Will missing out on Marco Reus come back to haunt Liverpool?
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge couldn’t help himself in further stirring the pot in the rivalry between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The Bayern CEO recently gave away details of Marco Reus’ contract, with the player’s release clause set to kick in next year, and then went on to hint that the Bavarians could be in the hunt for the Dortmund forward.
Having lost Robert Lewandowski, Mario Goetze and Shinji Kagawa and consecutive summers, it appears Dortmund will lose Reus as well in a year’s time, with the player thus far reluctant to increase his salary with the club and in turn remove the release clause, which stands somewhere between €25-35 million.
One team who will almost certainly miss out is Liverpool, who were linked with the German international earlier in the window. The club have denied the reports, but that didn’t stop the logs being added to the fire as the club pursue another forward addition this summer.
In further angering Borussia Dortmund, Bayern have made no secret of the admiration for Reus. There will of course be interest in the player, such is Bayern’s history of hoovering up the best talent in Germany. But the club’s public image – which has already taken a battering after the signings of Goetze and Lewandowski – may force a halt before anything formal takes place.
Instead, it’s been suggested that Reus will head to Manchester United next year, which would make sense due to the lack of quality in the wide positions at Old Trafford and the age of Robin van Persie. Beyond the Dutchman and Wayne Rooney, there is no clearly identifiable top talent for the forward position at the club.
It’s difficult to paint Liverpool’s missed chance at Reus as something which will come back to haunt them, because, as has been said by the club, there was never any interest to begin with.
Reus would naturally have been seen as the ideal replacement for Luis Suarez at Anfield, and one more than good enough to step into the void left by the Uruguayan. But it never made sense that Brendan Rodgers would be given a clear run at the German if he came on the market this year. There is far too much interest in the player from around Europe for it to be as straightforward as that.
Instead, Liverpool have focused their financial energy on strengthening the squad, rather than attempting to replace Suarez with a like-for-like. The business at Anfield this summer has been positive, and Rodgers has added a mixture of Premier League experience and high-ceiling youth. If the club can build on their excellent season last term, they’ll be equipped once again with the tools to recruit well next summer. Reus may be an exceptional, world-class talent, but there are plenty of other good players that will be available to Rodgers.
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Reus was never a goer for Liverpool, and it shouldn’t be totally discounted that he could even go on to extend his stay at Signal Iduna Park. Reus is a local who has a long-standing history with the club. But he knows his worth, he knows Dortmund will be desperate to hang on to him, and an agreement quietly away from the hysteria of the transfer window is possible.
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