Who is Gio Reyna? The young star looking to follow Sancho and Pulisic

Stefan Bienkowski

7 Oct 2021 16:30 CDT
8 min read

Borussia Dortmund forward Gio Reyna — © ProShots

Borussia Dortmund are used to developing some of European football’s most exciting prospects and when it comes to Gio Reyna they’ve got yet another tremendous prospect on their hands.

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Son of the famous Rangers and Manchester City midfielder, Claudio Reyna, Jr is a little different from his old man in the way he much prefers dancing through defenders in the final third of the pitch.

While he may not have established himself at Dortmund yet, like Christian Pulisic, Jadon Sancho or Erling Haaland have done before him, Reyna is undoubtedly as highly regarded as his predecessors.

What position does Gio Reyna play in?

Due to Reyna control on the ball and his pace off it, the young American naturally found himself playing as a winger as he came through the ranks at Dortmund.

However, the USMNT player can also play through the middle of the pitch and has found himself being deployed as a more traditional No.10 for Dortmund this season.

How good is Gio Reyna?

After coming through at the New York City FC’s academy, Reyna was then scooped up by Dortmund in 2019 and placed in the German club’s youth ranks.

However, the forward’s time in the youth teams lasted little more than six months, as Reyna was called up to the first team in January to make his debut as a late substitute against Augsburg, becoming the youngest ever American to appear in the German top flight at 17 years and 66 days.

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Reyna then went one better by claiming a second record, as he became the youngest ever player to score in the German Cup, when he stuck the ball in the back of the net in a Last 16 clash with Werder Bremen a month later.

In his first full season with the Dortmund first team, Reyna quickly established himself as a useful impact sub that could play on either wing or through the middle of the pitch and as a result he bagged an impressive seven goals and eight assists from just 2,696 minutes of football - which worked out at a goal or assists every two games.

So far this season he’s been slightly held back by a muscle injury, but when he has started for Marco Rose’s side he’s shown a keen eye for goal, as evident from his goals against Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim, as well as an assist in the German Cup.

While Reyna may still have some work to do before he can nail down a starting spot in this Dortmund team, he’s developing at an astonishing rate and has already made over 50 appearances for the club before the age of 19.

What clubs are interested in Gio Reyna?

Due to his young age and relative inexperience in the Dortmund first team, Reyna hasn’t yet played enough football to find his name routinely linked with moves to bigger clubs around Europe.

However, if the USMNT player can nail down a spot in Rose’s side then it will surely only be a matter of time before the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United come calling as they have done for Dortmund stars in the past.