The 18-year-old, who joined Borussia Dortmund this summer from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador for a fee of around €4m, impressed on his debut in a 3-1 pre-season win over Rot-Weiss Oberhausen. Since then, however, Lerma has been the only member of the club's professional-squad talents not to feature at all across the following two matches, a 3-2 win over Arsenal and a 2-2 draw with Roma.
WAZ views his continued absence as a signal from Niko Kovač, who explained his thinking directly.
"We can't bring everyone on," Kovač said. "He still needs time, and that's completely normal. There are language difficulties. When you look at him, he's still a bit slight, so we need to add some weight and work on his fitness. The lad belongs to the team just like everyone else."
Competition for places in Dortmund's midfield has intensified following the arrivals of Joey Veerman, 27, and Giannis Konstantelias, 23, this summer.
According to WAZ, the club is now internally discussing a possible loan for the Ecuador Under-20 international to aid his development elsewhere. Alternatively, the 1.76m-tall right-footer could initially be introduced to first-team football gradually via Dortmund's second team.
Lerma's transfer was agreed as far back as 2024, but could only be completed once he turned 18 under FIFA regulations. He has already made 43 appearances for Independiente del Valle, scoring twice, and was a regular starter as the club won the Ecuadorian title last year at the age of 17.
Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl had described Lerma as "one of the best South American players of his generation" upon confirming the transfer, with the club having tracked his progress for several years before finally completing the move. His contract in Dortmund runs until 2031, reflecting the scale of the club's long-term investment in the teenager despite his current lack of first-team minutes.
Whether Lerma remains at Signal Iduna Park or heads out on loan is likely to become clearer in the coming weeks, with Dortmund's hierarchy weighing the benefits of regular senior football elsewhere against a longer-term development path through the club's own second team.