Borussia Dortmund does have a good track record of signing some of the most promising young talents in the game.
Just look at the case of Robert Lewandowski, who they signed as an unknown out of Poland and now he's become one of the best strikers in the world.
And Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who has hit some rough patches as of late over at Arsenal, but all around is still a top notch attacker.
The same can easily be said about American star Christian Pulisic, who hasn't had the best of luck under Thomas Tuchel but still has plenty of promise.
This season, fans have seen the rise of Norwegian international Erling Haaland, who up until recently was Erling "Who"? prior to his exploits at the 2019 U-20 World Cup, and even after that, really didn't announce himself until earning himself a move to Signal Iduna Park. Others who've been really impressing also include Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna, and let's not forget Jude Bellingham and Youssoufa Moukoko, the latter in particular widely touted as Dortmund latest rising youngest star.
So, given their excellent scouting, it's not really shocking that one of their former employees has stated, with some bold authority, that Dortmund could have signed another very bright young talent.
And, for free, mind you.
That player is none other than 2018 World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe, now on the books of PSG, and now one of the most hotly-sought after players in the world.
In December 2015, Mbappe, then 17 years old, made his first team debut for Monaco, and his performances quickly caught the eye of teams all over France as well as in Europe.
Dortmund, naturally, were one of them.
And according to then-Dortmund scout Sven Mislintat, die Schwarzgelben were quite keen.
"He was free of charge at a certain point and there were many suitors. But we had no chance of winning that [race]," he revealed in a recent podcast with Kicker and DAZN.
"[So], if [anyone] had been able to [get] Mbappe from Monaco for free at the time, it would of course have been a [fantastic bargain]."
As we all know, Monaco refused to budge and held on to their prized player until the 2017/2018 season, when they allowed him to leave for PSG on loan. When Les Parisiens decided they wanted to purchase him, Les Rouges-et-Blancs demanded the capital outfit cough up a whopping €145 million plus an estimated €35 million in other add-ons and other incentives for a grand total of about €180 million. This made him not only the most expensive teenage signing in football history, but also the most expensive transfer within a domestic league (Monaco to PSG are both in Ligue 1).
Nonetheless, given all that has happened, Mislintat's statements may make quite a few people, well, chuckle, to say the least.
But had Dortmund been able to get Mbappe for free - and somehow (however unlikely that is) held on to him until 2020, when Haaland joined from Red Bull Salzburg - things could have gotten quite interesting. Ironically, the two rising stars came face to face in the Champions League during the Champions League round of 16, during which Haaland scored twice to give Dortmund a 2-1 win in the first leg over Mbappe's side.
Could we see the two players, who are viewed as serious contenders for the Ballon d'Or in the not too distant future as playing for the same side? It's certainly possible, and it's a really exciting possibility. Dortmund may not have been able to get it done, but there are plenty of teams in Europe with the funds to make this prospect a reality.
