The 17-year-old American has burst onto the scene in Bundesliga this season and has the potential to be a top player, says a fellow BVB forward
“American Dream” Gio Reyna is one of the best young talents in world football, according to his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Erling Haaland.
Reyna, along with Haaland and England international Jadon Sancho, have formed a fearsome front line for the Bundesliga club this season – and with all three players aged 20 and under, they have the potential to be stars of European football for years to come.
While Haaland and Sancho are the bigger names of the trio, the Norwegian striker is full of praise for American forward Reyna, who he says has amazed him with his lack of fear and directness in attack.
The striker says Reyna – who he drives to training as the teenager is not old enough to have a car yet – is already a leading talent in world football and he feels fortunate to call him a team-mate at Dortmund.
Haaland told ESPN: “He’s 17-and-a-half soon, so at such a young age to be so calm on the ball and play for such a big team, it’s very fascinating to see how calm he is and he doesn’t care about anything, he just jumps right into it.
“He’s a top talent, and we’re lucky to have him here. The American Dream, I call him that.”
Reyna, who was born in Durham, England, and is the son of former United States international Claudio Reyna, had made eight Bundesliga appearances in his breakthrough campaign for Dortmund before the season was interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak.
He may not be a team-mate of Haaland and Sancho for much longer, however, with both players heavily linked with other major clubs around Europe.
England international Sancho has been touted for a return to the Premier League with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool all interested, while Haaland is reportedly wanted by Real Madrid.
Haaland, however, says he is happy with his life at Dortmund so far, and says the team spirit at the club has helped smooth his move from Red Bull Salzburg, after transferring from Austria to Germany in January.
He said: “Yeah, it’s been a very good start and from my debut I’ve been enjoying it a lot and smiling a lot and these kinds of things and that’s what’s the most important about my life, to smile a lot. So, yeah, that’s what I try to do the most.
“I feel I’m improving every day and now that I play with even better teammates than what I played with in Salzburg – all respect to Salzburg – but yeah, they can find me in even better situations and this, so yeah it’s been good. It’s been a good first few months.”
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