Hurry up and wait: What's delaying USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna's much-discussed, much-needed transfer from Dortmund?

The hints had been there throughout the last few years, but Dortmund made the message loud and clear this summer. Jobe Bellingham was announced as the club's new No. 7. That jersey had been worn by Reyna since 2021. Dortmund, both symbolically and in real life, were moving in a different direction.

It's not that that was a revelation, though. Dortmund had been belaboring the point for some time. Reyna played just 350 minutes last season, having played 280 for the club in the half-season before that. He played just 20 league minutes after March 1. The writing has been on the wall.

The Club World Cup only reinforced it, too. Unable to join the USMNT for the Gold Cup, missing out on a key opportunity to impress Mauricio Pochettino in the process, Reyna was a part of Dortmund's Club World Cup squad instead. Across five games, he played just 12 minutes, amassing four touches.

Sure, training is good, as is building fitness with a team preparing for real games, but Reyna could have been elsewhere, looking ahead to the future instead of treading water in a pool he clearly needs to get out of.

It wasn't a total lost summer for Reyna, at least on a personal level. The midfielder got married in July. Off the pitch, it has no doubt been a joyous summer of excitement and change.

As far as his career, however? There's been nothing to be excited about. Other options have been on the table, but it remains to be seen which actually comes to pass.

Part of the fault here, lies with Borussia Dortmund. For much of the summer, Reyna has been linked to Parma and, for much of the summer, reports have indicated that it's been Dortmund, not Reyna, holding up the deal.

According to various reports, Reyna agreed to personal terms with Parma weeks ago. Dortmund and Parma, meanwhile, have been haggling over the fee. Dortmund want an extra few million for the midfielder. Parma, as a lower-level Serie A club, don't have a few million to spare. And so everyone has been at an impasse.

Other options have been floated. Reyna has been linked with a move to MLS, with LAFC among those listed as options, although the signing of Son Heung-Min almost certainly ends that specific scenario. Reyna, too, seemingly has options on the European continent, albeit not of the caliber he would have had a year or two ago when he was more in demand.

Wherever he goes, though, he'll have to hit the ground running. That's the consequence of this long wait.

The reason clubs often like to get business done early is to maximize their preseason. Chemistry is hard to build. So, too, is familiarity. It's best to get a new player in as early as possible, allowing time to acclimate to a new environment, which includes on and off-field adjustments.

Reyna, though, looks set to move at the last minute - or something close to it - and it's hard not to wonder just how much he could have benefited from a full preseason elsewhere. Time is not on Reyna's side anymore. He was once among American soccer's most talented prospects, one who would have years to develop into a USMNT contributor.

Those years have ticked away. So, too, have these last few months and, with the World Cup less than a year away, Reyna doesn't have the luxury of time. As things stand, Reyna looks to be on the outside looking in for the World Cup. And with just a few international windows remaining in 2025, there's no guarantee he'll be called into Pochettino's squads.

Reyna needs to build confidence in himself, but also earn confidence from those around him. A lack of preseason with his new club means those growing pains will extend into the season, which isn't ideal for a player who desperately needs to make up for lost time.

Ultimately, though, this can all be mitigated if Reyna gets this right. Perhaps it was smarter to wait for the right move at the right time, and not move for the sake of moving? If Reyna goes to a new club, shines and gets back into the USMNT, it will all have been worth it. That's a big if, of course.

The pessimist will say that Reyna has gotten much of the last few years wrong. The optimist will say that this is another chance to get them right. Transfers, particularly in World Cup years, come with added importance. This is Reyna's chance to get back to doing what he loves.

That's the overarching point. This isn't about money, prestige or status. It's about a young player not just wanting, but needing a place where he can rediscover himself. Reyna lost his way at Dortmund and it's taken him far too long to get back.

It'll happen soon, in theory. But the days continue to tick on and waste away. Some things are worth the wait. Reyna will have to hope his eventual transfer is one of them.