Albion’s latest summer signing Mahmoud Dahoud has been compared to a Premier League champion in terms of his attributes.

Dahoud will join the Seagulls on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund following the expiration of his contract at the end of this month, after nine seasons in the Bundesliga.

But what can Seagulls fans expect from their newest addition?

Well I spoke to Ben McFadyean, who is a football journalist for Four Four Two and is the founder and president of the Dortmund Fan Club London and has followed the club since the late 80’s.

McFadyean has compared Dahoud to Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

He exclusively told adamtalksalbion: “Dahoud is a bit like Ilkay Gundogan and is versatile in midfield. He is silky in possession, able to glide forward from midfield and pick out the perfect pass with the right weight at the right time, Dahoud shares a number of traits with his predecessor at Borussia Dortmund.

“An energetic runner who is as likely to score as he is to track back and cut out the opposition’s attack, he is the kind of player every coach would like in their team.”

Dahoud joined Dortmund in June 2017 from Borussia M’Gladbach and has made 141 appearances in his six seasons at the German giants, which include 26 appearances in European competitions.

But why have things not worked out for Dahoud at Dortmund?

McFadyean said: “In 2018/19 he was used sparingly with Axel Witsel in particular taking centre stage but he also faced competition from Denmark International Thomas Delaney.

“Jude Bellingham then followed in 2021, Jude was an absolute driving force in BVB’s midfield of course and had barely missed a game in the last year, but the signing of Salih Oscan in the summer has hampered him, with the defensive skills of the former Cologne player being more in need in a side which for some time has shown defensive frailty in midfield.”

One of the big questions with players who come into the Premier League from the Bundesliga is how they will adapt to the toughest and most competitive league in the World. Some players like Erling Haaland, Manuel Akanji, Ilkay Gundogan and Albion’s Pascal Gross have made the transition to the Premier League look easy, while players like Timo Werner really struggled to adapt.

But McFadyean believes Dahoud could adapt and thrive in the Premier League.

He said: “I look at Manuel Akanji who had difficulty getting settled at Dortmund and his incredible performances at Manchester City and I wonder whether Dahoud could likewise adapt very well to the English game.

“In my view players raised in the German game either adapt well like former Hoffenheim player Pascal Gross or Max Ehmer at Gillingham, who has been playing in English game for 13 years, or it does not go well as was the case with Bastian Schweinsteiger at Manchester United or Timo Werner at Chelsea who both failed to adapt to the mentality and style of play.

“On a personal level Dahoud could be attracted to playing in a multi-cultural environment and could adapt well. The qualities of German players which include discipline, commitment and high levels of professionalism are well-known.”

Dahoud is a player who has a special story which McFadyean explains.

He said: “Mahmoud Dahoud, called ‘Mo’ by the fans in Dortmund, is Kurdish-Syrian but grew up in Germany and has German citizenship. He became the first Syrian to play in the Bundesliga.

“He has been following the war in Syria closely where his grandfather still lives and has raised money for charities to help citizens in the country. Mo has often spoken about wanting to go back to Syria, which he has not visited since childhood to help after the war.

“An interesting fact is he built an 8-a-side football pitch on the rooftop of his penthouse apartment in central Dortmund, he is football crazy and is the ultimate street footballer, old school.”

Dahoud will now be looking to settle in and kick on in pre-season as he tries to compete for a starting place in midfield for Albion with the likes of Moises Caicedo, Billy Gilmour, Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana and Jakub Moder.

Roberto De Zerbi had previously dropped a huge hint last month about the signing of Dahoud, in his press conference ahead of their trip to Newcastle.

He said: “I know very well Dahoud, but it’s not official at the moment, it’s not official yet.

“We will speak about him later.”