Julien Duranville of Borussia Dortmund (BVB) is widely seen as a player with immense promise, yet his flashes of brilliance have been few and far between. Even during his loan spell at FC Basel, the 20-year-old Belgian struggled to leave a lasting mark.

His loan began brightly, drawing early praise. “A very, very, very good player who will take us a long way,” remarked Stephan Lichtsteiner. “He’s in a class of his own – you just have to say: wow!”

However, FC Basel had little to cheer about on 1 February. The reigning Swiss champions suffered a 2–1 home defeat against newly promoted FC Thun, the surprise league leaders who would ultimately clinch the title. The loss stretched the gap at the top from seven points to 13.

Despite the team’s struggles, Duranville impressed on his first start, just as he had a week earlier as a substitute. Only three days after his six-month loan move from Borussia Dortmund was finalised, the young winger provided a crucial assist to seal a 4-3 away victory over FC Zurich in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

At that time, Ludovic Magnin was still Basel’s head coach at the Letzigrund Stadium. Yet, a day later—and after 33 competitive matches—he was replaced by Stephan Lichtsteiner. The managerial change had long been expected, as results for the ambitious Rhine-based club had been disappointing even before the winter break.

For Basel, the 2023–24 season proved one to forget.

Although Lichtsteiner’s playing career abroad was illustrious, he arrived as a coach with little experience. Having previously managed only the fourth-tier side FC Wettswil, his appointment turned out to be a turning point—one that worsened Basel’s fortunes.

Three crucial fixtures followed and all ended in defeat: Basel lost at home to Viktoria Plzeň in the Europa League, effectively ending their European campaign; then came the league loss against Thun; and soon after, elimination in the Swiss Cup quarter-finals at St. Gallen.

This context is vital to understanding Duranville’s stint in Basel. “Those three defeats completely changed the team’s dynamic. That made it extremely difficult for someone like Duranville to develop in that environment,” explained Linus Schauffert, editor of the Baseler Zeitung, speaking to SPOX.

Julien Duranville’s Basel stats: 17 appearances, two goals, one assist.

Despite spending almost four months sidelined at Dortmund due to an acromioclavicular joint sprain sustained at the Club World Cup, and playing only 124 minutes for BVB’s U23s in the Regionalliga, Duranville still arrived in Basel with high expectations. Basel, having lost striker Philip Otegha to HSV in winter and struggling for goals, turned to Duranville to help fill the gap since they couldn’t secure a recognised centre-forward.

Yet across 17 competitive appearances, he managed only two goals and that single assist from his debut, averaging under 49 minutes per game and starting 11 matches.

Although the conditions seemed right for him to make a bigger impact, he shared right-wing duties with summer signing Ibrahim Salah, while Benie Traore held his place on the left flank.

Basel legend Erni Maissen was among the first to criticise Duranville publicly. Writing for Nau, the 68-year-old was scathing: “Duranville is a circus footballer, a fair-weather player. He’s always where nothing much is happening.”

Editor Schauffert offered a more balanced assessment: “Duranville has had his opportunities but hasn’t left much of a mark. What he’s shown has always been decent,” he said, attributing the Belgian’s limited progress to personal shortcomings.

“In terms of skill and potential, he’s clearly exceptional—you could see that immediately. He doesn’t really belong in this league and needs to play at a higher level,” Schauffert added. “But you could sense he knew that himself and wasn’t fully motivated to play for Basel. He often lacked that final bit of determination in his play.”

For a player once tipped by Vincent Kompany—now Bayern Munich’s manager—as a future Ballon d’Or contender, such observations are concerning. Although injuries have frequently hindered Duranville’s progress, he now needs to demonstrate greater maturity and consistency.

“He played in a very playful manner, taking lots of risks with backheels, through passes, and one-twos,” said Schauffert. “That sometimes led to unnecessary turnovers. But, to be fair, Basel’s play in the second half of the season was full of individual mistakes and poor decisions. Duranville was no exception.”

Basel, who began the campaign as double title holders, slumped to fifth place in the final standings with a negative goal difference and 19 points behind Thun. Lichtsteiner’s points average of 1.05 across 19 games was disappointing, leaving the club to miss every target and brace for a major rebuild.

Back at Borussia Dortmund, the question now is whether Duranville still has a future.

On paper, he fits the profile for a fresh start—young, gifted, and capable of generating a strong transfer fee down the line. Dortmund, however, rejected Basel’s request for a buy-back option. Instead, the Swiss club stands to benefit from a sell-on clause, reportedly significant, if BVB sells the player who remains under contract until 2028.

This appears to align with Dortmund’s long-term plan. Last December, coach Niko Kovac commented bluntly on Duranville’s absence from the senior squad: “We’re at BVB, and there are some really good players here. He’s one of them, but the others are better.”

Borussia had paid €8.5 million for the then-16-year-old in January 2023, but the move has yet to pay dividends. Nevertheless, his explosive pace, sharp dribbling, and quick directional changes still mark him as a player with elite potential.

After just 691 minutes of senior football for Dortmund, Duranville’s future at the club appears uncertain. Only four months ago, the mood in Dortmund was similarly hopeful. Then-sporting director Sebastian Kehl, who has since been dismissed, sent Duranville to Basel saying, “We still see great potential in him” and “We believe this move is right for his long-term development at BVB.”

Now, with Kehl gone and Duranville struggling to make an impression in Switzerland, both player and club may be ready to move on—whether that happens this summer or shortly after remains to be seen.