Gio Reyna must use USMNT teammate Weston McKennie as inspiration - even if Nottingham Forest loan doesn't work out

After nearly a full year, it had been made crystal clear: at this point, Edin Terzic just doesn't rate Reyna as one of his better players. He may have high hopes for him for the future but in this results-oriented business, Terzic believed in other options at Dortmund.

You can't blame him. Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen and Marco Reus are legit internationals. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Youssoufa Moukoko have all the potential in the world. And that's without even mentioning Jadon Sancho. Those spots behind the attacker are looking pretty filled up.

It's what led to Reyna making just 11 appearances in the Bundesliga, with only one start this season. A total of 271 minutes in league play simply isn't enough.

Reyna is talented, his play with the USMNT has proved that, but, at 21, he is not quite at the level needed to start for Dortmund at this point in time. That brings us to a crossroads for a player who can be good enough in the future but needs minutes to get there.

Enter Nottingham Forest, who will give Reyna the chance he needs.

For a while, Reyna's future was up in the air. It felt like a move away from Dortmund wouldn't come to fruition until Nottingham Forest eventually came in, making the deal happen ahead of the close of the January window.

Until about 24 hours before, Reyna's future looked to be at Dortmund. Terzic said as much, although, with hindsight, that may just have been to force Forest's hand.

"Gio is a fantastic player. Of course, he’s not happy when he’s not playing," Terzic said earlier this week. "You could see that Gio is capable of influencing the game from the bench [during the 3-1 win over Bochum]. He was very confident on the ball, managed to create a few dangerous situations, but was a bit unlucky with his finishing in one or two situations."

He added: "I expect him to be available to me on Friday. I haven’t heard anything else. Gio is under contract, Gio is our player and did well when he came on today."

Reyna wasn't in that famous Black and Gold on Friday, though, having already swapped teams. To get the deal over the line, Forest agreed to a loan move with no option to buy. Prior reports said the Premier League side were persistent in getting that buy option - and not getting it certainly changes the perception of this move.

You could almost hear the collective groan from USMNT fans on social media.

"Nottingham Forest? Oh no..."

A Premier League club in a relegation battle, made worse by the fact a potential points deduction hangs over their heads. At any point, Forest's season could go sideways and, if it does, that'll end their Premier League stay.

They've already fired one coach in Steve Cooper. They replaced him with Espirito Santo, a manager who is in desperate need of a reputation rebuild of his own. There is no guarantee of survival here.

You can add in Matt Turner's experience, too. To be fair, most of the USMNT goalkeeper's struggles have been self-inflicted, a series of mistakes that have contributed to the club's struggles. Turner, though, has never quite felt the love from Forest, who signed another international goalkeeper, Odysseas Vlachodimos, just weeks after bringing him in from Arsenal. They brought in another one, Matz Sels, just this week. Turner's time already seems to be nearing its end.

So why would Reyna pick Forest? Given the links to clubs like Marseille, Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Monaco and Benfica, why in the world would he walk into a situation that could go so, so wrong?

Reyna's only priority this winter: find somewhere where he can play. Not sporadically - frequently.

Forest have a typical front three consisting of Anthony Elanga, Nicolas Dominguez and Chris Wood. Because of that, minutes on the wing may be harder to come by. The thing is, Reyna doesn't want to play on the wing. Long-term, he sees himself as a No.10, or perhaps a No.8.

The No.10 spot, though, is occupied. Morgan Gibbs-White has started all but one match. Unless Nuno changes formation, Reyna's best bet may be in one of those wing positions.

Still, there is that chance the Portuguese manager does switch formation to accommodate Reyna. Maybe Gibbs-White shifts a little deeper into midfield as more of a No.8, or Reyna plays in that role. During his time at Wolves, Nuno often deployed two No.10s, and we could very well see a similar sort of setup now that he has more options in that position at Forrest.

The point is this: there are no guarantees, but there are opportunities. Reyna's move to Forest isn't loaded with locked-in playing time but, unlike Dortmund, there's a path forward.

If he plays up to his potential, this could be a win-win-win scenario: Forest get a player who can help them avoid the drop, Reyna gets the playing time he needs and Dortmund get a returning player with a new lease of life or, at the very least, an inflated price tag if things go that way.

Just about a year ago, McKennie was in a similar position to Reyna. Playing at a European giant, the American midfielder was crowded out, with playing time disappearing by the week. So, instead of rotting on the bench, he went out on loan to Leeds.

We know how that went: terribly. It was about as bad as a loan spell can get. Jesse Marsch was fired, Tyler Adams was injured, Leeds were relegated, McKennie was regularly abused by fans. It was a nightmare. The midfielder's stint at Leeds was the worst of his career, and it's hard to imagine him ever having a six-month period much worse than that.

However, we also know what's happened since. After that Premier League experience, McKennie returned to Juventus a changed man. His future uncertain in pre-season, McKennie seized his opportunity, convincing Juve to keep him on. In the months since, he's arguably been the club's best player, helping them mount a Serie A title challenge just months after not being good enough for the team.

"I still view my move to Leeds as a step forward for me," McKennie told EightByEight. "It might not be in other people’s eyes. But I think that’s what I needed at that time in my career. Every player can get a little bit complacent and comfortable with what they’re doing. I think going to Leeds and having the experience I had there, I may have let some people down. I may have let some fans down who supported Leeds and believed in me.”

He added: "When I left Leeds, I knew I had a bad showing. I knew I didn’t have the time that I thought I was going to have or that maybe I should have had. It put me in a mindset that when I came back here to Juventus, I was starting brand new. I’m going back to Juventus like it’s my first time. I have to prove myself all over again."

Now, no one is hoping that Reyna's experience goes anywhere near as bad as McKennie's. To be fair, it would be difficult for things to go that wrong. The Juve star's time at Leeds was a perfect storm of messiness that ended poorly for all involved.

However, McKennie does serve as a perfect example of how to return from these sorts of loan spells. Dortmund have not given up on Reyna; they've merely given him a different type of chance to succeed. If the 21-year-old looks at it that way, he could put himself in a good place to return to his parent club and make an impact, much in the way McKennie did.

Juventus got a brand new McKennie after that stint at Leeds, one a bit more humble and with a brand new focus. If Reyna can return to Dortmund with the same kind of mindset, the future remains bright.

The biggest part of this move? The fact that Dortmund left themselves with an out.

For a while, it looked like Reyna's exit would either be permanent or include a buy clause. Clubs were, understandably, pushing for it. This felt like a chance to get a player with big potential for relatively cheap. It was all reward with minimal risk.

Dortmund, for all of their faults when it comes to giving Reyna playing time, understood that. With Reus heading into the final months of his contract and Sancho's own move being a temporary one, spots will open up soon. Reyna could fill one of those after his time in the Premier League.

The decision to keep this move as a straight-up six-month loan proves that Dortmund retain hope. They still see him as a player who can follow the likes of Christian Pulisic, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham into stardom. While he may never reach the stratospheric heights of that trio, it's clear that Dortmund believe that Reyna can be a much better player than he is today.

We'll find out about that over the next six months. One way or another, Reyna is heading toward a crossroads. For years, he's been seen as a player with the world at his feet. Now, he'll have a chance to prove it in a six-month stint that will very much determine the trajectory of his career.