"It hurts!" The dramatic turn of events surrounding a transfer target at BVB still pains Niko Kovac to this day

For that to happen, Anselmino—recalled by Chelsea shortly before the loan deadline and immediately sent to partner club Racing Strasbourg—would first need to be fit. The Argentine was rarely available during his spell in Dortmund, and his time in France has been just as injury-plagued.

In Dortmund, a player who had not featured in a competitive match for almost a year prior went on to miss a further twelve games in just five months due to injury. Immediately after his promising debut for BVB, his body reacted, and the 20-year-old was sidelined for several weeks.

Nevertheless, in 585 minutes across ten appearances he impressed. “Aaron does really well when he plays. You can rely on the young man from the first to the last minute. He’s a great lad, but also a great defender. He doesn’t put a foot wrong. I’m glad to have a player like that in the squad,” praised BVB coach Niko Kovac.

Borussia Dortmund’s decision to accept a buy-back clause in Carney Chukwuemeka’s transfer to Chelsea—a move that eventually saw Anselmino return to London—highlights questionable squad planning at Signal Iduna Park. Reggiani, however, stood to gain from the situation, albeit reluctantly. Images released by BVB, showing Anselmino in tears as he bid farewell to his teammates, have raised questions about modern-day player movement in elite football.

The centre-back has spent two months in the French border city against his will, and manager Gary O’Neil—in charge since January—reported four weeks ago that “he is frustrated”. Although Anselmino played 21 minutes in Dortmund’s 3-0 away win at Union Berlin shortly before leaving, he arrived at his new club in poor form.

“He’s not quite up to full fitness yet,” O’Neil explained two days after the loan, which runs until the end of the season. Three days later, the Englishman added that Anselmino had suffered a minor thigh injury.

Anselmino made his first appearances for Racing against Marseille and Lyon, but he was introduced as a late substitute in both matches. 

However, the 22-year-old has long struggled with recurring muscle injuries, and he was promptly sidelined once more. At the end of February, O’Neil explained, “Aaron was feeling discomfort in his thigh muscles. We’ll have to wait and see what’s wrong with him. But we’ll still need him, especially following the departure of Mamadou Sarr, who has left a gap.”

The loanee remains a long way from full match fitness. Encouragingly, he returned to training at the end of March and logged 13 minutes against Nice at the weekend. The positive: he is now match-ready. The caveat: his total playing time still amounts to only 15 minutes.

With nine games remaining, Anselmino must make his mark at Strasbourg, who host Mainz 05 in Thursday’s Conference League quarter-final. There is still plenty at stake: in Ligue 1, they currently sit eighth, five points adrift of a European place, and at the end of April they host Nice—who they recently beat 3-1—in the cup semi-final.

Their last final appearance came in 2001, and with Paris Saint-Germain already eliminated, a victory would pit them against either Lens or Toulouse. That means Anselmino still has a shot at turning the club’s dramatic campaign into a triumphant conclusion.