At BVB, Julien Duranville did not have particularly good prospects; now Dortmund are loaning the talented Belgian, who has recently fallen out of favour, to FC Basel. The club announced this on Thursday.
Borussia Dortmund’s decision to send Julien Duranville to FC Basel on loan is being framed internally as a development move rather than a verdict on the player’s long-term future.
In public, the messaging from the club has been consistent for weeks: Dortmund still believe in the Belgian’s talent, but circumstances, especially injuries and heavy competition in the attacking positions, have left him without the continuous minutes a young player needs to turn promise into performance.
That reality was spelled out in early January by sporting director Sebastian Kehl, who acknowledged that Duranville’s long spell on the sidelines in the first half of the season significantly disrupted his rhythm. Beyond the injury, Kehl highlighted a squad-management issue that is typical for a club with Dortmund’s ambitions: depth and quality in multiple roles, but limited match minutes to distribute. When he said Dortmund were thinking about Duranville’s development, it was a clear sign that a loan or structured pathway was already being considered as the most logical solution.
Head coach Niko Kovac made a similar point, using the image of a long queue. At a club fighting for results every weekend, a young attacker returning from injury rarely gets the benefit of a long adaptation phase. He must compete immediately with established options and other high-ceiling talents, often in a tactical system that demands consistent pressing, positional discipline and end product. Kovac’s comment that young players need minutes was less a criticism of Duranville and more an admission of how difficult it is to build momentum from short substitute appearances.
Lars Ricken’s intervention reinforced the same message, but with even more emphasis on timing. Duranville is no longer at the stage where occasional cameos are enough. Dortmund signed him with the idea of nurturing a high-level winger, and that requires match repetition: consecutive starts, real responsibility, and the chance to play through imperfect moments rather than being judged on a ten-minute cameo when the game state may already be chaotic.
Basel’s interest became the concrete opportunity that aligned with all parties’ needs. For Dortmund, Basel offers a credible competitive environment, a demanding club with expectations, and a league where a talented attacker can build confidence while still facing meaningful pressure. For Basel, the deal addresses a very specific problem: a lack of goals. Their scoring record in the current Brack Super League season has been underwhelming, with only Winterthur and Grasshopper finding the net fewer times. That context explains why Basel were prepared to move decisively. They are not borrowing Duranville to be a squad ornament; they want immediate attacking impact, more one-on-one threat, and a player capable of turning possession into shots and chances.
From Duranville’s perspective, the sporting logic is straightforward, especially with national-team ambitions in mind. Belgium’s attacking depth means selection is heavily influenced by form, rhythm and match sharpness. A winger who is fit but not playing regularly has little chance of staying in the conversation at international level. Basel, as reigning domestic double winners, can offer him a stage where good performances are noticed and where he can realistically build a run of minutes. In practical terms, it also gives him the chance to develop the parts of his game that are hardest to refine in training alone: decision-making at full speed, consistency in the final third, and the physical resilience required to play week after week.
Kehl’s further comments underline Dortmund’s intention to keep the door open. He described Duranville as still very young, a player with major potential, and indicated that injuries have prevented him from showing what the club expected. That is a crucial detail: Dortmund are not saying he has failed, but that the conditions have not allowed the expected progression. The loan is therefore being positioned as a step designed to serve Dortmund’s future interests too, because if Duranville develops into a more complete and robust player, he returns as a stronger option for the Bundesliga and for European competition.
The move also fits the broader pattern of Duranville’s Dortmund spell. Since arriving from Anderlecht in January 2023 at 17, he has never truly broken into the first team as a regular starter. His appearances have tended to come as late substitutions, and his Bundesliga total stands at 15 matches, the majority off the bench. That usage tells a story: flashes of quality, but not enough continuity, and too many barriers to meaningful integration. A young attacker can struggle to demonstrate impact with limited minutes, particularly when entering matches late, often against settled defences, and with little margin for error.
The key question now is what Basel will ask of him, and how quickly he can respond. Duranville’s profile suggests he can give Basel directness in wide areas, the ability to beat a defender, and that burst of acceleration that changes the tempo of attacks. Basel, however, will also want reliability: tracking back, understanding team structures, and contributing consistently rather than sporadically. If he can combine those elements, he has the potential to become one of the league’s most dangerous wide players.
For Dortmund, the evaluation will be equally clear. They will want to see availability first, then volume of minutes, then output: chance creation, decisive actions in the final third, and tactical maturity. A successful loan would not necessarily require spectacular numbers, but it would need to show progression in durability and consistency, because those are the attributes that have been hardest for him to establish so far.
Ultimately, this loan is a calculated bet for everyone involved. Dortmund protect the player’s long-term value and give him a pathway that their own squad congestion cannot provide right now. Basel address an urgent attacking need with a high-upside signing who can lift their ceiling. And Duranville gets the most important thing at this stage of his career: the opportunity to play regularly, build momentum, and prove that his talent can translate into sustained impact over a full run of matches.
