Did USMNT, Dortmund MF Gio Reyna just become an MLS transfer target? | OneFootball

With news breaking Wednesday that Dortmund has given Giovanni Reyna the directive to seek a new club, a move to MLS for a player many believe is still the most technically gifted in the U.S. men's national team pool seems entirely possible, if not necessarily likely.

The reason, as much as anything, is timing. Dortmund still have Reyna's contract rights for another season and would be looking to recoup at least some sort of nominal transfer fee for the 22-year-old. And the MLS primary transfer window is still open through April 23.

Further, in the March USMNT camp for the Concacaf Nations League, Reyna appeared to slip further down the depth chart of American midfielders. He was not used at all in the USMNT's 1-0 loss to Panama in the semifinals. Then Mauricio Pochettino passed him over for a start in favor of Diego Luna in the third-place match.

Reyna finally entered off the bench in the 69th minute of that 2-1 loss to Canada, showing little save for a yellow card earned in second-half stoppage time.

The tea leaves suggest if Reyna wants to get back into the USMNT picture in time for the 2026 World Cup, he needs to be somewhere that he can both play and produce regularly. Whether that's possible anywhere is an open question, given that -- from a distance -- his issues appear to be primarily mental.

But it might be more likely in MLS, particularly with an American coach and technical staff that sees getting him right for the World Cup as part of their mission. And it could also occur more quickly if Reyna were to complete a move before the MLS primary window closed, giving him time to play maybe even a half-dozen club games before the USMNT convenes again for two friendlies followed by the Concacaf Gold Cup.

The potential downsides

It would come with major risk for both parties, though.

While the fee Reyna would fetch would be relatively small by European standards, most likely considerably less than the $11 million value currently placed on him by Transfermarkt, even half of that would be a big outlay for most MLS clubs. And it has been a long time since Reyna has given anything resembling consistent production at any of his recent employers -- Dortmund, the USMNT or briefly Nottingham Forest.

If it's really the mental side of the game that is the issue, coming to MLS may not fix that. It could even exacerbate it if Reyna either feels slighted by having "fallen" to the MLS level, or if he comes to a situation where too much is expected of him with too little support.

And that latter scenario would be a major risk to Reyna's club career. If he comes to MLS and does well, then it might very well rejuvenate his value in the mind of European clubs. But if he fails to perform for an MLS employer, it could expedite the end of his playing days more so than failing to perform at another employer in a Big Five European league would.

So long as he's still at a top-tier European club, his camp can sell that pedigree to a next potential employer. If he gives up that pedigree and still isn't performing, his value could plummet further.