You can call it the perfect situation. For any young player looking to progress, it's hard to find a club better than Borussia Dortmund. The German side is a huge club with equally large expectations, renowned for its scouting and instruction as well as its willingness to regularly provide minutes for up and coming players. 

There's a long list of players who have gotten the chance to develop and play early with the first team at Dortmund, more recently fellow American Christian Pulisic comes to mind, as does current rising superstar Jadon Sancho.

Next on the list is American Gio Reyna. The 17-year-old, who was born in England, is the son of former United States men's national team captain Claudio Reyna. With his mom a former United States women's national team player and his grandfather having played pro in his native Argentina, the game has been in his blood since he was born. A former youth product of the NYCFC academy, he joined Dortmund last year and has quickly risen through the ranks to impress manager Lucien Favre as well as USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter. In fact, Reyna was expected to be on Berhalter's squad list for friendlies in March that were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Reyna is naturally an attacking midfielder, the creative engine of any team. He has the versatility to play on either wing, and his early performances have been so impressive that it might not be long before he is a regular.

What makes Reyna so good is his understanding of the game, his vision and uncanny ability to filter a pass to a teammate to set them up beautifully for a shot. He's done it in the league, in the German Cup and even in the Champions League. 

Since making his Bundesliga debut on Jan. 18, he has totaled 11 appearances for the club including two in European competition. The teenage prospect has the confidence and trust of Favre that he featured in both Champions League round of 16 legs against PSG, where he showed he has what it takes to be a top-tier player. 

In the 2-1 win over PSG in the first leg, Reyna came on in the second half and made the difference. Erling Haaland scored both goals, with Reyna getting the assist on the game winning strike. First, the goal:

A closer look shows that there is absolutely nothing Reyna could have done better on that play. 

First, look at how he receives the ball in the middle of the field. Here's a 17-year-old playing in the biggest game of his life across the field from the likes of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos. Reyna finds a pocket of space, makes the signal that he wants the ball to feet and takes the perfect turn to keep the ball ahead of him, while also keeping himself ahead of what would end up being three defenders. But in there is that quick head turn to the left to make sure nobody is right on him, telling him that he has the time and space to make that turn and spring forward. That's the signal of a player wise beyond their years. 

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The perfect positioning and awareness to receive the ball. B/R screengrab

Next is the ball he plays to Haaland after leaving Layvin Kurzawa and Marco Verratti in the dust. Reyna sees Haaland who is sandwiched between Marquinhos and Thiago Silva, the top two central defenders of the Brazilian national team. While some players may think of Haaland's speed as the reason to play the ball over the top or around Marquinhos in the red area marked below, Reyna does the smart thing of playing the ball to his feet to set up a shot. 

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Reyna set up Haaland perfectly by keeping the ball on the ground.  B/R screengrab

Just look at where he put the ball. Right on Haaland's left foot ahead of his rocket goal in a pass that deserves chef's kiss after chef's kiss. 

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Reyna got the assist with the pass that allowed Haaland to set up a perfectly hit bullet.  B/R screengrab

That's the vision of a player who can change a game at any moment with a passing ability unrivaled by any current USMNT player.

He can also create the space he needs to get off a shot, evident here with his debut goal in February in the German Cup against Werder Bremen.

In two month's time, Reyna has gone from a fringe squad member to a valuable asset primarily off the bench, which for any 17 year old at a massive club is outrageously good. 

If he continues to make an instant impact, before long he'll be a starter, and soon after a star.

Dortmund already helped Christian Pulisic develop into the top American soccer talent we've ever see. Reyna's next, and his ceiling is even higher.