Marco Reus Reportedly Set to Turn Down Manchester United Transfer Approach

David Moyes will fail in his attempts to bring Borussia Dortmund's attacking ace Marco Reus to Old Trafford in January, reports John Edwards of The Daily Mail:

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Sources at the Westfalenstadion insist an approach from City for Reus has already been rebuffed and that United will fare no better if they follow up their interest with a bid when the January window opens.

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Following the recent defection of Mario Gotze to Bayern Munich and the impending departure of Robert Lewandowski next summer, Jurgen Klopp is determined to block any further approaches for his players.

Dortmund have become a club with one of the most sought-after squads in Europe with Manchester United having already swooped for Reus' predecessor, Shinji Kagawa, in previous seasons while Nuri Sahin left the Schwarzgelben for Real Madrid in 2011.

Beyond Klopp's refusal to hear offers for more of his key personnel, it may be that the players themselves could be hesitant to join United considering the difficulties faced by Kagawa to get a regular game alongside Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie.

Although swap deal has been mooted, German football expert Raphael Honigstein has dismissed the idea.

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Interesting Kagawa/Reus swap story from @DuckerTheTimes in today's Times. Find it highly unlikely that Reus'd leave BVB in January though

— Tor-Kristian Karlsen (@karlsentk) November 12, 2013"

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@GoldieNathan Dortmund paid €350,000 for Kagawa and €17.5m for Reus. Do you think they're interested in a swap? No chance.

— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) November 14, 2013"

Even if Dortmund were to accept such a proposal, as another attacking midfielder who plays in the final third Reus would face similar problems to the Japanese unless Moyes enacted a radical overhaul of his inherited squad.

It's hard to see where the German would fit in otherwise even though he is currently one of the most tantalising talents in world football and set to only improve as the 24-year-old enters his peak years.

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Marco Reus: Has made more key passes than any other player in the Bundesliga this season (40) #BVB

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) November 12, 2013"

Creativity remains a problem for United, even on the flanks where a resurgent Antonio Valencia and emerging Adan Januzaj have made the best of a difficult start to the season.

Reus decisiveness would definitely make an impact were he to move to Old Trafford, either out wide or through the middle though Rooney may have be to moved on in order for him to prosper fully.

While Klopp and Dortmund have moved to shun approaches for the German, speculation has grown over the potential breakthrough of a release fee clause in his contract, although again Honigstein took to Twitter to clarify the situation.

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Worth re-iterating today that Reus' release clause only kicks in summer 2015.

— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) November 12, 2013"

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also worth re-iterating that Reus' release clause has been common knowledge in Germany for over a year now. (1)

— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) November 12, 2013"

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CEO Watzke didn't "reveal" it, he talked about it in reference to Reus being the only player left with a release clause in the squad. (2)

— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) November 12, 2013"

Even if all avenues to an approach for Moyes are shut down for the attacker, Edwards' article also suggests that United may still make an un-related offer for Ilkay Gundogan even though Madrid took to be the club best placed to sign the deep-lying playmaker.

Following on from a dismal summer in which Ed Woodward failed to bring such high-profile midfield targets as Thiago, Cesc Fabregas and Sami Khedira to Old Trafford, fans may have to put up with another saga in January before United finally find the right player who is both ready and available to them.