Controversial USMNT star set for Premier League move
After weeks of speculation, polarizing midfielder Gio Reyna is on his way to the Premier League.
Reyna — a 21-year-old whose on-field skills have often been eclipsed by his off-field behavior — is set to join England's Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the 2023-24 season, per a report from journalist Fabrizio Romano on Wednesday.
Reyna, the son of former U.S. Men's National Team international Claudio Reyna, began his career in Major League Soccer as a youth prospect with New York City FC. He transferred to Germany to join Borussia Dortmund in 2019 and has been with the club since.
Recently, though, Reyna has fallen out of favor with Dortmund coach Edin Terzić. He has started just one domestic league game this season and scored zero goals.
Reyna's dry spell at Dortmund followed a controversial period with coach Gregg Berhalter and the USMNT. Berhalter dropped Reyna from a crucial World Cup game in Qatar, sharing that Reyna was "clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field."
Reyna and his parents — both of whom were close friends with Berhalter — retaliated with a public war of words. The Reynas leveled several accusations at Berhalter, triggering a full investigation of his past and leading to his dismissal from the national team.
Berhalter was later exonerated and welcomed back into the USMNT fold. The Reynas, however, faced ridicule and exile from the U. S. Soccer community, with many believing they'd aired (and exaggerated) Berhalter's dirty laundry as a petty punishment for his treatment of their son.
Reyna, for his part, has largely stayed out of the drama between his parents and Berhalter. He was brought back to the USMNT last fall for games against Germany and Ghana and looked great in both.
"I think Gio's done a great job in training, really sharp, really strong," Berhalter said. "We see his quality, and for us, it's about how we build him up."
Reyna's Premier League move is great news for USMNT fans. It's a sign that he'll get more playing time than he did at Dortmund, and every minute matters as the Copa America approaches in June. The fitter and hungrier Reyna is, the better the USMNT's chances of making a deep run in the notoriously difficult tournament.
At Forest, Reyna will team with fellow USMNT colleague Matt Turner. Turner joined Forest last summer from Arsenal and has been its starting goalkeeper since the move.
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