Mahmoud Dahoud’s Resurgence at Eintracht Frankfurt

Among the players at Eintracht Frankfurt being intentionally moved on this summer, former German international Mahmoud Dahoud seemed poised for yet another disappointing chapter in his career. Since his unsuccessful transfer to Brighton in the summer of 2023, Dahoud has faced considerable challenges.

The former Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund player struggled to make an impact at Brighton, leading to a loan back to VfB Stuttgart during the latter half of the 2023/24 season. Although he managed to score as a substitute, Dahoud made only one start under head coach Sebastian Hoeneß.

Following the termination of his Brighton contract after the season, Dahoud joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer in the summer of 2024. His arrival was marked by an emotional press conference, during which he switched his international allegiance back to Germany after a disappointing stint with Syria.

Dahoud began to earn regular playing time under SGE head coach Dino Toppmöller, who, along with sporting director Markus Krösche, expressed admiration for him after a standout performance against VfL Bochum on matchday nine, where Dahoud scored a goal and provided an assist.

However, this promising performance turned out to be a deceptive peak, as he started only two more league matches following that early November game and made just three brief substitute appearances throughout the entire 2025 calendar year.

After being cleared to leave and not making an impact during training camp, Dahoud featured in just one of Toppmöller’s first seven matchday squads this year. Yet, unexpectedly, he appeared as a starting midfielder against Mainz on matchday ten.

Dahoud continued to start the following weekend against Köln, performing admirably as a central midfielder. He scored his 14th career Bundesliga goal just before halftime. Bundesliga reporters noted an eerie sense of déjà vu regarding his situation.

In a manner reminiscent of a year prior, Krösche and Toppmöller once again lauded Dahoud’s contributions. The extent to which these latest developments constitute a durable turnaround remains to be seen, but it seems Dahoud will be afforded further opportunities.

Toppmöller remarked in an interview with Sport Bild, “He deserves it because he has simply kept at it over the last few months and has always been there for the whole group, despite his difficult situation. He always gave his all in training and never backed down. He already played a decent game against Mainz, and this time it was all the more satisfying that he had this sense of achievement.”

Krösche also commented, stating, “He’s had bad spells in his career before and has learned to deal with them. I think that helps him a lot. He’s always given his all and made himself available. Now he’s been given his chance.”