Borussia Dortmund -Coach Niko Kovac would like to see more from Carney Chukwuemeka after he scored his first Bundesliga goal against Freiburg on Saturday.
Chelsea-Leenlee Chukwuemeka stood on the score sheet in a 4-1 win for, for example, because he was frustrated by injury problems since he arrived in Germany in January.
The 21-year-old in the 52nd minute closed an impressive first start to the club, collected the ball on the edge of the box and fired a deflected attempt in the far corner.
“We have seen what he can do with the ball in recent weeks, and we have seen something of it today,” said Kovac.
“It was a happy goal, a deflection, but you have to work for it. That's what he did.”
The Englishman has played 32 times for Chelsea and 16 times for Aston Villa since he made his senior debut for the latter in an EFL Cup direction against Barrow in 2021.
But after finding his chances limited on Stamford Bridge after his arrival in 2022, he made the switch to Dortmund, where colleague -Engels Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and Jamie Gittens all greatly raised their profiles.
No other Bundesliga side has had more English scorers than Dortmund (four), with Sancho the most productive (40 goals).
4 – Carney Chukwuemeka became the fourth other English player who scored for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga; No other side has had more than two English scorers in the history of the competition. Connection. pic.twitter.com/rwmooiyjeoo
– Optafranz (@Optafranz) April 7, 2025
Chukwuemeka won possession against Freiburg eight times and made 10 passes in the last third part, the leading sports director Sebastian Kehl to label a “Developer”.
Dortmund is said to keep Chukwuemeka in the club after the end of the season, but a release clause of € 35 million stands in the way and every permanent movement can depend on the qualification for Europe.
A disappointing season left the German Giants eighth in the competition and three points behind Borussia Monchengladbach in the last European qualifying place.
Champions League qualification would make a permanent deal for Chukwuemeka much more feasible, but with five points to make Mainz in fourth place and a large number of other clubs in hunting, Dortmund stands for a strict challenge if they have to return to Europe's Premier Club competition.
Dortmund could also qualify for the Champions League by winning the edition of this season. They visit Barcelona for the first stage of their quarter -final draw on Wednesday.
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