Gio and Joe Jumping From Germany 🇩🇪 to England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿?

Gio and Joe Jumping From Germany to England?

John Harkes. Ben Olsen. Robbie Findley. Eric Lichaj. Ethan Horvath. Matt Turner. 

Could Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 (21; Bedford, NY) become the next U.S. international to call the City Ground home?

According to numerous reports, Nottingham Forest are in talks with Borussia Dortmund to bring Reyna over to the Premier League on a January loan deal. Reyna had previously been linked with numerous clubs in Spain and France, but it would appear the Tricky Trees have jumped to the top of the list in terms of likely landing spots for the skill-kissed attacker.

The move to Forest wouldn’t be without some risk for Reyna, as he would be joining a club that’s teetering above the relegation zone in 16th place, with a possible points deduction on the way as well. But as a loan deal is being discussed, he could find a new home at the end of the season should Nottingham drop down to the Championship. And the switch would almost certainly guarantee more playing time than the 10 appearances and one start he’s made for BVB this season.

Gio may not be the only USMNT star making a January jump from the Bundesliga to the Premier League, as close friend and fellow New Yorker Joe Scally 🇩🇪 (21; Lake Grove, NY) is reportedly drawing the interest of numerous Premier League sides as well. Newcastle was the first to be linked to the Borussia Monchengladbach defender — with the move apparently hinging on Kieran Trippier going in the opposite direction, from the Magpies to Bayern — but ESPN reported Wednesday that Fulham and Bournemouth, as well as AC Milan in Italy, have all been inquiring about Scally.

More On The Move … Ethan Horvath 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (28; Highlands Ranch, CO) could be making a return to the Championship, as Cardiff City are reportedly interested in the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper … And Como 1907 in the Italian second tier have officially completed a move for USMNT forward Niko Gioacchani 🇮🇹 (23; Kansas City, MO). The former St. Louis City striker joins a Como side currently in second place in Serie B, where they are competing with Tanner Tessmann, Gianluca Busio and Venezia (4th place) for promotion to the Italian top flight.

(Imagine if both Como and Venezia were to join Juve, Milan, Wes, Weah, Puli, and Musah in Serie (US)A next season. Italian first division broadcasts would have to be shown with English subtitles, like a Fellini film at your local indie art house.)

Americanos Abroad 🤌:

Having the season of his life in Italy, about the only thing Weston McKennie 🇮🇹 (25; Little Elm, TX) hasn’t accomplished this season for Juventus is to score a goal. That would have changed on Sunday, were it not for one of his teammates.

Wes floated a beautiful arching header towards the far post during the second half of a 3-0 win at Lecce. The shot seemed a certain goal, until Juve forward Dusan Vlahovic got a toe to it at the last second, poking the ball home out of midair just before it crossed the line (WATCH). The rueful smile on McKennie’s face afterwards said it all — it’s hard to be overly disappointed when you’re a key cog in a footballing machine that’s atop the league, and riding six wins in all competitions, but still, goals are nice. And while he might not be scoring on the regs, High Plains Pirlo does have five assists this season, meaning it’s no surprise that Juventus reportedly want to sign Wes to a contract extension through 2027 or 2028.

Christian Pulisic 🇮🇹 (25; Hershey, PA) had another standout performance for AC Milan in their 3-2 win at Udinese on Saturday. CP11 played so well, in fact, that he had the ponytailed gods of soccer rushing over to get his autograph after the final whistle. … Gianluca Busio 🇮🇹 (21; Greensboro, NC) scored for Venezia in their 4-2 loss at Cosenza on Saturday (WATCH). The goal was Busio’s second in his last two games, and fourth of the season overall.

Americans Sparkle in Spain:

Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 (25; San Diego, CA) can not stop scoring. After going over two years between goals for Celta Vigo, Luke of the Tower now has two goals and an assist in his last three games for the Spanish side. After unleashing a back-heel golazo on Valencia last Wednesday, LDLT then drove one home on Tuesday (WATCH) in the Sky Blues’ 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to Real Sociedad. Hopefully, El Pulpo can bring his goal-scoring form over to league play, as Celta Vigo are currently just two points above the LaLiga relegation zone.

Elsewhere in Spain, Johnny Cardoso 🇪🇸 (22; Denville, NJ) made his debut for Real Betis on Sunday, with a start against Barcelona. Cardoso played the first 72 minutes, and came off with the score tied 2-2, only for Barca to score twice late to pull off the 4-2 win. Despite the defeat, Gen Z Tab Ramos received a welcome message from the Snickers King himself after making his Spanish debut, Ramos having spent three seasons with Los Verdiblancos from 1992-95.

Also, don’t look now but Konrad de la Fuente 🇪🇸 (22; Barcelona, ESP) and SD Eibar are climbing the table in LaLiga2, currently up to fourth place in the Spanish second tier, just one point out of the automatic promotion spots. The Gunsmiths are undefeated (with three wins) in the last five league matches de la Fuente has played in. KDLF Is Gonna Rock You.

USWNTers in Europe:

Kristie Mewis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (32; Hanson, MA) got an assist in her debut for West Ham, an extremely windy 4-3 loss to Spurs that was closely watched by sister, and Women’s Game Editor in Chief Sam Mewis … Fresh off her Arsenal debut in the FA Cup, Emily Fox 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Ashburn, VA) made her first WSL start for the Gunners in a 2-1 win over Everton. Then talked about why English sports chants are far superior to American ones  … With Sam Kerr out injured, Mia Fishel 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; San Diego, CA) has made back-to-back starts up top for Chelsea — against Manchester United in a 3-1 WSL win on Sunday, and against Real Madrid in a 2-1 Champions League win on Wednesday.

The Launch of The Women’s Game with Sam Mewis

You can follow all the updates on The Women’s Game on the new social handles on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube. This new step forward, like everything we do here at MiB, is based on community and word of mouth and we are immensely grateful to you for helping grow it. It is such an honor to do what we do at MiB and to have Sam on board. Please, share this new step forward with anyone you think would enjoy our new The Women’s Game platform. Don’t forget to drop Sam a note at [email protected]: we love building this community.

News and Notes:

• Massive congrats to Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Wappingers Falls, NY) and partner Sarah on the birth of their newborn son. ❤️❤️❤️

• Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; O’Fallon, MO) smashed one home (WATCH) for Norwich City in their 2-0 win over West Brom on Saturday, his fifth in eight league matches for the Canaries. Daryl Dike 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; Edmond, OK) played 22 minutes off the bench for the Baggies.

• Jordan Pefok 🇩🇪 (27; Washington, DC) scored the only goal (WATCH) in Gladbach’s 2-1 loss to Augsburg on Sunday, his fifth in the Foals’ last five matches. 🔥

• Auston Trusty 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Media, PA) had another solid outing in Sheffield United’s 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday, including this great header to help set up Ben Brereton-Diaz’s first Blades goal (WATCH).

• Cade Cowell 🇲🇽 (20; Ceres, CA) made his Chivas debut on Sunday, coming on as a sub in the 63rd minute. Cowell already seems to be fitting in quite well on the left wing, though Chivas did fall 1-0 at Tigres.

• More From Liga M(LS)X: Brandon Vazquez 🇲🇽 (25; Chula Vista, CA) also made his debut on Sunday for Monterrey, as a 69th minute sub in their 2-0 win at Santos Laguna.

• Kahveh Zahiroleslam 🇧🇪 (21; Saratoga, CA) scored his second goal in his last two matches (WATCH) for Sint-Truiden, a 1-2 loss at Union St. Gilloise on Sunday in the Belgian top flight.

• The USMNT fell to Slovenia 1-0 on Saturday, but a lovely story to come out of the friendly was Timmy Tillman 🇺🇸 (25; Nürnberg, GER) getting his first cap for the U.S., meaning he and Malik have become the 10th set of brothers to play for the national team. Even better, the former Greuther Fürth midfielder was voted Man of the Match, and thanked his mother for all of her sacrifices in a lovely post-match interview. ❤️

Parting Shots:

A closing shout-out to the end of mighty, mighty PSV’s perfect start to the season finally coming to a close this past Sunday in match number 18 (followed by a loss to Feyenoord on Wednesday). Despite the best efforts of Americans Sergiño Dest 🇳🇱 (23; Almere, NED), Ricardo Pepi 🇳🇱 (21; El Paso, TX), and Malik Tillman 🇳🇱 (21; Nürnberg, GER) — as well as Mexican star Hirving Lozano, who nearly won the match late (WATCH) — the Eindhoven side could only manage a 1-1 draw at FC Utrecht, which kept them from breaking their own record of 17 straight wins to open an Eredivisie season. But it’s still amazing to see a team featuring a trio of USMNTers winning a top European league at a canter.