"Gio Reyna has a big future ahead of him" - Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc
USA teenager Gio Reyna can expect a long and successful career at the top, according to Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc.
Reyna only joined Dortmund's U19 side from the New York City FC academy last summer, but was promoted to the first team in the new year on the back of his four goals and seven assists in 12 outings for the youth side.
The 17-year-old went on to make 18 appearances for the 2019/20 Bundesliga runners-up during the Rückrunde, usurping former BVB ace Christian Pulisic as the youngest American national to appear in the German top flight. He scored his first goal in the DFB Cup Round of 16, and produced assists for Erling Haaland against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga and Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League.
"Our coach, Lucien Favre, and I agree that he has a big future ahead of him," Zorc told media of Reyna. "I believe that Gio is aware of the development he has taken here. First, in the academy and then under Lucien. It's an absolute success story and we want to continue writing it."
To that end, Zorc is keen to tie Reyna - currently under a youth contract until 2021 - to a long-term deal upon his 18th birthday in November.
"He is still a minor, but we're in very positive talks to keep him at the club for as long as possible once he turns 18," Zorc revealed.
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Reyna is one of 10 Bundesliga players on the shortlist for the 2020 Golden Boy, awarded to the best young player under the age of 21 in Europe.
The New Yorker, who is the son of former Bundesliga and USA midfielder Claudio Reyna, was supposed to receive his first senior international call-up from USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter in March, but the matches were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite his emergence on the first-team scene - he started Dortmund's final two league outings of the season - Reyna will continue to wear the No.32 shirt for BVB in the new 2020/21 campaign, when he will look to continue his rapid ascent of the professional soccer ladder.
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