet and to manage the game with intelligent passes. He’s technically adept, but with strong defensive qualities.

At the age of 27 and as Ruhrnachrichten, Dortmund’s local newspaper reported in March 2023, with only a potential ‘one year offer of a contract extension’ on the horizon, it was make or break time in Mo’s career. Even with the promise of a potential title in 22/23 on the horizon, it was time for the midfielder to once more take things into his own hands; Dahoud was only ever going to go in one direction. Out of the door of Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.

Dahoud’s final season at BVB will be remembered for the frustrating shoulder injury he sustained in August 2022 that kept him off the pitch for several months, limiting the midfielder to just five appearances as Dortmund suffered the agony of missing out on the title, on account of an unexpected 2-2 home draw against lowly Mainz 05, which left the door open for Bayern to win their eleventh title in a row on goal difference on the final day.

The Amûdê-born central midfielder will however look back on some great performances in the last two seasons. The 5-1 thrashing of SC Freiburg in which he rifled in a right-footed goal in the 86th minute, in superb displays against Wolfsburg and Bayern, and in the 2-2 draw in what may be the last Revierderby derby against local rivals Schalke 04 for some time - due to Schalke’s relegation.

Dahoud, who is known for his support of local humanitarian causes in the country of his birth, Syria, which for the best part of a decade has been tragically beset by civil war, will also remember the inspiring victory in the 2021 DFB Pokal final, a 4-1 thrashing of the club every Bundesliga fan loves to hate, Red Bull corporation-backed RB Leipzig. As well as victory in the DFL Super Cup - the German Charity Shield - against Bayern Munich in 2019. The fixture may not be important for most Bundesliga fans, but any win in Der Klassiker is the stuff of legends.

Looking back at Mo Dahoud’s time with BVB overall the expression ein lachender und ein weinender auge, a German phrase which translated means ‘one crying and one laughing eye’ is the best way of summarising the era.

Dahoud suffered from the competition for places in high quality BVB squads; Dortmund haven’t missed a European placed league finish for over a decade. He was unlucky with injuries, in particular seasons 21/22 and 22/23 where he missed months of playing time. Ultimately, he never managed to fully convince fans that he could hold his place in Borussia’s first eleven.

So, what are Albion getting? During the past season Dahoud completed 1.39 deep balls per 90 minutes, which was the 12th highest in the Bundesliga. His 100% accuracy last season for 30-plus metre balls is astonishing. On average he played 73.48 passes per match, the fifth-highest in the German top tier, with an accuracy rate of 91.18%.

Mo Dahoud is a player who has the potential to be as influential as former BVB player Ilkay Gundogan. He is versatile, silky in possession, able to glide forward from midfield, and pick out the perfect pass with the right weight at the right time. He’s an energetic runner who is equally likely to score as he is to track back and defend. On a good day, the German international is the type of player every coach would love in their team.

The Premier League can be a big opportunity; you only need to look at Manuel Akanji, who never really looked settled in a Dortmund shirt, and his performances for Man City last season, or Per Mertesaecker’s seven years at Arsenal, to see that for some Bundesliga players the ‘home of football’, as England is known in Germany, can be just that promised land it is reputed to be.

Dahoud should benefit from teaming up with Mannheim-born Pascal Groß and former Eintracht Braunschweig centre-forward Deniz Undav. However the English ‘all star league’ with its faster pace and more athletic, aggressive style of play, as well as the constant media intrusion into player’s lives, does not suit all German players.

What remains to be seen is if the move to Brighton can reinvigorate Mo Dahoud’s international career. He won 26 caps at junior levels from U18 to U21s and was part of the German squad that won the U21 UEFA European Championship, in Poland (2017). His last full international appearance, however, was back in 2020.

But with Germany’s recent patchy record coach Hansi Flick is on the hunt for midfield players to help reinvigorate the side in the run up to next summer’s European Championships - the first tournament on home soil since the highly successful World Cup of 2006.

A successful and injury-free run of form for the Albion in the Premier League and the Europa League could see Mo Dahoud join Flick’s list of candidates to lead Die Nationelf to glory.