Why Brentford and others should try to hijack Nottingham Forest deal for their thrilling loan signing

It’s quite a time to be a Nottingham Forest fan – on the one hand, the impending threat of a points deduction for breaching spending rules. On the other, perhaps the most exciting signing the club has made since Pierre van Hooijdonk is in the pipeline, with the club in advanced talks to sign American wonderkid Giovanni Reyna from Borussia Dortmund. Not that the either is guaranteed.

Marseille are also reported to be in talks with Dortmund over a loan deal, which would likely include an option to buy for a fee of around £15m, and one could easily see how life on the sunny French riviera might appeal. And while he has the potential to be a tremendous fit at Forest, surely other clubs should be casting an eye over a deal as well – especially a club like Brentford.

Let’s start with the reasons that Brentford and other Premier League clubs might not be interested in Reyna. After establishing himself as a monster talent over the past four years, making his Dortmund debut at just 17 back in January 2020 and breaking into the United States national team the same year, his career has unexpectedly stalled.

Injuries have played a part, ruling him out for most of the 2021/22 season, but he looked to be getting back to his best last year, scoring 7 Bundesliga goals despite only starting four matches. Jude Bellingham kept him out of the starting line-up, but he shone whenever he got onto the field of play. Then, all of a sudden, the brakes were pumped. He has no goals or assists in a meagre 255 minutes of football so far in the 2023/24 campaign.

Then there is the soap opera than started up after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Having played just 52 minutes in the tournament before the USA were eliminated, coach Gregg Berhalter publicly excoriated Reyna for his lack of commitment and poor attitude. Reyna, for his part, apologised for his behaviour, but the whole incident exploded when it emerged that his mother (Reyna is the son of former Sunderland player Claudio and was born on Wearside) had leaked allegations that Berhalter had been involved in an incident of domestic violence in 1991.

So you have a hugely talented young player with some impressive performances behind him, but one who has endured some injury issues, is struggling for minutes and has a reputation – deserved or otherwise – for being potentially difficult to work with, and his family perhaps even more so. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, and there is little mystery as to why Forest would be prepared to take a chance on him.

The raw data behind Reyna’s performances over the past two seasons, even allowing for the fact that the sample size is small, are absolutely stellar. Not just for a 21-year-old, or for a ‘super sub’, but for any player at the top level. He generates chances for himself and his team-mates at an astonishing rate, among the very best in Europe’s big five leagues. His dribbling distance and success rate are off the charts. His passing isn’t quite so good, admittedly – by the numbers, that’s merely excellent. He even chips in with a remarkable number of tackles and turnovers for an attack-minded player.

And it isn’t just about the numbers – he passes the eye test with ease. His movement is excellent, his touch sublime and he can beat defenders in just about any way he pleases. Last year he scored crucial goals against Augsburg and Mainz to keep Dortmund’s ultimately unsuccessful title challenge alive. He lit up the pitch almost every time he came on.

Dortmund’s change of strategy may partially explain his absence from the starting line-up – with Bellingham gone, they have switched to a much narrower midfield three without a number ten-style player, so Reyna has been asked to play out wide, where he is arguably less effective. It’s also fair to say that Dortmund aren’t exactly flourishing without him – they sit fifth in the table, a massive 15 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Frankly, there’s a ton of evidence floating around that Reyna is a brilliant player who just needs the right surroundings, strategic and personal, to become an elite player. That’s why Forest want him, and why a loan with a relatively cheap option to buy looks like it could be one of the deals of the winter. It also suggests that clubs in need of a number ten should be all over him.

That list of clubs includes Brentford, whose current midfield is rigid, hard-working and reliable but lacks creative verve. Since Christian Eriksen left for Manchester United, they have been short of a bit of spark, a player who can threaten the opposing back line once possession has been won. Brentford haven’t stopped winning the ball high up the field during their recent difficult run – they’ve just struggled to use it effectively when they do. A player like Reyna could change that completely.

Reyna is a very different player to Eriksen, of course – a marauding ball-carrier rather than an elegant and economical playmaker. But he has the ability to make things happen while also not shirking his duties when it comes to winning the ball back as part of the pressing unit. And he really does make things happen. He was man of the match in the final of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, setting up both goals as the USA beat Canada 2-0, and he scored twice a 4-0 friendly win over Ghana in October. Having seemingly buried the hatchet with Berhalter, he is flourishing at international level even as he struggled to get on the pitch in the Bundesliga.

So Forest are right to take a chance on him, and Marseille are right to try and muscle in on the deal – but Brentford would be well-advised to get in the queue as well, as would any other team with the need for a creative, dynamic number ten who has the potential to be a first-rate player in the not-so-distant future. Reyna is quite a player, and whoever gets him has every right to be excited.