Giovanni Reyna may be one of the youngest attacking players in the Bundesliga this season, but it hasn’t stopped him from impressing in the early stages of the new campaign.
Reyna continues to earn minutes in Lucien Favre’s squad with Dortmund continuing play in three different competitions. The 17-year-old has also surpassed his statistics already from last season with two goals and five assists to his name so far in eight appearances.
Like many other U.S. Men’s National Team teammates in the Bundesliga, Reyna has caught the eye of a former Bundesliga and USMNT player.
“I think he’s [Gio] fantastic, if you see his development in the game as a young player – especially at a club like Dortmund,” Jermaine Jones said in an interview with Bundesliga.com.” A lot of people forget about the pressure he had.”
“Before it was [Christian] Pulisic and he was amazing too, and then he went to Chelsea. Reyna got developed and started coming in and playing fantastically. As a result, you can see how much talent we really have in the United States.”
After breaking onto the scene with Dortmund in January, Reyna has since remained in the first team despite several top attacking options for Favre to call on. Erling Haaland, Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard, and Jude Bellingham are just a few of the attacking players in the Dortmund ranks, but Reyna has continued to get opportunities this season.
Tyler Adams, Josh Sargent, and Chris Richards are additional young players who are getting their chances with their Bundesliga teams as well, but Reyna seems to be the one that is garnering the most attention over the past year.
“I would say that for now, a lot of people talk about Reyna,” Jones said. “In general though, I don’t like to pull people out and say ‘he is the special one’ or something. All three have their strong moments in games and have the opportunity to help the national team in America. I think they’re playing a big part in developing United States Soccer.”
Reyna has yet to make his debut for the USMNT due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but could get his opportunity this November in friendly play. Gregg Berhalter’s side will face Wales in Swansea on Nov. 12th and due to Reyna’s strong start to the new campaign, he could get his first senior call-up by Berhalter later this Fall.