Reyna On Playing With Haaland: The Chemistry Is Working – Forbes

Giovanni Reyna, left, and Erling Haaland have developed a special relationship on and off the pitch ... [+] (Photo by RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

There might be just one American among thetop 5 most valuable players in Concacaf. But in terms of depth, the US men's national team is the deepest in the region with ten players in the UEFA Champions League this season. One of them is Borussia Dortmund star, Giovanni Reyna.

I think its so exciting for all of us to have so many Americans, even if were not all playing, in a good environment day in and day out," Reyna said in an interview with Bundesliga.com. "There are guys at Barca, guys at Juventus, guys here in Germany and of course Christian [Pulisic] in London. There are so many guys with the best players in the world, learning every day, and its still a young core group."

Reyna was signed by Borussia Dortmund in Jul. 2019. The 17-year-old had his first experience in the Bundesliga under Lucien Favre last season. This year he has been a crucial player for the Black and Yellows scoring one goal and four assists in the first three Bundesliga games.

Im growing up fast at the moment; there is a lot coming my way," Reyna said. "My mom is luckily here now, so she is able to help me with everything I need, but in terms of on the pitch and off the pitch, also there is a lot of stuff happening."

Reyna's biggest milestone was scoring his first Bundesliga goal. At the time, he was the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga historyJamal Musiala has since broken his record. His initial record almost escaped the young American. "No, I never really thought about it, but now that I think about it, two 17- year-olds that should be the youngest goal ever, so yeah, thats cool," Reyna said when asked about his record.

Giovanni Reyna scoring his first ever Bundesliga goal on matchday 1 of the season. (Photo by Alex ... [+] Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Being part of one of the most potent and young attacks in Europe helped Reyna to become quickly integrated in Germany. In fact, the American seems to have developed a special relationship with Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who regularly calls Reyna "the American dream" in post-game interviews.

I just think we came into the first team at the same time, obviously him getting bought from Salzburg and me getting promoted," Reyna said when asked about his relationship with Haaland. "Ever since then, we kind of looked at each other, saying we dont have as many friends as the other guys do, so we talked to each other right away and got along. On the pitch also, he kind of just told me what he likes, and I can play into his strengths, so he told me just to play the ball in behind, and I really saw his speed right away, and you can see its paying off. That chemistry is working, and I am just trying to make the whole teams life easy and especially his.

There were many teams interested in both Haaland and Reyna ahead of them, choosing Borussia Dortmund. Reyna stressed that joining Dortmund came down to various factors, including Christian Pulisic's previous presence at the club. More importantly, Dortmund's preference to play young players and their presence in the Champions League made were big factors.

As for the future, Real Madrid has been strongly linked to both Haaland and Reyna. But Borussia Dortmund is expected to sign Reyna to a new long-term contract soon. More medium-term expectations are that the 17-year-old will replace Sancho. As for the long-term, given his skill set, the sky appears to be the limit.

Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of theFutbolgrad Networkand the Area Manager USA atTransfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler,Pro Soccer USA,and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter:@ManuelVeth

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Reyna On Playing With Haaland: The Chemistry Is Working - Forbes

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