Nottingham Forest close in on £13m ‘world-class’ talent Haaland loves, but pundit has big concern

Danny Murphy, a former Premier League midfielder, is dubious of Nottingham Forest’s efforts to sign Gio Reyna, a Borussia Dortmund prospect who is in advanced talks to sign a loan with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

Giovanni Reyna and Jude Bellingham were considered peers at Signal Iduna Park not so long ago. Since then, the midfield pair’s careers have obviously taken quite different turns. Bellingham is currently Real Madrid’s main player, while Reyna warms the bench after dropping down the Dortmund hierarchy due to a string of injuries.

HITC Football is aware that Nottingham Forest is giving one of Europe’s most naturally gifted young playmakers the opportunity to start over at the City Ground.

France, Spain, and Italy are among Reyna’s admirers. But Forest are first in line after engaging in preliminary negotiations with the American international who was born in Sunderland.

Although the 21-year-old’s talent is undeniable—former Dortmund coach Marco Rose stated that Reyna possesses “unbelievable” traits that make him a “world-class” prospect in the making—Murphy questions if Reyna is the player Nottingham Forest needs right now.

Nottingham Forest near Gio Reyna deal with Dortmund

Murphy, formerly of Liverpool, Tottenham, and England, tells talkSPORT (January 24, 11am) that “he is a technically good player.” However, he lacks significant physical strength.

“They already have those guys at Nottingham Forest: Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White.”

Murphy also thinks that Reyna won’t “hit the ground running” at Forest because she has only started two games for Dortmund in all competitions so far in 2023–2024. Reyna might need several weeks to find his footing. And for a guy coming in with only a few months left in the season, that is not exactly the best scenario.

However, Nottingham Forest may have a real match-winner on their hands if Reyna can reclaim the cunning and skill that made him one of the continent’s most promising young players a few seasons ago. And in a relegation struggle, you can never have too many of those.

Erling Haaland rates him very highly

He will be 17 and a half soon. After developing a formidable rapport with the then-teenage Reyna in black and yellow, none other than Erling Haaland told ESPN in 2020, “It’s very fascinating to see how calm he is at such a young age to be so calm on the ball and play for such a big team.”

“He has no concern for anything. He just dives in headfirst. We’re fortunate to have him here as he is a tremendous talent.

“I call him the American Dream.”

ESPN reports that Dortmund might think about letting Reyna leave permanently for about £13 million.