Gio Reyna’s long-term future with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund remains up in the air, but his present looks to be in Germany after all.
Reyna played nine minutes on Saturday in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 Bundesliga victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. The U.S. men’s national team playmaker didn’t play a large role in the opening weekend triumph, but still earned his first minutes under new manager Nuri Sahin.
After spending the second half of last season in the English Premier League with Nottingham Forest, Reyna returned to Germany with hopes of earning a larger role at club level. Despite being linked with a potential move away from Signal Iduna Park, the 21-year-old has battled during preseason camp to try and force his way into Sahin’s long-term plans for the 2024-25 campaign.
With Borussia Dortmund aiming to be part of the title challengers domestically, while also hoping to make a deep run in European competition, Reyna’s talents could prove important to the Black and Yellow achieving their goals over the next nine months.
“He has to accept his role and free himself from it,” Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said in an interview with Bild. It was clear when we held the talks in the summer that Gio wanted to take on this role. That there would be enough games where we would need him. We know that he has incredible skills.”
“Gio could become very important for us this season. There are no other thoughts. There’s nothing on the table and I haven’t heard that the player wants to leave. He worked on himself, worked on his stability, worked on his confidence. His clever movement between the lines and his goal threat, he’s developed that further.”
Borussia Dortmund visits Werder Bremen on Saturday in its final match of the August schedule before the September international break.
“He has to accept his role and free himself from it,”
“His clever movement between the lines and his goal threat, he’s developed that further.”
What we know: Reyna prefers playing centrally to playing winger or wide midfielder. Dortmund has had a club legend playing in this role for years and while being pushed by another German national team member in Julian Brandt and there was also a guy named Jude Bellingham playing there. Reyna was utilized out of his preferred position for most of his time on the first team. Now Reus and moved to the Galaxy after BVB brought in Sabitzer last season which relegated Reus to the bench as a sub. Reyna was then pushed even deeper to the bench causing him to look for a loan. He didn’t have many suitors, chose his team poorly or was simply unable to impress enough to get playing time at Forest – all while pushing to play his preferred central midfield.
What’s changed? Well Reus is gone. Sahin has started two line ups with both Brandt and Sabitzer starting (along with Gross and Can who both play more of a holding role). Unless they bring in another creative central midfielder, Reyna is the only option to back these two up in a similar way. Nmecha is more of a natural replacement for Can or Gross. And indeed Reyna replaced Sabitzer on Saturday while Nmecha replaced Can.
So what does this mean? Reyna should have a chance – like Kehl said – to be an important part of this team as the frst offensive minded midfielder off the bench or as a the first option give rest games to Sabitzer and/or Brandt.
Regarding all the talk below about his attitude. It’s obvious the work he has put in on this front. Knowing where he fell to – understandably considering his positional demands – on the depth chart last season it provides more insight about his lack of playing time. He was competing with BVB legend Reus for time. He was never going to win that spot. And wing became a non-option even if he would have accepted it once Sancho returned.
I’m excited for him this season. I hope he gets more cup games and some early CL games and perhaps some chances against the lower level BL teams. Considering the depth chart this should happen. He has the first half of the season to cement himself into that role and prevent Dortmund from dipping into the transfer market to find depth in the center of the pitch. (this is the part of Kehl’s quote about accepting his role). Let’s go Reyna (Let’s go BVB!)
Sebastian Kehl on Gio Reyna: “He could become important for us”
……..hahaha, like what??? He is still a “Could” at Dortmund after almost 5 years with a club, from youth to senior, and they are still saying there is a possibility he could be useful???? This is unbelievable……Gio needs to swallow his pride, come to the realization that he is just not CURRENTLY good enough, take a pay cut AND GO TO LA LIGA to find playing time and form!!!
Go to a team like Celta Vigo and develop a partnership with Luca De la Torre or to Real Betis and combine with Johnny Cardoso. Find form and develop into the player we HOPE he could be. Partnerships are doing well for Pulisic and Musah, Weah and McKennie, Malik, Dest, Ledemza and Pepi, Robinson and Ream (his time at Fulham) .etc.
What gives with this kid? Most of the other potential players, who were teammates with Gio, have moved on to bigger and better things and he still “could be useful” in the eyes of management, rotting at Dortmund. Why are there no clubs showing interest? Why does Dortmund not have a place for him AFTER EVALUATING HIM FOR 5+ YEARS????
Something is wrong……..
He probably would need to go to San Diego FC to develop a partnership with LDLT considering he is not part of Celta’s plans, hasn’t kicked a ball with them since last season as far as I can tell and according to reports SDFC are the only team after him.
He’d be better off at BVB considering he’s the only offensive minded midfielder besides Brandt and Sabitzer and Sahin has been playing a formation using two 10s.
“He probably would need to go to San Diego FC to develop a partnership with LDLT considering he is not part of Celta’s plans, hasn’t kicked a ball with them since last season as far as I can tell”……..yeah, it looks like you can’t tell
“Left off squad list
De la Torre (ankle) is not an option after being left off the squad list.
Impact De la Torre will continue his time on the sidelines, as he is set to miss yet another match due to his sprained ankle. This continues to be a somewhat significant loss, with the midfielder likely to see decent time when fit, starting in 22 of his 31 appearances last campaign. No timetable is in place for a return, but with a minor injury, he should be back on the field within their next two to three games.
5 DAYS AGO
Still VERY MUCH a part of Celta Vigo’s plans moving forward
And no….if you know anything about the game, you’d know Giovanni Reyna is not better off at BVB in terms of his future structure, development and experience to be gained. With his age and talent, teams should be competing for his services……but it comes to those very services……crickets. Lack of playing time has stagnated his progress. At nearly 22, Reyna is no longer the “young player” on the team. He’s at the point in his career where he needs less watching and more playing time, more meaningful opportunities to showcase his talent and develop his skills…… on the field.
Wow, that is news to me. I read an article before posting that comment that was very clear LDLT was not in the plans at Celia for the new coach. This is very Weston McKennie at Juventus with the big turn around. That article mention no injury. Bad source maybe?
About Reyna: maybe we are talking about different things. Me, about what is happening now in real life and you, talking about what the best case scenario would be. I totally agree with you. It would be better if he was playing all the time at a decent club. But he isn’t. And due to injuries, dropping down the depth chart and a unimpressive loan, he wasn’t able to get an acceptable move. So he finds himself at a title contender that plays in the CL where the depth chart has him as the third AM in a team that plays two. At 21, if he stays healthy and takes advantage of the likelihood getting more minutes at his chosen position than ever before, his value will go sky high – because he is at Dortmund. His next move will be better than if he moved now. So yeah, staying is a good thing, if he produces.
Bizzy – hmm….still only seeing reports of him on the outs and not a peep about an ankle injury. These are all from reports in Spain and even one from the US. All from today. I hope you are right though!
I’m convinced of Reyna’s talent. And I think this whole “attitude problem” or “diva” stuff is way overblown. The coaches from Dortmund have never questioned his professionalism. His problems have come from chronic injuries and coaches decisions not to play him. If Dortmund aren’t going to play him, then he needs to move to a team with a manager who sees him as a starter, wherever that is. Even top players need to be in a team and system that suits them.
Why do you think coaches decided not to play him? For a player his age and per minute production teams should be lining up to pay big money for him. Musah had 5g and 3a in three seasons for Valencia and AC Milan paid 20 million for him. Gio has 17g 17a in only 14 more appearances than Yunus had and nothing? Something else is going on. I don’t know if it’s Gio or his team or a combo, but it seems unlikely it’s just completely on field related.
Why didn’t CP play more for Chelsea the last couple years there? After scoring in CL semi and almost again in the final. Too many options for the coach, injuries, next thing he knows he is trying too hard in limited chances. He finally leaves, now killing it at Milan while Chelsea’s results have finally proven the hot mess they have been for awhile. I figure Reyna still wants to prove himself at Dortmund, but I think he would do better to learn from CP’s Chelsea experience and get out now, get a fresh start.
JB: sure that narrative works except as I stated nobody seems to want to buy him. So what’s driving the lack of market. I get you can be downgraded at a club but no one seems to want him. His agent sent him to his buddy at Forest and his friend wouldn’t play him. Maybe there’s no fire but there is a lot of smoke swirling around that suggests someone is making things more difficult for Gio to find a home. I don’t know who that someone is but the success his had and only being 21 he should have 4 or 5 clubs lining to snag him at an affordable price, but the rumor mill is very quiet on Gio. Despite his own field performances being pretty good.
JR.
Couple of things.
I am disappointed in Gio because I thought he would be a regular someplace by now prepping for 2026. Then I remember that he is 21. As I recall he was Olympic eligible. He is a very long way from being washed up and finished. At 21 Clint was just beginning his career with the Revs. American fans want Gio to be the superstar we all think he might be, yesterday. I think BVB might well have the same high opinion of him but have him on a different timetable. It comes back to BVB having lots of depth at that position and the USMNT not having any.
At BVB Gio got hit by the Pulisic curse; get hurt and then try to come back too soon. Reinjure yourself causing you to miss even more time. And all the while your old position is under constant threat by a steady stream of younger, probably cheaper, talent . I think Terzic was very well aware of Gio’s talent but just got tired of the roller coaster and just took advantage of having lots of alternatives to Gio. In the same way, Tuchel had a lot of alternatives to CP. And BVB was doing well so Terzic was likely reluctant to screw around too much with a winning formula.
Certainly Kehl and Sahin know Gio well enough. Kehl’s statement frames it succinctly and perfectly. ““He has to accept his role and free himself from it,” You’re a sub. Force us to make you a starter. I don’t remember Terzic ever saying anything like this at least in public.
So for me, it’s all good. When you say there must be more, the only other thing it might be is Claudio. Maybe Claudio and Danielle have been pulling their shit on Terzic and BVB. Not that BVB would really worry about it the way the USSF did but it certainly would not have helped.
As for the Forest loan, I think I saw every game where he played more than 2 seconds;
He did not look out of place in the EPL.
The guys he was most likely to replace, CHO, Elanga, Gibbs-White, actually most of the attacking players ,were doing really well and putting Gio in did not make a lot of sense, given the spectre of relegation. Forest’s problem was leaking goals.
I have no way of knowing of course but it seemed like he got on well with Nuno and the rest of the team. They just really did not need him. It was just a bad fit given what I mentioned and the fact that it wasn’t a long time. Gio might have done a lot better had he been with the team from the beginning of the season.
I don’t think it was a total waste of time but it was close. In hindsight, Gio’s “people” should never have let him go to Forest.
JR: occam’s razor — which is more likely.
(a) dortmund, who we all know extended him for the purpose of driving up his price (since they sure as heck aren’t using that added obligation to play him more), is asking for too much, considering while talented and productive in rate terms his history thus far is supersub on a good day, and he had the poorly chosen ineffective forest stint. so he’s valued but expensive but unproven as a starter, which makes his transfer market awkward.
OR
(b) player has some secret ongoing character defect that every team in europe has picked up on, and he’s quietly blackballed, but somehow not by the runnerup in the whole continent, who extends him out.
he had some market last time midseason. the dortmund guy literally said he hasn’t asked to be shopped this window.
germany is notorious for wanting high work ethic in practices and whatnot. when he had the issues with GB dortmund piped in that they hadn’t seen whatever we thought we were seeing.
last, adams when healthy is a great DM but in terms of his critique of reyna, dude can’t stay healthy himself. and GB, whose view on reyna became popular, can currently be found in the unemployment line if you want him to elaborate. as though his decisions at qatar turned out so great.
jb: exactly. you would think folks would learn from CP (or perhaps their own soccer experiences) that sometimes it’s specific compatibility with a coach. they don’t like you. they want the team to do something different.
along the same lines as GB, if you want to ask lampard about CP’s current form, you can find him in the unemployment line. but his take too was taken very seriously.
V: for all the yammering about club form here, reyna was excellent in NL in the spring. he was then less effective in the summer, but we generally looked a mess, not just him.
what he needs is a destination where he starts regularly, has to produce, and by virtue of his status people shut up and just watch how he plays, when he plays. but he has the expensive bench player paradox where his rights are owned by a team that barely cares, but he is nonetheless overpriced for the teams that would transfer/loan and start him, and the teams that can afford him probably have other options too.
like i said, he needed to run out his deal and reboot where he is most wanted.
I think perhaps attitude is a small part of this but the major part is the depth chart. Where the attitude comes in is his insistence at playing centrally instead of on the wing (which could turn out to be the best thing he’s done). It seems to me that once Bellingham left he “expected” to be his replacement but the team brought in Sabitzer and then he was left behind Reus who was displaced by Brandt. Terzic wasn’t going to use Reyna when there was Reus sitting there too. And then Sancho was signed so he couldn’t even retreat to playing on the wing if wanted to.
That’s why I see the coach not choosing to play him. There were others who were just arguably just plain better. So he did the right thing demanding a loan or sale but he ended up in a terrible spot. I don’t pretend to know how he ended up there considering it was an obvious bad move. The bright side of that move as I see it is the opportunity he has in his hands now due to that failure. Brandt and Sabitzer cannot start every game and he is the most obvious answer to spell them if Sahin continues with the same formation he’s rolled out the last two games. This is the closest he’s ever come to realizing his goal of being the creative force in the middle of the pitch for a team. If he can show well in this role, well….
IV: I’m not saying it necessarily has anything to do with how Gio plays, or even his attitude or work habits. It is just really strange given Musah going for 20 million at the same age with far less production. I don’t know what Dortmund values him at but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep him at 2.5 million and not play him. Transfermkt has him at 18 million valuation but that’s been in a steady decline. They received him on a free so they likely owe something to NYCFC for selling him on but it’s all profit after that so holding a high price tag also makes no sense.
JR,
“It is just really strange given Musah going for 20 million at the same age with far less production. I don’t know what Dortmund values him at but it doesn’t make a lot of sense to keep him at 2.5 million and not play him.”
Well it seems like they intend to let him try to play his way out of trouble.
Comparing players directly based on transfer fees can be very tricky. Musah is a very versatile guy and could eventually wind up in a number of different roles. Gio has kind of been painted into a corner as a creative, attacking central midfielder, when it’s clear to me that he’s more versatile than that.
But if Musah is worth 20 million and Gio 18, then how is Brenden worth 30 million?
And Brenden’s base salary is 2.3 million per so he is in Gregg territory. Brenden is doing much better now at Leeds but he had the shittiest 18 months. All three make what seems to be the going rate for American midfielders in Europe , somewhere between 2.5 to 2.0 million.
Pretty much up to Gio. No more excuses from anyone. Perform, compete, show up everyday and do what is expected. Gio needs to adjust his perspective and look around him. All the other potential rich players that came up with him BD have moved onto bigger roles or clubs.
plays well for the US. “we know he has incredible skills…worked on himself, worked on his stability, worked on his confidence. His clever movement between the lines and his goal threat, he’s developed that further.” does that sound like someone who sat on their butt and deserves your player-blame?
i can’t imagine the fanboys who love to push these theories actually played much. anyone who’s ever played at a pretty good level, been benched and thought they didn’t deserve it, would think this line of argument is bs. plenty of us have been good the year before. good the year after we switch teams. but somehow bad in between.
also if you’re paying close attention, it’s like “well, he didn’t turn in a transfer request.” like that stopped serie A teams shopping around our other players.
that aside, i don’t understand this. his role at dortmund for years has been sub. i don’t see that changing. skedaddle. and to me when they extend him out then still don’t run him out, he got played. what was the worst thing that would have happened if he hadn’t extended. what are they going to do, play him 10′ every other week? shock, they do it already. do your worst.
IV: I don’t disagree with a lot of what you said. However, it hasn’t been just one year, or one manager, or even one club. There’s something going on. Terzic used to start him every week 20-21and then would barely play him in 22-23 even when he was one of his most productive players. By 23-24 he played even less. When he moved to Forest, he couldn’t get on the field despite seemingly being a much better player than most of his teammates. One coach makes an error that happens, two coaches make an error maybe, three coaches make an error now I’m starting think maybe it’s not just the coach, now we’re on like manager number 5?Hopefully, the new manager will be able to get him back to his prior club form.
Terzic lost trust in him after subbing him in and Gio would not maintain shape defensively. Especially after he would turn the ball over and the player or space he was supposed to mark would lead to a chance creation or goal.
IV. At first it doesn’t appear much changed. The difference this year is when you read between the lines of what Kehl said – the very lines you quote – it IS in fact different this year. In the past he has been a sub mostly on the RW and sometimes in the midfield. What Reyna has done in the last couple of years is demand to play centrally on a team with Marco Reus, Julian Brandt and Marcel Sabitzer (previously Jude Bellingham). While we may think he can compete with those guys, we are not in training. The coaches are and he didn’t beat them out last season. What has changed this year is he has the chance to be the first choice to spell the two starters at his chosen position for the first time at BVB – whether that’s at the end of games, to provide rest as a starter or cover when injuries happen. They are in three competitions. He is only 21!!! This is a big deal! This is a huge club. As Kehl said, he needs to accept this role and…”free himself from it”. This means play well enough to a) firstly, play so well they don’t buy someone else in the winter market b) push to take Sabitzer or Brandt’s starting job and/or 3) get other teams to take him on as a creative midfielder. It’s may not appear at first glance to different but it is a big difference. He just climbed a rung in his development.
JR – in 20/21 only 1/3 of his minutes were at midfield. 21/22 was lost to injury. 22/23 he was back at the wing playing only 136 minutes at midfield. That was Bellingham’s last year. Then last season the push or demand to be played centrally and he played 271 minutes of a possible 1350 – just over half in the midfield. So under Terzic he was used mostly as a winger and wanted to play midfield. Do you think that could have created tension? Or perhaps there were better wingers and better midfielders on the squad once he recovered from his lost season of 21/22. It could be a little of both don’t you think? But I see a team loaded at winger and not much depth at attacking midfield and a new coach. The way forward is before him. This is it! As a 21 year old there worse places to be than the third attacking mid in a CL team that plays two 10s.