"Borussia Dortmund not a stepping stone for me" - Gio Reyna
Gio Reyna says he is committed to Borussia Dortmund for the long haul, and wants to win trophies with the club.
Reyna joined Dortmund's U19 side from the New York City FC academy in summer 2019, 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 attacking midfielder went on to make 18 Rückrunde appearances for the 2019/20 Bundesliga runners-up, usurping former Dortmund ace Christian Pulisic as the youngest US national to appear in the German top flight.
He scored his first goal in the DFB Cup Round of 16, and also made history as the youngest Dortmund player to feature in the Champions League, as well as the greenest American to play and assist a goal in the competition.
Reyna has picked up where he left off in pre-season, scoring four goals in three friendly outings for BVB. The new 2020/21 campaign will be the US youth international's first full season with the pros and, if he has his way, the first of many.
"Right now, I am just very happy here and that is what counts," Reyna told German tabloid Bild.
"I'm not passing through here at Dortmund. It's a club competing for titles. The incredible fans alone make BVB something special."
Watch: Gio Reyna struck twice in Dortmund's 11-2 rout of Austria Vienna
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Playing alongside some of the brightest young talents in football further enhances the black-and-yellow appeal.
Reyna has hit it off with 19-year-old striker goal machine Erling Haaland - the recipient of the American's two pro assists to date - and has England international Jadon Sancho (20), among others, for company.
Dortmund also made compatriot Pulisic into the global star he is today. The USA and Chelsea attacker was handed his pro debut at 17, and went on to make 127 senior competitive appearances in his five years at the Signal Iduna Park.
“It's a lot of fun to be out there on the pitch with Jadon and Erling," Reyna explained.
"In the Champions League match against Paris, we formed the attack towards the end, and we won 2-1.
"Two 19-year-olds and a 17-year-old, that was pretty cool. This can make the club proud, because that's exactly what the club stands for."
Reyna - whose father, Claudio, played for the USMNT, Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, Glasgow Rangers, Sunderland, Manchester City and New York Red Bulls - could make his third Bundesliga start on the opening weekend of the new season when Dortmund host Borussia Mönchengladbach (19 September).
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