Introducing Dortmund new arrival Dahoud

Dortmund have announced that Mönchengladbach's German Under-21 international midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud will sign for them in the summer. UEFA.com gets the back story.

Name: Mahmoud Dahoud
Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Debut: 28 August 2014 v Sarajevo (UEFA Europa League play-offs)
Position: midfield
Nationality: German
Born: 1 January 1996
Preferred foot: right
Height: 177cm

They say ...
"Mo Dahoud is a highly talented and exciting central midfield player who we have been keeping very close tabs on for several years. He has already proved he can cut it at the highest level."
Michael Zorc, Dortmund sporting director

"Mo is a great footballer with unbelievable technique, but there are a few things he still needs to learn. He often opts not to take the easy route. For example, he uses his great technical ability to find solutions that make opponents look bad."
André Schubert, former Gladbach coach

Background ...
Born in Syria, Dahoud grew up in the Rhine region after his family moved to Germany when he was a baby. The youngster perfected his football skills on an asphalt car park near his home, learning to tough it out with the bigger kids. At 14, he left home to join Gladbach's academy, turning heads with a pre-season performance against Bayern three years later. If injuries hampered him early on, he is now regarded as one of the greatest talents in German football.

Shades of ...
His role model is Zinédine Zidane, and the elegant way he guides the ball around the pitch certainly invites comparisons to the current Real Madrid boss. In Germany, he is often labelled the new İlkay Gündoğan: dynamic, with good vision and ready to take risks when passing into the final third.

Dahoud has been compared with City's İlkay Gündoğan©Getty Images

He says ...
"The moment I learned to walk, the ball became my life. That hasn't changed. At a trial for Fortuna Düsseldorf, people weren't entirely convinced at first, but I literally dribbled my way through it. Since 2010 I have been at Gladbach. It was a big step and it wasn't always easy."
Dahoud on his early days

"Sometimes this all feels like a dream and it's only three days later when I see pictures and videos of myself in action that I realise what is really happening in my life."
Dahoud on making his name

"I don't spend much time thinking on the pitch. I do things intuitively."
Dahoud on his playing style