Who is Kjell Watjen? Dortmund's new gem stepping in the footsteps of Bellingham

Tom Weber

Updated: 7 May 2024 16:06 BST
5 min read

Kjell Watjen, Borussia Dortmund — © IMAGO

Kjell Watjen is Borussia Dortmund's next great homegrown hope.

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After being in and around the first team for months, the youngster finally made his senior bow on May 4, 2024, and immediately assisted departing club legend Marco Reus in a performance that could have been worthy of a Man of the Match award.

Though a different profile of player than Reus, the teenager could incidentally take the veteran's place in the Dortmund squad in the 2024/25 season. The Black and Yellow hope that Watjen can develop similarly to Jude Bellingham and the signs are certainly promising.

So, who is Kjell Watjen and how good is he really?

What position does Watjen play?

Watjen is primarily a central midfielder, who can play both defensive and offensive roles.

First Bundesliga appearance: ✅

Assist? Say less ✅

Ladies and gentlemen, Kjell-Arik Wätjen 👏 pic.twitter.com/GvyfMN01cQ
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) May 4, 2024

How good is Watjen?

A lifelong Borussia Dortmund fan, Watjen joined the club of his heart in 2015 as a nine-year-old and steadily rose through the ranks of the Black and Yellow's famed academy. In the summer of 2023, Watjen became a regular fixture in Dortmund's U19 squad and impressed so much that he was eventually allowed to train with the first team by Edin Terzic.

The 18-year-old is a versatile central midfielder, who has been played in various roles. Though he often starts deep, Watjen is excellent going forward and proved a prolific assister and even goalscorer at the youth levels. The teenager hit double figures in goals in the U19 Bundesliga in 2023/24, which has evoked comparisons to ex-BVB star Jude Bellingham given his exploits in front of the net for Real Madrid. It is entirely possible that Watjen could eventually be moved further forward later in his career as happened with the Englishman.

After being an unused substitute several times, Watjen finally made his Dortmund debut on May 4, 2024, against a lacklustre Augsburg side. Dortmund's side was heavily rotated ahead of the club's huge Champions League final second leg against PSG and Watjen caught the eye as one of two deep-lying midfielders behind club legend Marco Reus, who had announced his impending departure the day prior. Dortmund ran out comfortable 5-1 victors and Watjen assisted Reus on the fourth goal, while also impressing with his overall play.

Ich bin heute auch im Kader. 🙂 pic.twitter.com/lh1lELGEK7
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) February 2, 2024

Though Watjen has been a regular fixture on the substitutes bench for Champions League games, there were worries that he would miss the return leg against PSG due to his five-hour A-level exams. He ultimately did manage to travel to Paris mere hours before kick-off, but it wasn't the first time the youngster prioritised his education. In 2023, Watjen rejected the chance to travel with Germany to Indonesia for the U17 World Cup to focus on his studies and thus missed out on a winner's medal. However, the midfielder, who also has Swedish roots, was part of the U17 team that had won the Euros just a few months prior.

In March 2024, Dortmund managed to tie the youngster down until 2028, fending off interest from fellow German clubs as well as sides abroad. Watjen is the next wonderkid to come out of Dortmund and it is poetic that the boyhood BVB fan has emerged at just the right time to replace another lifelong supporter in Marco Reus. The sample size is still small, but the Black and Yellow faithful can be optimistic that Kjell Watjen - one of their own - will be the future of Borussia Dortmund.

Marco Reus has announced that he will leave Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season! 😲

It's the end of an era after 21 years at the club 👑 pic.twitter.com/hTXwiUIzfY
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) May 3, 2024