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Giovanni Reyna, the newest teenage superstar to wear the black-and-yellow of Borussia Dortmund, will sign a new long-term contract with the club when he turns 18, Bild reports. Currently 17-years old, Reyna will sign a three-year contract in November that will increase his salary to €2.5 million annually. Not bad for a teenager that only joined the first team in January!
Son of USMNT legend and former Wolfsburg and Leverkusen player Claudio Reyna, Gio first arrived in Germany after moving from New York City FC in 2019 and immediately began with the BVB U-19 side. His play impressed everyone within the organization, so much that he was moved up to the senior side and made his Bundesliga debut in January 2020 against Augsburg. He continued to play here and there, even coming on in a Champions League match against PSG and delivering the game-winning assist to Erling Haaland in the first leg victory.
His first senior Dortmund goal came in February against Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal Quarterfinal, and it immediately made waves across soccer social media.
Gio Reyna are YOU SERIOUS?!
— Planet Fútbol (@si_soccer) February 4, 2020
His first first-team goal as a pro, and it's a stunner
(via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/TeMOqyCrbm
Reyna finished the 2019-20 season with 18 games played across all senior competitions and tallied one goal and two assists, a fine season for a young player. At the beginning of this season, he has somehow supplanted Marco Reus and Julian Brandt in the starting XI and has flourished with a combined two goals and four assists in just five total matches. Favre has played him as a central attacker that drifts out to the wings rather than as a traditional winger, and Reyna has proved that he belongs among the Dortmund starting XI. Is he finished product? No, there’s still things he needs to improve upon, but he’s got plenty of time to iron out his weaknesses.
Reyna has recently been linked with mega clubs like Liverpool and Real Madrid, according to NBC Sports, so locking him up now gives Dortmund a big advantage should this interest turn into legitimate offers. But for now, let’s just enjoy that an American is showing up for one of the most exciting teams in the world.