Are Borussia Dortmund justified in contemplating parting ways with Marco Reus?

Marco Reus has earned a contract to play for Borussia Dortmund until he retires. But why is this matter being reported to be less and less likely?

With 1,457 minutes and counting, Reus is playing a substantial amount of minutes. The club may not feel this is in their best interests. With Kjell Wätjen and Gio Reyna blocked by those minutes the club is unable to develop long term solutions in the attacking midfield position.

Reyna and Wätjen have both been developed in Dortmund’s academy, with Wätjen having joined Dortmund's youth setup since before he was even a teenager. The player may never match Reus’ career but will never have the chance if they cannot get senior minutes soon.

Has Marco Reus’ play merited this idea?

Marco Reus has a goal contribution every 162 minutes, which is still quite good. When you look into several additional factors however, you start to see underlying issues. Everyone is expected to regress with age mainly by performing worse over the same amount of minutes or simply being on the pitch for less time to allow for adequate recovery. 

Reus in starts contributes to a goal in a little over 213 minutes which from his overall numbers goes from very good to well below average. This in particular is highlighted by a stretch from 12/3/2023 to 12/16/2023 where Reus went without a goal or assist across 4 starts and one bench appearance.

This stretch of over 300 minutes is worrying as it questions whether the club would be able to rely on him as a starter over extended stretches. However, Reus’ underlying numbers have improved from last season’s mark by 0.09 while starting more. But this season’s mark of .55 xG+xAG is still the second worst season of his career and well off the over 0.7 he averaged in between the ages of 28 and 30.

Off the pitch:

Marco Reus is still an influential member for Dortmund off the pitch. Reus has done more for Dortmund than Edin Terzić ever will as a coach. With that said the club cannot be happy that Reus allegedly led a coup against Terzić . While Marco Reus refuted this claim, it has been widely reported. 

Reus has also put his love for the club ahead of himself. The superstar stepped down from the captaincy for the club's benefit, over his own ego. This shows a player that is a true leader and willing to do what is best for the club.