Chelsea Face Fight to Keep Surprise Star After Loan Success

Chelsea loaned out 20-year-old centre back Aarón Anselmino to Borussia Dortmund over the summer and less than half a season later, the German side already want him to stay with the club on a permanent basis.

Chelsea signed Anselmino in 2024 after he impressed through the youth ranks and later the senior side of boyhood club Boca Juniors. Anselmino even made his debut with Enzo Maresca’s side during the 2025 Club World Cup before getting loaned out to Dortmund.

The thought behind the season-long loan was for Anselmino to get consistent playing time. As Maresca acknowledged before his departure: “He’s a good player and he can help us.”

Now, though, it seems Borussia Dortmund won’t sit back and let Anselmino return to Chelsea without trying to fight for him to make Signal Iduna Park his permanent home.

“I will definitely have to pick up the phone and give them [Chelsea] a call in the next few days,” Dortmund’s sporting director Sebastian Kehl said, via Bundesliga. “We hope that Aarón will stay on of course, we have a very good connection with Chelsea.”

The Argentine defender has impressed during his short stint in Germany. A muscular injury compromised his early season with Dortmund, but after returning to action in late October, he’s slowly become an integral piece for Nico Kovač’s side in the biggest games.

Anselmino scored his first goal of the season in the 2–1 win against Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend. Following the match, Kehl was not alone in lauding the South American gem.

Manager Kovač and senior player Julian Brandt also gushed about Anselmino’s quality.

“He fights with crusader spirit,” Kovač said. “When things get tight, there’s no nonsense with him. He breaks through. And that’s something you need at this level. You need defenders who love defending. The boy does that excellently. I love players like that, who do their job with dedication and passion.”

Brandt even compared him to standout Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, before adding Anselmino offers the team something no other defender can with his trademarked Argentinian style. “He’s an absolutely great guy, a good character,” the playmaker told Sport1. “He’s a real asset to us. He’s showing that now.”

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