Borussia Dortmund could replace Gio Reyna with Lyon's Rayan Cherki

Borussia Dortmund’s transfer plans continue to take shape with the club seemingly coming ever closer to its next signing. According to numerous reports over the last week, the club seems to be moving ahead with trying to lure Rayan Cherki to the club.

Cherki, whose contract with Olympique Lyon only has a year left on it, is likely seen as a very affordable yet talented option for the club to look into. His age and potential, coupled with what looks to be a very affordable price of 15 million euros fit the bill quite nicely for the type of player Sven Mislintat, Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl have been looking for to supplement the now more experienced core of the squad.

Cherki’s turnaround and now seeming interest to join Dortmund comes after Paris Saint-Germain had reportedly made a concrete offer for the player, but the conditions of a move to Dortmund seem to be a bit more appealing for the young French attacker. The deal is far from complete however as the club now has to agree terms with Lyon themselves.

With the possibility of Cherki joining becoming very real, it’s clear that the club has prioritized attacking and creative reinforcements in their plans for this transfer window. Cherki offers flexibility in this respect as he can play both out wide and as an attacking midfielder. With the departure of Marco Reus in particular, it would be no shock for the club to bring in another player, in this case Cherki, to help fill the void left behind by the club's former talisman.

Cherki's links to Dortmund also come at a time when it seems that the club has decided against a future with Gio Reyna. After a disappointing loan with Nottingham Forest, Die Schwarzgelben has seemingly decided to have Gio move on from the club this summer.

Ahead of the USMNT’s Copa America game against Bolivia, Reyna said the following about his future:

"Obviously, just looking forward to next season, I just want to go somewhere where I'm valued and get to play a lot and have an important role on the team. Whether it's at Dortmund or somewhere else, I just want to find the best solution for myself."

- Gio Reyna

Reyna’s own thoughts on the situation seem to lean towards finding a club where he will actively play a significant role for said club. At Dortmund, this doesn’t seem to be the case, especially now with the signing of Cherki set to take place.

Reyna’s last couple years at Dortmund can be scrutinized from many angles, with the player often criticized for his body language and lack of defensive contribution on the pitch. On the flip side, he still managed to score some very important goals for Dortmund and offered an incisiveness in his passing that we’ve seen the team often lack without him on the pitch, barring perhaps the second half of this season where Marcel Sabitzer very much stepped up in this role.

One could also argue that the loan to Nottingham Forest wasn’t the most advisable decision and that there were reportedly clubs in France and Spain that could have been better fitted for the young American international to flourish at and come back stronger. With Cherki possibly coming in, however, it would seem Dortmund is banking on him being a success in a way that Gio did not take the chance, or was arguably not given the chance to be this season in particular. With the USMNT now out of the Copa America, talks over Reyna's future may indeed accelerate, and we may end up having clarity on his future soon.