Former US Men’s National Team (USMNT) forward Taylor Twellman expressed his belief that Gio Reyna would have been better off moving to a La Liga club instead of joining Nottingham Forest on loan in January.
Reyna struggled to secure regular playing time at Borussia Dortmund this season, starting just once in 15 Bundesliga appearances. This trend continued from the previous season, during which he started only four league games and seven across all competitions.
As a result, Reyna departed Dortmund on loan during the winter transfer window. Despite being linked to Sevilla as late as January (via ESPN), the USMNT talent ultimately ended up at Forest, who currently sit 16th in the Premier League, just two points clear of the relegation zone.
Speaking on Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union podcast, Twellman expressed concern about Reyna’s decision, stating (as quoted by GOAL):
“I am concerned. I’m concerned for multiple reasons. One, you change representation. When you change representation, obviously your contacts change. Who’s now representing him [Gio Reyna]? That isn’t really public. I’d be intrigued to know who’s representing him.
“If you’re really leaving Dortmund for Forest when six weeks before that, four months before that, Sevilla was the one that everyone was telling me ‘That’s where he’s going to end up.’ I get it, they’re in a relegation battle, but La Liga suits Giovanni Reyna. A relegation battle in the English Premier League does not suit Giovanni Reyna.
I don’t care who you are and who’s trying to convince me of that – that’s not going to work.”
Twellman expressed his hope that the move will prove successful, especially with the USMNT set to host the Copa America this summer:
“I hope I’m wrong because that means it helps Gio, it helps the USMNT, but I feel like when we are previewing the Copa America, I think we are going to have the same conversation – where is Gio going to end up, what’s his best team, can he play in a system that doesn’t suit a 10, someone that is going to contribute on both sides?
“I think we are going to be having this conversation in four months, unfortunately, but I hope I’m wrong.”
Reyna did not feature in the USMNT’s latest fixture, a 1-0 defeat to Slovenia in a friendly fixture last month. However, he played in both legs of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Trinidad and Tobago in November, scoring once as his team won 4-2 on aggregate.
