Gio Reyna to make first Borussia Dortmund start with Marco Reus out?
Multi-talented Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna can "play almost every position in any system" BVB boss Lucien Favre has said and hinted the American teenager could make his first Bundesliga start this weekend.
Reyna scored a stunning first senior goal for Dortmund in Tuesday's DFB Cup defeat to Werder Bremen as the 17-year-old, who is the son of former USA, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg midfielder Claudio, built on his burgeoning reputation with the five-time Bundesliga champions.
Reyna, who moved to Germany from the New York City FC academy last summer, has come off the bench to feature in Dortmund's last three Bundesliga games.
But with Marco Reus picking up an injury late in the loss at the Weser Stadium, Favre says Reyna's quality and versatility make him a viable option to replace the Dortmund captain in the starting XI for Saturday's encounter with one of his father's former clubs, Leverkusen.
"Why not? That's possible. You see every day in training what he can do," explained the Dortmund boss. "He's a very intelligent player. He can play almost every position in any system."
Another option could be to bring Erling Haaland into the starting XI for only the second time since his January move from RB Salzburg.
Watch: Haaland takes his goal haul to seven in three
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The 19-year-old has made a stunning opening to life in Germany with seven goals in just 136 minutes of Bundesliga football, including a brace in last weekend's 5-0 win over Union Berlin which also marked his maiden first-team start.
Haaland returned to the bench for the Bremen game, but — like Reyna — came on and found the net.
The teenager's sensational form would normally make him a shoo-in for a starting role, but Favre believes he must curb even his own enthusiasm to play Haaland from kick-off.
"I'm the first who'd like to play him from the start, but you don't know his physical state as I do," the ex-Hertha Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach coach told media at Thursday's briefing.
"I'd like to let him play every game, but you have to be careful. He's 19, and I'm talking about his preparation and previous injuries. If he plays 90 minutes in midweek and then again on Saturday, things can change quickly. He started against Union, that was planned. When he's there it's important for the team. With time, he'll almost always play."
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