'So frustrating!' - Gio Reyna told to take inspiration from Christian Pulisic in bid to escape nightmare Borussia Dortmund situation as USMNT legend reflects on Nottingham Forest loan farce

Talented playmaker Reyna broke a Bundesliga record held by Pulisic when making his debut for Borussia Dortmund at the age of 17 in January 2020. He is still only 22, but has managed just 138 appearances at club level over the course of almost five years.

Fitness problems have held Reyna back on a regular basis, as they once did Pulisic, but he is considered to still boast the potential that will allow him to flourish somewhere – with one United States international colleague having enjoyed a similar rise to prominence since leaving Chelsea for Serie A giants AC Milan.

Former USMNT goalkeeper Kasey Keller – speaking in association with William Hill Vegas – has told GOAL when asked what needs to happen next for Reyna, with regular game time at the very top of that list: “There is no question. When I watched matches last year at [Nottingham] Forest when he came in, I didn’t understand why he wasn’t playing more because he would come in and do certain things that looked like other players on the pitch couldn’t.

“I know it is always a bit different when you’re an attacking player that is going to help score goals and you are shifting goals at the other end, it’s always tricky at that stage when you are trying to infiltrate somebody new into that system. But I think we are back in a similar situation with Christian before – first and foremost stay fit. Stay fit and then the form can find itself.”

Keller went on to say of Reyna needing to find the same kind of professional spark that has fellow BVB academy graduate Pulisic flying again: “When I see a young player come into a first team for that first run of games, particularly in midfield, the thing I always look for is, when they receive the ball what does the next touch look like? Is it square and back, is it just to say I don’t want to be a liability, I don’t want to lose possession and have my team-mates be mad at me? Or, is it they have the confidence and ability to go past somebody and then move the ball forward and start something dangerous? Gio does that so unbelievably well in comparison to so many players that just come into a side and say ‘give it to somebody else’.

“Obviously Claudio [Reyna] is a good friend of mine and I have known Gio since he was born and it can be so frustrating for us, but imagine what it’s like for the players thinking ‘what’s going on here, how can I keep having these issues?’

“For him, 100 per cent playing time is crucial. But more crucial is having the body that lets you stay fit enough to get the playing time. I think that is where there has been a light switch with Christian, where there is a physical light switch for Gio and it clicks on and he goes ‘okay, now I’m physically ready for the demands’.”

Reyna did register his first goal of the 2024-25 campaign last time out against Hoffenheim, having also started a Champions League clash with Barcelona. If he can avoid any more fitness setbacks, then he could become a mainstay in the Dortmund side while adding to a haul of 31 senior international caps for his country – as the United States continues its countdown to the 2026 World Cup finals.