The funny thing about Gio Reyna, and more to the point, all the noise about him – the controversy with his family and Gregg Berhalter, the anticipation of any appearance with the national team, the confidence that he’s the country’s most talented player – is that it is built on such a tiny foundation. Everyone has barely seen Reyna play. A sub appearance here, a friendly appearance with the USMNT there, but Reyna’s impact still very much remains a theory. And it appears that Reyna has gotten that idea himself.
Reports indicate that Reyna is looking to leave Borussia Dortmund in the January transfer window. And with good cause. Reyna has started one match in the Bundesliga this season, with eight other sub appearances. He’s played just 238 minutes in the league, with one additional start in the German Cup. While he missed a good chunk of the preseason thanks to yet another injury problem, he has been healthy since. He’s just not being used.
This has been a continuing trend for Reyna, who either through health or manager whims, just hasn’t played regularly in three seasons now. Perhaps he can pin it on how much his body has let him down, as a player spending that much time out of the manager’s sight (and it’s two different Dortmund managers in that time) that becomes the norm. There just hasn’t been a time when Reyna has either been able to establish himself as a regular in the first 11 for Dortmund or has impressed his coaches enough to be so.
But Reyna can’t just claim that it’s all about health. He’s only had one season out of five where he was a regular starter, and that was the COVID season. Some of it might have to do with Reyna’s best position being a position that doesn’t really exist anymore, at least not in Germany and most places.
It’s been some of the same story on the national team, but Reyna isn’t really a wide attacker, he’s not really a winger, he’s not really a midfielder. His best position would be as a No. 10, with a team’s attack revolving around him. But so few teams play with a No. 10. Dortmund don’t. The USMNT don’t. Which means Reyna is usually having to make do with being shoehorned somewhere else on the field. And he can do that well at times, when he’s upright.
The other thing is that Reyna is great with the ball at his feet, able to weave in and out of traffic with ease. But he’s not a great passer or chance-creator that way, which limits how much teams would want to use him in the middle He also isn’t going to contribute much defensively, making managers more wary of deploying him in the middle where things get frazzled and hectic in a hurry, especially in Germany.
It’s vital that Reyna find a home this month and one where he’s going to play, whatever the position. The Copa America is getting bigger over the horizon, but all the spots he’d play this summer are inhabited by guys who are playing regularly and well for big teams all over Europe. Christian Pulisic is having his best season with Milan. Yunus Musah has been a regular in that team as well. Weston McKennie has arguably been Juventus’s best midfielder this season. Tim Weah has been used twice as much in Turin as Reyna has in Dortmund. If Tyler Adams can show proof of life in the spring in Bournemouth, knowing his importance to the national team, that’s pretty much everywhere Reyna might play in Berhalter’s system. Could be back to being a super sub and watching dad Claudio stew in the stands again.
So where might Reyna go? Clubs in Spain, France, and Portugal have been hinted, though no concrete links. La Liga seems like the best idea, given the much slower pace and more teams being amenable to deploying a player like Reyna in the middle. Still, those linked are all in something of a crisis, as Sevilla and Villareal are floating around the relegation zone in Spain. Real Sociedad are much higher, still in the Champions League as well, but are also loaded with attacking talent already.
Marseille have already said no, and Lyon are having an awful season. Wolves and Forest in the Premier League have been sounded out, but both are headed for relegation battles as well (especially if Forest get a points-deduction for FFP violations) and vibrant attacking players aren’t usually a priority in April when teams have to grind out a point or two to avoid the drop.
Benfica is known as a club where a player can rehab their rep and play in a forward-thinking system. Sure, Portugal may be a half-step down from Germany, but Reyna has lost the right to be choosy.
It’s hard to believe that Reyna is still only 21, and time is on his side. But there are also a host of Dortmund products who looked like the real deal before turning 20 and then flattened out elsewhere (Dembele, Sancho, and for a second there ,it looked like Pulisic would be on that list, too). It’s fair to ask how much Reyna’s last name is doing him favors, and it’s time he puts that notion to bed. But screw up this move and it’ll only be a longer trek out of the abyss.
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