It might not have been a deadline-day signing, but Nottingham Forest's announcement of Gio Reyna's arrival from Borussia Dortmund on loan earlier this week was one of the more exciting moves from an otherwise quiet transfer window.
The Tricky Trees have not been having a good time of it lately, with their loss away to Brentford followed up with a nil-nil draw away to Bristol City and then a 2-1 loss at home to Arsenal.
While losing to a title-chasing side isn't usually a concern, the manner in which Nuno Espirito Santo's side lost was.
They managed just 27% of the possession and only came to life when chasing their second goal in the game's dying embers.
One player who failed to add much when he was brought on was Callum Hudson-Odoi, who may well be starting to sweat with the arrival of Reyna, as he could see his already minor role in the team fade entirely.
Hudson-Odoi's season in numbers
When he broke through at Chelsea, the London-born winger had the world at his feet and looked destined for greatness, especially after it was reported that Bayern Munich had made a £70m bid for him in 2020.
Since then, it just hasn't worked for the talented winger, and despite moving to Bayer Leverkusen on loan last season and making a £5m permanent move to Forest this season, he has never been able to recapture the form he showed under Frank Lampard.
This term, he has been restricted to mostly substitute appearances and has done very little to suggest that he will ever get back to his dazzling best.
He has made 13 league appearances, three in the FA Cup and one in the EFL Trophy, but has managed to score just a single goal and provide three assists in the process.
Appearances
13
Goals
1
Assists
3
Goal Involvement per game
0.30
There is certainly a chance that the 23-year-old could one day get back to his best, but with no signs of that happening this season, Reyna is primed to take his position as the go-to substitute for Nuno.
Why Reyna should usurp Hudson-Odoi
Now, while the former Chelsea man is a youngster failing to live up to his potential, it could be argued that Reyna is in the same boat.
Described as one of the USMNT's next great "leaders" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, in the last two and a half seasons, he has only played a total of 2021 minutes across all competitions for Dortmund, and while a significant reason as to why he missed games in the 2021/22 season was injury, that wasn't the case last year or this year.
That said, while he didn't get much game time under his belt last season, he was impressive when he made it onto the pitch, picking up seven goals and four assists in 30 appearances.
Moreover, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the American ranks exceptionally highly in multiple important metrics compared to other midfielders.
For example, he sits in the top 1% for non-penalty goals, non-penalty expected goals, total shots, assists, shot-creating actions, touches in the opposition's penalty area and more, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Goals
1%
Non-Penalty Expected Goals
1%
Total Shots
1%
Assists
1%
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
1%
Shot-Creating Actions
1%
Touched in the Opposition's Penalty Area
1%
Successful Take-Ons
5%
Progressive Carries
8%
However, just because he excels in a central position doesn't mean he can't play wide.
Across his career, his second most played position is left-winger- 40 appearances – and third is right-winger – 33 appearances – so he has the ability to take Hudson-Odoi's role without having to learn a new position.
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Ultimately, there could be more to come from the Englishman Lampard once dubbed "special", but as things stand, Reyna has more experience, better numbers to back him up, and a fresh slate to kick on at the City Ground.