Andre Zanotta oversaw a switch to Roma for a highly rated United States international, and he has previously worked with legends at Santos and Gremio
Bryan Reynolds’ “rollercoaster” transfer to Roma has conjured up memories of working with Neymar and Ronaldinho for FC Dallas director Andre Zanotta.
The MLS outfit have seen another highly rated homegrown talent prised from their grasp.
A new challenge in Serie A is being embraced by Reynolds, with an initial six-month loan spell for the 19-year-old in Italy including an obligation to buy.
The deal was far from easy to put in place, with the talented teenager and his former employers left sweating at various intervals.
A prominent European stage is, however, about to be graced by a hot prospect, with Zanotta expecting the youngster to thrive at Stadio Olimpico.
He has told MLSsoccer.com: “This deal was a rollercoaster.
“In the end, we feel very happy that he’s going to such a great club. I had high expectations for him but I didn’t expect after 15 games, all of a sudden he has all these clubs after him.”
Roma’s struggles to get a move pushed through, as they waited on the official start date of new sporting director Tiago Pinto on January 1, led to other suitors joining the hunt for Reynolds.
Juventus and Club Brugge were also said to be keen, but Zanotta believes the best landing spot has been found.
He added: “Tiago started in Roma, who started negotiating with the player again.
“That was the issue. On our side it was just small details left. In the end, we felt this was the best for us and Bryan. Roma won the race.
“Bryan is such a great kid and a great talent. I’m very happy for him, I’m sure he’ll do well there. It’ll be fun to watch him.”
Reynolds is considered a future star for the U.S. national team and dealing with such potential reminds Zanotta of the work he has done in the past with some iconic Brazilians.
“I worked at Santos and Gremio, those are the top two or three academies in Brazil,” Zanotta added.
“Neymar on one side, Ronaldinho on the other side to just name one for each.
“When there is interest in a player from Santos or Gremio who is at the same level of another player at a different team, the buying clubs tend to pay more for the player coming from Santos or Gremio. The Santos and Gremio brand adds more value to the transfer when a club wants to buy a player from those teams.
“I’m starting to feel that at Dallas.”
FC Dallas are establishing a reputation as one of the finest conveyor belts of talent in MLS, with Reynolds following in the footsteps of Chris Richards and Weston McKennie in swapping life in Texas for that in Europe.
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