Borussia Dortmund’s Reinier Jesus: “I consider myself a penalty box player”
Borussia Dortmund summer signing Reinier Jesus has revealed his preferred position, saying he is a “penalty box player” and not someone to play “out wide”.
The 18-year-old arrived at BVB on a two-year loan from Real Madrid in August, joining what was already an outrageously gifted attacking department including Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard and Gio Reyna, among others.
The latter quartet in particular often switch roles in attacking midfield behind Haaland in a 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1 formation. Reinier is set to compete with them for a place in the Dortmund side, and he knows full well where his strengths lie.
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“I consider myself a penalty box player,” he told kicker. “I play close to the area or in it, but also as a false nine, as a playmaker or an out-and-out striker. For me it’s all about finishing – I don’t really see myself playing out wide.
“I like going for goal myself, or setting someone else up. I enjoy being close to the goal.”
The Brazilian has so far only made one appearance for Lucien Favre’s team, starting in their final friendly of the summer against Sparta Rotterdam, before being substituted off at half-time.
Despite that limited game time, Reinier looks likely to be given plenty of opportunities to show what he can do, with sporting director Michael Zorc calling him “almost a complete player in terms of his ability.”
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The Brasilia native will understandably need some time to adapt to his new surroundings in order to flourish, but says he is settling in well: “Mats Hummels even speaks a bit of Spanish. My welcome has been great: training, advice or whatever. I didn’t expect it to be any different, but it’s nice that it turned out that way.”
Reinier also explained the origins of his name, which does not sound typically Brazilian: “My mum is interested in royal families and so my dad thought about it carefully. From Rainier [Prince of Monaco] he made Reinier, as he thought it would be fun because it’s the same name spelled backwards.”
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