"A slip-up in every game": BVB's new defensive hope still has a major area for improvement

In today's transfer market, the pool of young, up-and-coming talent has become highly transparent. Every reputable top club, BVB included, has tracked Gadou for years. The Borussia first targeted him in summer 2023, when he had two years remaining on his Paris Saint-Germain youth deal. A year later, Bayer Leverkusen missed out on signing him, and as recently as March, Sebastian Kehl, Books' predecessor, watched him at Vienna's Allianz Stadium.

At 1.95 metres, the centre-back gives the Westphalians a defender who is "already further along at this age than Dayot Upamecano was back then", according to Michael Unverdorben, deputy head of sports at Salzburger Nachrichten. Speaking to SPOX, he adds: "He is certainly Salzburg's best centre-back. We always knew he'd be a big signing because he has incredible natural ability and huge potential. He's strong in the tackle and in the air, and has everything a defender of international calibre needs."

The Austrians recognised his potential as early as 2024, paying a then-inflated fee of €10 million to bring the 17-year-old from Paris to Salzburg. Only his future teammate Karim Adeyemi cost more at that age—€100,000 more, when Salzburg signed him in 2018.

Gadou won the U19 league title in his final season at PSG yet faced an uncertain future. Despite training regularly alongside stars such as Kylian Mbappé, he earned only three first-team call-ups. Competition from Marquinhos, Lucas Beraldo and, later, Willian Pacho was simply too fierce.

Coach Luis Enrique is also said not to have been entirely convinced by Gadou, whom the English Guardian included in its 2024 list of the 60 most talented players worldwide. In Salzburg, however, they took a different view; scouts had been tracking him since his debut for France's U16 side.

Nicknamed "Jogad" by his friends, he relocated to Salzburg with his mother and seven-year-old brother; his father, also from the Ivory Coast, stayed behind in Nangis along with the player's three other siblings. 

Gadou made a slow start in Salzburg. Under new manager Pepijn Lijnders, the team struggled, so his playing time increased only gradually. In just his third match, he was sent off after 43 minutes for a reckless foul. Over the next 16 months he collected two more red cards, one of them a second yellow within two minutes.

According to Unverdorben, such incidents were par for the course during Gadou's time at Salzburg: "His big problem is that in every game there's a situation where he loses concentration. You can see that from the three red cards. Sometimes he's too impetuous, sometimes he plays an incomprehensible misplaced pass. That's his biggest area for improvement. He still lacks consistent reliability."

Under Lijnders' successor Thomas Letsch—who was replaced by Daniel Beichler in February after 13 months in charge—Gadou quickly established himself as an undisputed first-team regular. He went on to make 25 appearances, including the Club World Cup, starting 21 matches and completing 19 full 90-minute outings—an impressive return for a player who had never featured in a professional game before.

Letsch was a big admirer and described Gadou as a "rough diamond that we need to polish – but then he'll be a real gem". The former VfL Bochum coach added: "Jo impresses with his maturity. He has excellent positional awareness, is strong in one-on-one situations and exudes a great deal of composure. He has a bright future ahead of him; that's obvious."

Salzburg wasted little time, extending the contract of the now eight-time U19 international until 2029 just five months after his transfer—a shrewd move that later forced BVB to pay a hefty fee partly because of the lengthy deal.

Nevertheless, Dortmund will not (any longer) get a regular starter. Although Gadou started 31 of his 33 league games so far this season, the right-footed player has not been selected for the last five matches. On three occasions, he did not even make the squad. According to Unverdorben, this was "very surprising". 

Salzburg rotated their squad extensively under Letsch, including in central defence, so the priority now is stability and continuity. With Gadou's departure expected, the focus shifts to players who will remain at the club next season. Reports that Gadou's absence was caused by disciplinary issues could not be confirmed.

What has been confirmed is that BVB have already told their new signing he is pencilled in as the right-sided centre-back in a back three. The spot is open: Niklas Süle is departing and retiring this summer, Emre Can remains sidelined for months, and Luca Reggiani is at best a contender for a place.

The path is clear for Gadou, who played on the right in a back four in Salzburg, to secure a place in Dortmund's starting line-up. The experience of his new teammates, Waldemar Anton and Nico Schlotterbeck—something he largely lacked in Austria—should help steady his occasionally inconsistent play.

Whether Gadou makes his mark at BVB ultimately depends on him; his talent and potential are obvious, yet so is the room for growth. Dortmund's positive history with Salzburg signings—and the fact that Gadou's transfer fee matches that of Erling Haaland—suggests this could be another shrewd investment.