'Thought we had the next Zidane' - USMNT star Gio Reyna told the one thing he must do to have any chance of fulfilling huge potential ahead of 2026 World Cup

Reyna took the brave decision to head for Europe while in his teens, with a senior debut at Borussia Dortmund being made at just 17 years of age - breaking a record with Bundesliga heavyweights that was previously held by countryman Christian Pulisic.

There were high hopes for a man born in England during his father’s stint in the Premier League at Sunderland. Reyna’s body has, however, broken down on a regular basis down the years.

He ended up making just 146 appearances for Dortmund across six years - taking in a forgettable loan spell at Nottingham Forest along the way - and took on a new challenge in the summer of 2025 when linking up with Borussia Monchengladbach.

Quizzed on whether Reyna, who is still only 23 years of age, will ever live up to early expectations, Ramos - speaking via online casinos in Canada - told GOAL: “This is a very difficult question. When I was youth technical director with the youth national teams, we saw Gio come along at 15 years old and saw some things that we thought we had the next Zidane on our hands.

“He had that smoothness about him, the way he turned and the way he sees plays develop - he processes information really early. We thought ‘wow, we have something else’. Then he would make plays and you were like ‘this is what it’s going to be like’. Unfortunately with Gio, we have been saying ‘this is what it’s going to be like’ and we are still waiting for what it is going to be like. We are just not getting that.”

On what Reyna needs to do from here, Ramos added: “The fact is that Gio needs to get in a team where he is going to play 60, 80, 100 straight 90-minute games, and we haven’t seen that at all. In the last four or five years, there has been little playing time for him. I would have to say at this point it is up to all of us to see if Gio can get in a team where he can actually play, because we haven’t seen that.

“It’s hard to have an opinion about where we are going next because we are approaching those years with young players, at 23/24, where you are actually making a big difference on your team and carrying your team, if you play that position. He’s just not doing that.”

There is no doubt that Reyna boasts the ability to star on the most prominent of domestic and international stages, with 34 senior caps being earned for his country. Steering clear of injury and delivering on a consistent basis has been a problem.

If those issues can be addressed, then the very top of the game can still be reached. Another ex-USMNT star, former goalkeeper Brad Friedel, admits as much. He has previously told GOAL when asked what the future could hold for Reyna: “Absolutely he could (join another top club). Look at his age. For whatever reason, his body has broken down in the manner it has. He needs to figure out why and then build.

“He could play at most clubs. Sometimes when players get injured you see straight away that the clubs will realise and then make sure he’s out. Gio’s always attached to big clubs or somebody is looking. They know he can play, that’s not the issue. That’s a good thing. Everybody knows the talent is there. Now he has to figure out how to stay fit.”

Reyna has taken in 16 appearances for Monchengladbach this season, but is still waiting on his first goal for the club - with relegation fears yet to be completely eased. He needs to raise his game over the coming weeks in order to earn a place in Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup plans and pave the way for another marquee transfer to be completed at some point in upcoming windows.