Why Wolves should shield starlet Chem Campbell from Dortmund interest

According to Birmingham Live, Wolves academy starlet, Chem Campbell, is the subject of interest from German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund, with the Bundesliga outfit keen to prise the youngster away from his homeland.

Jadon Sancho’s meteoric rise to stardom at Dortmund since his move from Man City in 2017 has prompted a host of British-based youngsters to move to the Bundesliga in search of first-team football, with Ademola Lookman and Reece Oxford being amongst those.

Now, as per the report, Dortmund are plotting a swoop for yet another homegrown starlet from the Premier League, with Wolves wonder kid Chem Campbell currently on their radar.

The talented midfielder is held in high regard by the youth coaching staff at the Black Country outfit and is a player with serious potential. The 16-year-old is too young to sign professional terms at Molineux, which is likely to make a move to Dortmund less complicated.

Campbell, who scored twice in 10 appearances for the club’s U18 side in the U18 Premier League last season, has already hit the ground running this term, equalling his tally from the previous campaign in just 6 outings.

The prodigy has also made his breakthrough in Premier League 2 Division 1 in the ongoing campaign, featuring once for Rob Edward’s U23 side.

That he has been promoted to the U23s at the tender age of 16 is indicative of a level of maturity that belies his years and Dortmund’s interest in the starlet doesn’t really come as a big surprise.

To put things into perspective, Wolves have put a lot of emphasis on youth development under the ownership of the ambitious and wealthy Fosun Group and losing an up and coming academy prospect like Chem Campbell could be a huge blow to their long-term plans moving forward, as the Black Country outfit look to consolidate on their Premier League status.

Morgan Gibbs-White is currently the most prominent first-team star to have come through the youth system at the club and, with Nuno Santo handing debuts to highly-rated starlets like Taylor Perry, Luke Cundle, Max Kilman and Meritan Shabani in recent times, the fans can be assured that the club is moving in the right direction.

Plus, Wolves are constantly on the lookout for burgeoning young talents across the continent in a bid to build a strong platform for the future, as exemplified by their acquisition of players like Patrick Cutrone, Pedro Neto, Flavio Cristovao, Bruno Jordao and Renat Dadashov in the summer.

To that end, losing a homegrown prospect like Chem Campbell, who has been making great strides in the youth ranks, would definitely be a step backwards and one that could prove detrimental to the club’s plans moving forward.

Wolves would eventually need to polish a few gems of their own if they are really serious about reaching greater heights in the Premier League and the 16-year-old apparently has the potential to stake a claim for a first-team role in the future.

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Campbell is yet to be handed his senior professional debut by Nuno Santo but it won’t be long before he is on the manager’s radar if the youngster continues his development in the right direction.

Verdict

All in all, Wolves should do everything in their power to hold on to their prized asset and, with the youngster set to turn 17 in December, tying him down to a professional deal could go a long way towards helping the club shield the talented youngster from foreign interest.