USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter: ‘Understandable’ that Gio Reyna wants new club

United States men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter wasn’t surprised by this week’s news that American midfielder/forward Gio Reyna is intent on leaving German club Borussia Dortmund during January’s transfer window.

Berhalter is in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend preparing an entirely MLS-based U.S. squad for Saturday’s friendly game against Euro 2024 participant Slovenia. Asked by FOX Sports during Friday’s pre-match press conference for his reaction and if he communicated to Reyna that he must be playing regularly at club level ahead of this summer’s Copa América on home soil, Berhalter — who had a very public falling out with Reyna’s family during and after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — backed the 21-year-old’s position.

“Any professional who’s competitive wants to be on the field,” Berhalter said. “This is a case where Gio hasn’t been getting the game time that he wants and [is] potentially looking for alternate options. And that’s completely understandable.”

Reyna has barely played for the Black & Yellow this year, with veteran German national teamers Marco Reus and Julian Brandt both ahead of him in his preferred role as an attacking central midfielder. Reyna, now in his fifth season with Dortmund after signing a professional contract out of New York City FC’s academy in 2019, has appeared in just nine of BVB’s 17 Bundesliga contests, logging a paltry 205 minutes. 

He has no goals or assists in 2023-24 in 320 minutes across all competitions, and didn’t appear to be in manager Edin Terzić’s plans even before Jadon Sancho returned to Dortmund on loan from Manchester United last week.

Real Sociedad in Spain is reportedly the favorite to land Reyna before the transfer window slams shut Jan. 31. Like Dortmund, the La Liga club has qualified for the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, which kicks off next month.

This wouldn’t be the first time one of Berhalter’s key players switched clubs in search of a better opportunity. Last summer, first choice U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner left a backup role at Premier League titan Arsenal to sign with relegation candidates Nottingham Forest. Turner has been Forest’s starter for most of the current Prem campaign.

“You’ve seen in our player pool throughout these years, that’s a pretty common reaction,” Berhalter said of little-used players like Reyna seeking a better situation somewhere different. “We support him and in his quest to get on the field regularly, and we’re looking forward to the outcome of that.”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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