Would Signing Marco Reus Bring Chelsea to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich's Level?

Welcome to January transfer "silly season," where all is possible, and little probable.

There are frequent names bounded about in silly season; from Paul Pogba to Raphael Varane to Edinson Cavani, the footballers in rotation are normally household names, normally world-class, normally expensive.

One of the more common players married with moves across the European continent is Borussia Dortmund's attacking midfielder Marco Reus.

Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

The German international needs his own hotline in many respects, as most major footballing institutions have, at one time or another, been linked with the 25-year-old winger.

Three of the more prominent clubs rumoured to be in contention for Reus' services—come January or next summer—are the last three UEFA Champions League winners, per the London Evening Standard's Simon Johnson.

Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have captured club football's biggest honour in the past 30 months and are favourites to lift the big-eared trophy again in June 2015, but there does seem a gap between the historical giants and the, comparative, nouveau west Londoners. Leading many to question whether Reus would close the perceived gap between Chelsea and their prestigious rivals.

Borussia Dortmund has begun an annual tradition of selling their stars to Bayern Munich. In 2013, Mario Gotze left the Westfalenstadion for Bavaria, followed this summer by Polish international Robert Lewandowski.

Going for a hat-trick of sorts, the acquisition of Reus would further Munich's dominance over the Bundesliga, leaving Dortmund neutered moving forward.

Real Madrid have always bought extravagantly, but not in the winter window; the blockbuster summer signings of Cristiano Ronaldo (2009), Kaka (2009), Gareth Bale (2013) and James Rodriguez (2014) being Los Merengues' modus operandi. 

Nonetheless, per Bild (h/t Charles Perrin of the Daily Express), Reus' contract contains a release clause, at the bargain price of £20 million, which triggers next summer—so there may be incentive to pounce sooner rather than later.

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While money is no issue for Madrid, the rules of football are. Having already sold the auxiliary Angel Di Maria, Reus would commonly find Carlo Ancelotti's bench—behind Ronaldo and Bale—so the move makes little sense, no matter the expense.

So what of the Premier League leaders?

Jose Mourinho has no shortage of attacking midfielders.

Eden Hazard, Willian, Andre Schurrle, Mohamed Salah and even Loic Remy can do work necessary in wide areas—add the likes of Victor Moses or Christian Atsu and Chelsea’s books are rife with pace, skill and attacking verve—so where would Reus fit?

Mourinho told reporters, as noted by the Daily Mail’s Matt Barlow, that Reus is not a target for Chelsea, saying:

"

We don't want Marco Reus. The market is closed and the player belongs to Borussia.

We have top players in this position.

"

How Reus would improve Chelsea is hard to measure. In the deal posited by David Wright of the Daily Express, Schurrle and £20 million would go to Dortmund, leaving Reus fighting with Willian for the right-sided attacking midfield position.

To argue Reus puts Chelsea on par with Madrid and Munich would be reckless. Short of playing each other in the Champions League, there is very little to determine such things. The Blues have looked the best team in England, so while certainly not possessing the intra-squad competition found at Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in attacking areas, Chelsea would be buying Reus for luxury, not necessity.

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Mourinho’s men will never be able to “out football” the likes of Madrid or Munich as presently constituted. The Spaniards and Germans have perfected their craft over multiple seasons and are well-oiled machines.

Chelsea can beat them, but primarily based on guile, heart, determination and solid defending. To pretend Reus can outperform Willian or Ramires in those facets is willful ignorance.

Furthermore, the difference in quality between Schurrle and Reus is not a chasm, but a crevice. Reus is arguably the better footballer, but it is not worth tampering with Chelsea's current setup to accommodate him. Were Mourinho willing to let Schurrle go and bench Willian, then a deal should be struck, but those decisions seem tantamount to suicide for this undefeated, high-flying Blues outfit.

All that said, there are occasions when December's silly season bleeds into January's reality; might this be one of those instances? All will be known by 1 February.

*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via soccerbase.com where not noted.

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