Player Profile: Giovanni Reyna

By Jonny Bray

Giovanni Reyna is widely regarded as one of European football's most exciting young talents.

The Borussia Dortmund and USA star was born in Sunderland and is the son of former Premier League player Claudio Reyna, who represented the Black Cats and Manchester City during his time in England back in the early to mid 2000s.

But now, his son is lighting up German football, quickly rising from an unknown to one of Dortmund's most exciting prospects.

With such a history of bringing through elite players, fans could be forgiven for getting extremely excited about the midfielder.

But what do you need to know about the USA international?

What has he done so far?

Reyna has achieved a lot despite being just 19 years old.

He made his Dortmund debut at the very start of 2020, becoming the youngest American, aged 17 years and 66 days, ever to appear in the Bundesliga, breaking a record previously set by Christian Pulisic.

We've all seen the impact Pulisic has made on English football, and it's expected that Reyna could do the same at one of Europe's top sides.

After making his debut, he's gone on to score six goals in 50 appearances, not a bad return at all for such a young player.

Crucially, he's also shown that he can hold his own in a strong Dortmund midfield that features some of Europe's best young footballers.

Just to break into this Dortmund side shows that Reyna has a big future ahead of him and he's already had his first taste of silverware.

Reyna has won the German Cup with Dortmund and the CONCACAF Nations League with the USA.

After making such a significant impact for his club, Reyna joined up with the USA national team and has since made nine appearances across friendlies, the Nations League and World Cup qualification.

His return of four goals and one assist in nine games is awe-inspiring, and it looks as if he could be part of one of the most exciting American teams ever assembled.

Where does he go from here?

Over the last few weeks, the young midfielder has been closely linked with a mover to Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The move may not make much sense at the moment, as it would severely limit his game time, but it's an indicator of just how talented the youngster is.
It goes without saying that he'll end up playing for one of the European giants, it's just a matter of which one.
Several legends of the game, including Premier League legend Brad Friedel have called on the youngster to make the move to the Spanish capital.
It's easy to understand why.
It would give him a chance to develop into one of the big stars of La Liga's new generation.
It would also be huge for football in the USA.
Madrid is a huge brand, probably second only to Manchester United in terms of worldwide recognition, so a move to the club could do a lot to promote the game in the USA.
However, I would like to see him play in the Premier League for his personal development.
I think he'd be the perfect fit at Liverpool.
Firstly, he’d be learning under the tutelage of Dortmund legend Jurgen Klopp.
Secondly, Liverpool are light on technically brilliant midfielders, with Thiago being the only player in the squad who really fits that description.
Thirdly, his market value isn't as high as you'd expect due to the sheer number of outstanding young ballers currently plying their trade at the German club.
Liverpool should take their chance while they still can and snap up the ridiculously talented Reyna.

Photo Credit: Getty Images