It's not looking good for Luca Reggaini at Borussia Dortmund. The young Italian starlet who looked set for a breakthrough campaign in 2026-27 season now finds himself at a crossroads.
We recently reported on how Filippo Mane has surged ahead of him in the defensive pecking order after strong displays in the preseason.
Early speculations suggest head coach Niko Kovac is set to go with a back-three of Joane Gadou, Waldemar Anton and Ramy Bensebaini.
Once Nico Schlotterbeck returns from injury, the German is likely going to be reinstated back into the lineup with Gadou and Mane as centre-back options off the bench.
This leaves Reggiani in a fix. Having worked his way into the side earlier this year and even impressed with some promising displays, the 18-year-old's future appears uncertain right now.
The Italy international could be forced to play with Dortmund's reserve team in the Regionalliga West, or go out on loan. If that comes to pass, here are three possible destinations:
1) Sassuolo
Having come through Sassuolo's youth set-up, a return to his boyhood club sounds like the most obvious move on paper. The Neroverdi finished a lowly 11th in Serie A last season and are in need of defensive reinforcements who can beef up their backline and help the side rank among the league's top 10 places this season. Reggiani, for all his talents, could be useful in their endeavors and he's also very affordable.
2) Nurnberg
Reggiani may not have to travel too far for his next club, with 2.Bundesliga side Nurnberg a viable option if the side can guarantee him regular gametime. The club witnessed some of their defensive stars of last season such as Fabio Gruber, Luka Lochoshivili and Henri Koudossou leave but Der Ruhmreiche have also signed two centre-backs to fill up both the spots in their defense. Adding one more in that position would offer head coach Miroslav Klose some tactical flexibility to rotate his defense during a long and arduous season.
3) Lecce
It had been reported earlier that Reggiani has drawn interest from several clubs in Italy although it's unclear which teams are those. With the player also open to moving back to his home country, a loan spell at a smaller side cannot be ruled out, which is where Lecce come in. The Salentini avoided top-flight relegation by the skin of their teeth last season. But with a talented defender like Reggiani on their books, the minnows can effectively beef up their defensive rearguard and hope for a higher, mid-table finish in the new season.
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