This week, VfB signed the long-awaited right-footed center-back Ameen Al-Dakhil. However, opinions about him vary, partly because of his long injury layoff. We inquired about him in Burnley and Belgium and will give you an assessment.
There have been a number of center-backs rumored for VfB, as it has been known since shortly before the European Championship that our former captain was leaving, and we didn’t want to go into the season with just Anrie Chase and Anthony Rouault on the right side of central defense. In the end, it wasn’t Loïc Badé or Omar Solet, who had been on many people’s radar for a long time, but rather a 22-year-old Belgian international who was relegated from the Premier League with Burnley FC last season—incidentally under the new Bayern coach. His name is Ameen Al-Dakhil, and at first, it probably didn’t mean much to most people, especially since a muscle injury in February kept him out of a potential European Championship appearance and also means he won’t be available for us for at least four to six weeks. But more on that later. First, we want to introduce you to our new signing, and we once again spoke to various experts for this. For information on Al-Dakhil’s professional debut, we spoke with Bob Faesen, who reports on Standard Liège for the Belgian daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws. Nils Christiaens, a journalist and presenter at TV Limburg and DAZN in Belgium, already told us in 2019 about Wataru Endo’s time at VV Sint-Truiden, where Al-Dakhil also played for a while. Finally, we spoke with Matt from the Burnley podcast No Nay Never about the last station of our new signing.
Ameen Al-Dakhil was born on March 6, 2002, in Baghdad and fled with his parents to Belgium five years later due to the second Iraq war, which began a year after his birth. In his youth, he played for smaller clubs in the region between Sint-Truiden and Brussels before moving to the larger RSC Anderlecht in 2013 and landing at Standard Liège at the age of 15 in 2017. Bob explains that there is a lot of movement of youth players among the top Belgian clubs. At Standard, Al-Dakhil was not considered an outstanding talent but developed from a midfielder into a defender after previously being, as Nils explains, a fairly successful striker in his youth. In July 2021, Al-Dakhil made his debut in a home game against KRC Genk in the Belgian top flight. According to Bob, Standard, due to its financial situation, relies on the development of young players, and coach Mbaye Leye gave him the chance to prove himself. Al-Dakhil had some good games but also received an unnecessary red card on the eighth matchday against Anderlecht. Nevertheless, Al-Dakhil played the full distance in nine of the first twelve games of the season. After three consecutive defeats, his supporter Leye was dismissed at the beginning of October, and his successor Luka Elsner used him twice more before completely dropping him from the squad until Christmas, and he was only fielded twice more until the end of January. According to Bob, there was generally little confidence in his development at Standard. However, his transfer to Sint-Truiden in the winter didn’t necessarily have to do with that.
A transfer as compensation
Bob and Nils both tell the story of why Al-Dakhil switched from one mid-table Belgian club to another just half a year after his debut: In January 2016, Standard signed striker Edmílson Junior—born in Liège—from Sint-Truiden, and they had negotiated a resale clause. Two and a half years later, Standard sold the player to Qatari club Al-Duhail SC—but for a transfer fee that was so low or incorrect that VV Sint-Truiden received hardly any money. It was controversial that Standard shortly thereafter presented a sponsor from the emirate. Sint-Truiden lodged a complaint with FIFA, and Standard was fined 1.3 million euros. Given Liège’s precarious financial situation, the two clubs agreed on a compensation deal involving a free transfer of a player from Standard to VV—this player was Ameen Al-Dakhil. Not a great decision for Liège, as shortly after he transferred to England for a substantial amount. Nils explains that Al-Dakhil was living in Zoutleeuw at the time, about five kilometers from Sint-Truiden, so he stayed in a familiar environment, especially since he had already played for clubs in the region as a youth. For the player, Sint-Truiden was a good choice, according to Nils, because he could continue his development at a similar level. Bob can also understand the transfer, especially because Standard did not, and still does not, offer young players a good environment for development—due to high pressure and poor management.
In Sint-Truiden, Nils says, fans were surprised by this transfer because Al-Dakhil had already hinted at his potential in Liège before the winter break. After three brief appearances, Al-Dakhil immediately played the last six games of the season in full, with the club finishing the season in 9th place, five spots ahead of Standard. Nils emphasizes that Al-Dakhil took on an important role at Sint-Truiden right away and was considered an important signing, actually too good for the club. His coach there was Bernd Hollerbach, who held him in high regard and stated that as a Bundesliga coach, he would immediately try to sign him. In fact, Al-Dakhil was already on the list of many clubs at that time, Nils knows. Under these circumstances, it’s not surprising that Al-Dakhil switched clubs again in the next winter transfer window. Before that, he started 16 of 19 possible matches, with his last game in the Belgian league being a 1–1 draw in January 2023 against his youth club Standard. After that, he transferred for around five million euros to Championship leaders and later promoted Burnley FC and their coach Vincent Kompany. For Nils, the move to England was only logical for Al-Dakhil. To continue his development, including physically, he had to either move to a top Belgian team or abroad. Kompany is highly regarded in Belgium and was also a center-back himself, like Al-Dakhil. In Nils’ opinion, one of the best Belgium has ever had.
Up, down, and into the infirmary
Al-Dakhil at Burnley. © Marc Atkins/Getty Images
In the summer of 2022, Kompany brought in several Belgian talents to Burnley, including Darko Churlinov from VfB, so the transfer of Al-Dakhil in the winter was no big surprise, Matt explains. Many of these young players were considered highly talented, but the second English league, with 46 games and fierce competition for the Premier League’s riches, is a challenging league. Al-Dakhil spent a long time between the stands and the bench before Kompany gave him and other second-line players more playing time after promotion was secured. This wasn’t necessarily to the liking of the fans, who would have liked to set a points record and had to witness Burnley’s unbeaten streak being broken by Queens Park Rangers—although Al-Dakhil was in the stands at that time. Having gone through many Belgian youth national teams, Al-Dakhil also made his debut for the senior national team in the summer break during a 1–1 draw against Austria in the Euro qualifiers, after the Iraqi federation had tried to convince him to switch allegiance during his time at Sint-Truiden. According to Nils, national coach Domenico Tedesco has a high opinion of Al-Dakhil, who last played for the Red Devils in a 1–0 win against Serbia in November of last year and has four caps so far. In the promotion season, Al-Dakhil looked very promising, says Matt, and there was curiosity about how he would develop.
Burnley only managed to get four points from the first 10 games and was directly relegated again this year—just like the co-promoted teams from Luton and Sheffield United. The gap between the first and second leagues in England is huge and can really only be bridged with a lot of money, Matt explains. Additionally, the Premier League is very unforgiving. Those who don’t get enough points—like Burnley—quickly fall behind. The Championship, on the other hand, is more permeable at the top. From early November, Al-Dakhil hardly played anymore and wasn’t even on the bench. According to Matt, this was because he still lacked the physicality needed for the Premier League, and Kompany also deployed him out of position, which didn’t help his confidence. Matt describes him as a good squad player and backup for the regular center-backs. This likely would have been the case for the newly started Championship season, which makes his transfer to VfB understandable, especially since Burnley needed to generate revenue after an expensive but unsuccessful season. In February of this year, Al-Dakhil also suffered a serious muscle injury, which sidelined him for the rest of the season and the European Championship. He will also only be available to VfB during the fall, as Sebastian Hoeneß announced at the press conference before the Mainz game. Hoeneß also hinted that the transfer and the reported fee of around 9 million euros were still worthwhile for VfB despite the injury.
All three experts also emphasize Al-Dakhil’s strength in build-up play and his ball security. Since the Championship and the Bundesliga are very similar in intensity, Matt believes that he can withstand the pressing pressure in the Bundesliga as well. Nils also highlights his speed and calmness on the ball, which allows him to solve difficult situations skillfully. He learned flat build-up play at Standard, but also during his youth at Anderlecht. Nils and Bob both see weaknesses in his physicality, which apparently hasn’t improved much in England. Nevertheless, they consider him a future starting center-back for the Belgian national team. Al-Dakhil’s comparative stats with other center-backs from last year—during which he was on the field for only half the time—highlight his abilities in passing and playmaking.
Bob also notes that, due to his experience as a refugee, he is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Dutch, and he should quickly adapt linguistically in Stuttgart as well. The most important thing, according to Nils, is that he stays healthy.
On a Razor’s Edge in the Short Term
And here lies the crux of many people’s assessment of the transfer: Why did Fabian Wohlgemuth sign a 22-year-old without much playing experience and after a long injury as a replacement for Waldemar Anton? Well, it seems that Anthony Rouault is now trusted more than initially thought for the upcoming weeks. At the same time, Al-Dakhil was likely the best option available within the price range the club could afford after the expenses for strengthening the attack, despite his injury. I still believe that the simultaneous negotiations with Touré and Atalanta were not the limiting factor here but rather the budget. Sebastian Hoeneß definitely needs to find a good solution for the central defense in the coming weeks; otherwise, especially in the Champions League, this position could be a precarious balancing act. This is not to criticize Rouault—it’s clear the whole team faces big challenges. Nevertheless, against the weaker opponents in the league phase, we will need a stable, cohesive defense. Al-Dakhil could indeed form such a defense in the medium term. Apart from his physicality, he seems perfectly suited for Hoeneß’s system and is also a typical Wohlgemuth signing: not entirely inexperienced but with a lot of development potential, even for the coach. Al-Dakhil will still need to improve physically for both the Bundesliga and European competitions. If he joins a well-functioning team, the second half of the season could indeed be exciting.
With this transfer, it seems that the activities for this summer are concluded—unless something wild happens today, Friday. All in all, purely in terms of play, I am satisfied so far. VfB has strengthened many positions both quantitatively and, in some cases, qualitatively, even if there is a slight overemphasis on the offense. I don’t want to go into each player individually here, as I’ve already covered that in previous articles. The crucial thing now is how quickly Hoeneß can integrate and further develop the team into a cohesive unit, given the many international breaks and weeks with midweek fixtures.
Picture: © George Wood/Getty Images