Returnee has “worked on himself”
©IMAGO
After returning from loan at Nottingham Forest with only 231 minutes of action, Giovanni Reyna has limited prospects at Borussia Dortmund. However, a way out could have opened up for the 21-year-old offensive player shortly before deadline day. As “Bild” reports, VfL Bochum was working on a loan for Reyna.
The US international is said to have been open to the offer. BVB, however, only wanted to sell Reyna. VfL is said to have hoped that the lack of interested parties would open a late door for a loan. The attacker himself and his star agent Jorge Mendes were convinced of the planned move to Bochum because it could have boosted Reyna’s stalled career.
The transfer did not go through, however, because those responsible at Borussia changed their minds before the transfer deadline and, as it is said, vetoed the deal. Reyna was substituted on nine minutes before the final whistle in the Bundesliga opener against Eintracht Frankfurt (2:0), and sat on the bench for 90 minutes against Werder Bremen (0:0) and in the DFB Cup against Phönix Lübeck (4:1).
Kehl: BVB needs Reyna – “He has to accept his role”
Sporting director Sebastian Kehl recently said of Reyna: “He has to accept his role, free himself from it. It was clear when we had the talks in the summer that Gio wanted to take on this role. We know that there will be enough games in which we need him. We know that he has incredible skills.” The ex-professional said that the offensive player had “worked on himself”, especially in terms of his “stability and charisma”. Reyna, who is contractually bound until 2026 and has played 122 competitive games in black and yellow so far (17 goals/17 assists), could therefore still be very important for BVB this season.
The interested VfL Bochum has strengthened its squad with ten new signings this summer – the most valuable are midfielders Ibrahima Sissoko (6 million euros) and Dani de Wit (5 million euros) as well as striker Myron Boadu (5 million euros).
