The Sunderland born son of a Cat tearing up the Bundesliga
If you haven’t had the pleasure already, check out the footage of his exceptional technique and sublime strike against Wolfsburg in February when he became the youngest ever scorer in the history of the German Cup.
As the Dortmund coach Lucien Favre so succinctly puts it: “If you can’t see he has something special, you are blind.”
But Reyna is more than just a chip off the old block, as his father Claudio is the first to recognise.
“He’s much more of an athlete that I was and much more of a goalscorer,” says the former Sunderland midfielder, whose close friendship with Dutch midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst would inspire his son’s name.
Like Reyna senior, who played for Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg before arriving at Sunderland, young Gio decided Germany was the best place to develop his career.
He left New York City FC last year, having worked there under the tutelage of former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira, who likened his abilities to Kaka and Trezeguet.
If that kind of hype is any sort of burden, Reyna hasn’t appeared in the least weighed down by it so far.
His form for Dortmund’s youth team was so immediately and consistently impressive, he was promoted to the first team squad by Favre during the winter break.
He made his senior debut in January and subsequently remained a regular in Favre’s first team set-up afterwards, including his contribution in the 2-1 win over PSG in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie, when he assisted the decisive goal on the night for Norwegian striking sensation Erling Haaland.
The highly-rated pair have also struck up a close relationship off the pitch, with 19-year-old Haaland currently acting as a chauffeur to training for Reyna while he waits to obtain his driving licence.
As Dortmund attempt to close a four-point gap on leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga over the next few weeks, Reyna and Haaland are poised to play key roles.
With more experienced midfielders Emre Can and Axel Witsel ruled out through injury, Reyna was in contention to start Saturday afternoon’s Revierderby at home to Schalke 04.
It is normally the hottest ticket in German football, but this time the empty stands of Signal Iduna Park echoed to the shouts of players and coaches as football restarted behind closed doors.
“It’s going to be a high intensity game, even without fans,” Reyna told Borussia Dortmund’s YouTube channel last week as he anticipated his first experience of arguably the most bitter local rivalry in German football.
“I think I speak for the whole team when I say we are buzzing to get playing again.
“I’ve never even seen a derby live, so of course I’ve been really looking forward to this game.
“Schalke are a great team but if we play the way we can play, then we can win.”
And win they did, 4-0, with goals from Haaland, Raphael Guerreiro (2) and Thordan Hazard.
They remain four points behind Bayern, who won 2-0 at Union Berlin on Sunday.
On Saturday, Dad Claudio was tuning in from the other side of the Atlantic along with mum Danielle, herself a former international footballer who made six appearances for the US women’s team.
Alas, their son remained an unused substitute.
They had planned a trip to Europe in March, when Gio had been lined up to make his senior debut for the USA - he has ruled out playing for England, despite being born in Durham when his dad was with Sunderland - in a friendly against the Netherlands.
The family pride in the teenage prodigy’s progress is tinged with poignancy as the tattoo on Gio’s right arm, bearing the legend ‘Love Jack’, testifies. It’s a tribute to his older brother, who died of brain cancer at the age of just 13 in 2012.
It has given him a perspective on life which ensures he is not only ferociously dedicated to reaching the top in his sport, something which so many observers feel he is destined to achieve, but is also determined to ensure he does so with a positive demeanour whenever he is on the pitch.
“The most important thing for me is to always enjoy playing and have fun because that's how everybody started playing the game,” said Reyna. “Always since you were four, five years old, just loving the game. Of course, hard work is needed, but just having fun and playing with a smile on your face is the best way to do it.”