Reynolds close to Roma move after Juventus deal falls through

Emma Smith

Reynolds close to Roma move after Juventus deal falls through image

Bryan Reynolds' expected move to Juventus looks set to fall through with the American full-back instead more likely to move to Roma, Goal can confirm.

Roma have moved ahead of the Serie A champions after offering FC Dallas a transfer fee of around €8 million (£7m/$10m), and the player a contract of around €800,000 (£700,000/$1m) per year.

They are now in prime position to complete the deal, with Juventus deciding against matching Roma's bid.

It represents a complete U-turn from Juve, who had looked to be on the verge of completing the signing of Reynolds for weeks. The only issue appeared to be that they could not add another non-EU player to their squad, however, this problem appeared to be remedied by sending him on loan to fellow Serie A side Benevento.

Benevento sporting director Pasquale Foggia had previously confirmed the club's interest, telling Sky Sport Italia: "We’re negotiating to sign him [with Juventus as the next destination], but it’s not a done deal. We’re interested because Reynolds is a real talent."

However, Roma have now swooped to bring the player to Europe from MLS, with the deal to be completed before the end of the month.

The 19-year-old defender, capped at U18 level by the United States but who is yet to make his senior USMNT debut, made 19 appearances for FC Dallas in MLS in their recently completed 2020 season.

A product of the FC Dallas youth academy, Reynolds was fully signed up with the MLS outfit at the age of 15. He only moved into the Dallas first team at the start of the 2020 campaign after first-choice right-back Reggie Cannon moved to Europe, the USMNT international joining Boavista in Portugal.

Standing 6' 3", Reynolds started out as a forward but was moved into defence after being promoted to the first team.

He looked set to head the same way as fellow American Weston McKennie, who joined Juve from Schalke in the summer, but will instead move to Roma, who are currently fourth in Serie A with 34 points from 18 matches - one point and one place ahead of the Turin club, albeit having played one game more.

Emma Smith