Borussia Dortmund Targets Giovanni Baroni: Elite Young Talent from Argentina

Borussia Dortmund are doubling down on a clear strategy: if there is elite young talent to be found in South America, they intend to be at the front of the queue.

Having already secured Justin Lerma (18) from Independiente and Kauã Prates (18) from Cruzeiro, the club are now circling another prodigy from Argentina. According to Gianluca Di Marzio, BVB have joined Chelsea and Fiorentina in the race for Giovanni Baroni, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder already drawing serious attention across Europe.

Baroni carries an Italian passport, a detail that instantly makes him more attractive to clubs navigating squad registration rules. His current release clause is reported at €25m, but Di Marzio reports that a deal could be struck at around €15m plus bonuses — a figure that fits Dortmund’s preferred model: significant outlay, but with the upside of a potentially transformative asset.

This pursuit does not come in isolation. It fits neatly into a transfer window that has quietly underlined a long-term rebuild in Dortmund.

Lerma, signed for around €4m, and Prates, brought in for roughly €7m, were both tied down earlier but could only arrive once they turned 18. Those deals were not headline-grabbers at the time, yet they speak to meticulous planning rather than opportunism. The same can be said for the move for Joane Gadou, the RB Salzburg defender who joined for €19.5m following the appointment of Ole Book as sporting director.

Book’s early work carries a clear imprint: youth, upside, and a willingness to invest before the rest of Europe fully wakes up to the potential on offer.

Inside the club, the pathway for these players is already being laid. The emergence of Samuele Inácio and Luca Reggiani in the latter stages of the season has given Dortmund concrete proof that their development model still works. Young players are not just being signed; they are being trusted.

So the interest in Baroni feels like the next logical step. Another teenager, another high-ceiling attacking profile, another bet that Dortmund can once again turn raw promise into elite performance — and, in time, into serious value on and off the pitch.