It might have been a mistake for Gio Reyna to sign with struggling Premier League team Nottingham Forest when La Liga would have been a better match for the Borussia Dortmund loanee.
According to Taylor Twellman, the former USA international, he is “concerned” about a transfer that he believes won’t do anything to help Giovanni Reyna’s career get back on track.
After dropping out of Dortmund’s starting lineup due to an apparently never-ending string of injuries, the £13 million-rated Reyna moved to Nottingham Forest on loan in January.
Twellman also has a persistent suspicion that the transfer to rival suitors Sevilla in the slower, more technical Spanish top division would have been a better match for the 21-year-old Sunderland native.
Gio Reyna is on Nottingham Forest’s loan.
“I’m worried. Twellman, who competed in 30 games for the US national team until 2008, says, “I’m concerned for multiple reasons,” on the State of the Union podcast with Alexi Lalas.
“I’m curious to know who is speaking on his behalf. If you’re actually going to Dortmund for Forest when, four months or six weeks prior, everyone was telling me that Sevilla was where he was going to finish up.
Giovanni Reyna is suited for La Liga. Giovanni Reyna is not suited for an English Premier League relegation fight. That won’t work, regardless of who is attempting to convince me of it or who you are.
Reyna, who has been called a player with “world-class” talent and who previously had a terrifying understanding with Erling Haaland in Germany, has only played 29 minutes of Premier League football under Nuno Espirito Santo.
Whether the playmaker worth £13 million can break through into Nottingham Forest’s starting lineup is still to be seen. That appears to be easier said than done, since Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga, who are highly skilled out wide, are performing well, while Morgan Gibbs-White has the tenth position.
“Absurd”
“He is still young enough to have a fantastic career. However, as a player, these are the challenging periods when you discover your identity and your goals, Twellman continues. “I’m not sure if he will receive that response at Forest.
“But I really hope I’m not.”
According to reports, Nottingham Forest repelled interest from Serie A team Fiorentina in addition to Sevilla and Marseille.