Giovanni Reyna has finally found a new home, and will look to take advantage of a new lease on German top-flight life following a move from Borussia Dortmund to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Reyna, 22, will join his childhood teammate Joe Scally on the books at Gladbach, who are coached by former Bayer Leverkusen and Young Boys boss Gerardo Castro.
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The move is huge for USMNT playmaker Reyna as he had been buried by multiple managers at Dortmund and needs to find playing time ahead of what he hopes will be a roster spot on the 2026 World Cup.
Julian Weigl will also be a familiar face as a former Dortmund player on Gladbach, but playing with Scally had to be attractive to Reyna as he was recruited by several clubs including Serie A side Parma; Scally and Reyna were teammates in New York City FC’s academy and several youth national team levels in addition to the USMNT.
Giovanni Reyna to Borussia Monchengladbach: A huge chance
Quite frankly, it’s difficult to imagine a player who should be hungrier to seize a chance at a new home than Reyna.
While his wild 2022 World Cup story threatened to overshadow the potential he had shown in becoming a multi-time Golden Boy-nominee with BVB, his lack of fitness and playing time over the last few years were the real conspirators to dropping him down a few pegs, as he fell out of favor with Edin Terzic before Nuri Sahin and Niko Kovac did not trust him with starring opportunities.
Reyna joined Dortmund’s academy from NYCFC in 2019 and made his senior debut at 17 years old midway through the 2019-20 BVB season. his star rising in his first full season as he nabbed seven goals and eight assists over the course of 2020-21.
Injuries hampered his 2021-22 season but he showed out again the following season as he struck seven times with two assists in 22 Bundesliga games. He didn’t play more than 45 minutes in the first half of the 2023-24 season, leaving for a Nottingham Forest in January and playing just 231 minutes for the Tricky Trees.
Regularly in the 18 last season, he still managed just 627 minutes in all comps after missing two months early in the season.
A strained relationship with former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter was resolved in time for Reyna to find his national team footing in 2023-24, but he’s only been on the pitch for 21 minutes for Mauricio Pochettino as players like Malik Tillman have staked claims to attacking minutes ahead of the World Cup.
This move re-opens high-profile doors for Reyna, and USMNT fans will be eager to see how the still-young playmaker responds to the opportunity. Once viewed as a player capable of one day putting his face on the USMNT’s Mount Rushmore, he has to first get himself back in the team. Gladbach will give him the stage to do just that.
