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[THREAD] Gio Reyna has had a breakout season at Dortmund and been hailed as currently one of the best teenage footballers in the world. I wanted to make a visualization to take an in-depth, objective look at just how good the 18-year-old has actually been in the Bundesliga.
![[THREAD] Gio Reyna has had a breakout season at Dortmund and been hailed as currently one of the best teenage footballers in the world. I wanted to make a visualization to take an in-depth, objective look at just how good the 18-year-old has actually been in the Bundesliga.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Es6ozOBXcAE7jcB.jpg "[THREAD] Gio Reyna has had a breakout season at Dortmund and been hailed as currently one of the best teenage footballers in the world. I wanted to make a visualization to take an in-depth, objective look at just how good the 18-year-old has actually been in the Bundesliga.")
First and foremost what stands out immediately about Reyna is that he is ranked 1st in Carries into Penalty Area p/90 & 3rd in Progressive Carries p/90 out of all attackers in the league. Super impressive for anyone, let alone an 18-year-old.
Reyna also has some of the best per 90 numbers for Carries into the Final Third and Touches in the Attacking Third. This all looks great, but what exactly does it mean?
It means that Reyna's biggest strength is his excellent ability to get into the threatening attacking areas through off-the-ball movement and dribbling. This ability is typically accompanied or enabled by superb spatial awareness. A skill that takes most players years to develop.
When you watch Reyna he is constantly either scanning for the open spaces between the opposing defensive & midfield line to be open to receive a pass. If he sees no open spaces he will move towards the ball to receive it, turn and carry the ball towards the goal.
Here is an example of Reyna utilizing all this in one sequence. He gets into the open space between the lines, receives the ball, turns & drives which attracts opposing players opening up a free release pass out wide, & then continues his run into the box.
Reyna also possesses great touch and ball control. He isn't the fastest but beats defenders with his clever touches and turns. It is because of this combination abilities and awareness that Reyna is ranked so highly when it comes to dribbling and touches within the final third.
Reyna has the innate ability to read the game faster than most players at such a young age. It is because of his "soccer IQ' that despite his mediocre athletism he has strived in the Bundesliga. Reyna's understanding and reading of the game are beyond his years.
Reyna has one half of the attacking equation down. Getting into threatening, attacking positions. The other half of that equation is what you do once you are in these threatening areas. Ideally, you are either scoring, assisting, or creating key passes.
Reyna's is averaging 3.51 Shot Creating Actions per 90 with 0.73 Goal Creating Actions per 90. Both being very respectable numbers that put him into the "Very Good" tier but not the "Elite" tier just yet. Still very impressive considering it is his first full Bundesliga campaign.
The next step to Reyna's development will be improving the end product. He is getting into those threatening areas, now it is just a matter of increasing his production when he gets into these attacking areas. One way he can do this, is by improving his key passes per 90.
He averages 1.54 key passes per 90 which is just slightly above average. He needs to get into the 2.5 - 3 range to really be considered elite in that aspect and improve his end product. More key passes mean more opportunities to score goals, therefore, get assists.
Another way he could improve his production is an obvious one but just as viable. Shoot more. Reyna averages 1.79 shots per 90 which is very average. His shooting frequency is similar to that of many box-to-box midfielders within the Bundesliga.
As someone who plays as an attacker and is positioned higher up the pitch, his shooting frequency needs to be higher than the majority of midfielders. If Gio increases his Key Passes & Shots per 90, his production will naturally increase. It is harder said than done though.
With that said, Reyna is more than capable of improving his already great footballing ability in every aspect. Most young players struggle with off-the-ball and reading the game and Reyna already does it at it an elite level. The next level is improving end production.
While Reyna is still far from a finished product, what we are seeing from at 18-years-old is extremely rare & exciting. Giovanni Reyna has all the ability, skill, tools & elite developmental environment at Dortmund to fulfill his massive potential.
On a side note, I like to stay away from comparisons when doing these but there is one that is so blatantly obvious to me for Reyna. Thomas Muller. Their physique, style of play, strengths & statistics are all remarkably similar.
Thomas Muller has been THE best goal/chance creator in the Bundesliga for the past year. He tops the charts in most goal & shot-creating metrics in the league He also has the elite end product notching 21 assists in just league play last season. So far this season with 9 G 9 A.
Muller doesn't rely on speed, strength, or skills to beat opponents and produce goals similar to Reyna. He relies on intelligence. As stated earlier, Reyna would have to improve his end product as well as his runs in behind to get anywhere close to Muller's level.
Regardless, Reyna has all the intelligence and technical ability to reach similar production and heights of that of Thomas Muller. Just an observation I had in studying Reyna's data and film.
I hope you enjoyed this analytical dive into Gio Reyna's game as much as I did! I worked really hard to research and put it all together so any comments, retweets, or likes are massively appreciated. Cheers!
