Dortmund's golden boys: Reyna, Haaland and Sancho
With an average age of just 18.3 years old, the young Dortmund trio were instrumental in the undoing of PSG at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday.
Borrussia Dortmund have done it again. Their investment in young talent has once again paid off considerably, most recently in the 2-1 win over PSG in first leg of the Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday.
Three players under 20 were instrumental in the undoing of one of the major candidates for this year’s title. At just 17 years old, Giovanni Reyna (17 years old) came on and added to the presence of Jadon Sancho (19) and Erling Haaland (19), in a game that demonstrated the success of Dortmund’s policy of buying up young gems.
And as is custom with the German club, it won’t take long to unload these precious stones for a much higher price than what they paid for them.
Jadon Sancho (19 years old)
Sancho has been the true star at Dortmund this season. The English winger has netted 13 goals and provided 14 assists in the Bundesliga. Among the other major European leagues, only Lionel Messi has accummelated similar double-digit figures in both goals and assists.
Sancho arrived at Dortmund a couple of seasons ago from City for a cool 7.8 million euros. And there is already talk that the German club will be able to sell the England international back to the Premier League for more than 120 million euros in the summer.
Erling Haaland (19 years old)
Haaland has become the latest revelation of European football. A month ago, the Norweigan landed in Dortmund for just 20 million euros from RB Salzburg, where he catupuled himself into the spotlight on the back of his goal-scoring prowess in the Champions League group stages. And the 19-year-old finds himself smashing records left, right and centre.
The youngest player ever to bag a hat-trick in the Champions League, Haaland had scored 16 goals in Austria before his mid-season move to the Bundesliga, where he has netted eight goals in five games. These are in addition to the 10 goals he has accumulated in the Champions with both clubs, which included his impressive brace against PSG midweek.
Giovanni Reyna (17 years old)
Reyna makes up the final jewel in the crown. Son of the legendary former U.S. international, Claudio Reyna, who represented his country at several World Cups, Giovanni has been getting game time from Dortmund coach Lucien Favre and has responded by demonstrating fine examples of his quality.
His goal in the German Cup against Werder Bremen opened his way into the first team, while his impact off the bench in the PSG game proved that he is a star in the making. He arrived at Dortmund free of charge from the underage ranks of New York City FC. Where he goes next will be up to him, but Dortmund are surely in for a windfall when they day comes.