Has Gonzalo Castro Lived Up to His €11 Million Price Tag?

When Borussia Dortmund signed Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Gonzalo Castro last summer, expectations were high. Thanks to a release clause, the 28-year-old cost the Ruhr side €11 million (£8.7 million), which doesn’t sound like a lot of money, but it still made him the fourth-most expensive player currently on the squad, per Transfermarkt.de (link in German).

Despite his relative youth, the versatile midfielder had racked up an astounding 370 professional performances for Leverkusen, so the prevalent thought was that Castro would become an immediate contributor for the Black and Yellows.

Things changed, however, when Ilkay Gundogan extended his contract at the Westfalenstadion late in June. With the midfield maestro still in fold, Castro found himself in an awkward position, or rather no position at all. He had signed with Dortmund in anticipation of Gundogan’s exit and now had to scramble for playing time.

Spending only 31 minutes on the pitch on the first five Bundesliga matchdays of the season, Castro’s contributions were anything but immediate.

Once the UEFA Europa League group stage began and Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel started to rotate his squad on a regular basis, though, the 28-year-old slowly but steadily fought his way into the team. Interestingly, he’s started 12 of a possible 15 matches in the Europa League and the DFB-Pokal, compared to 15 of 33 in the Bundesliga.

Tuchel learned to value Castro’s impressive versatility during the campaign. The …

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