One of the surprise rumours of the transfer window thus far has seen Glasgow Rangers linked with a move for Borussia Dortmund starlet Giovanni Reyna, with the teenager tipped to join the Ibrox outfit on a loan deal.

Although the move is said to be "extremely unlikely", the player does seemingly have a strong connection to the club, with his father - Claudio - having spent two years with the Old Firm outfit, playing alongside current boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst in that time.

The bond between the two men reportedly led to Reyna Sr. naming his own after his former teammate, with Van Bronckhorst likely to be fully aware of the £42k-per-week youngster's burgeoning talent.

Despite his youth, the 19-year-old has been a firm fixture of the Dortmund first-team over the past few years, having already racked up 76 appearances for the German outfit thus far, netting nine goals and providing 12 assists in that time.

Dubbed "special" by former boss Lucien Favre, the Sunderland-born, USA international is one of a number of promising young talents that the Bundesliga side possesses, having been part of the club's youth academy after joining from New York City FC in 2019.

Another of that crop of emerging stars at Westfalenstadion is Jude Bellingham, with the Gers potentially able to land a player in a similar mould to that of the former Birmingham City man by signing his current colleague, Reyna.

Not just two exciting prospects at the same club, the pair also share a number of statistical and stylistic similarities, according to FBref.

While the American gem typically takes on a more advanced role than his England counterpart, the duo appear to have similar attacking traits regardless, with Reyna ranking in the top 1% for progressive passes received and touches in the attacking penalty area, while also ranking in the top 3% for dribbles completed in comparison to those in his position across Europe's top five leagues.

The record of Bellingham is almost identical - albeit while having played significantly more minutes than his teammate - the 19-year-old ranking in the top 3% for all three metrics.

It is the latter man who has undoubtedly achieved greater acclaim in their respective careers thus far, with the Stourbridge-born menace having been lauded by international colleague Jack Grealish earlier this year, the Manchester City maestro admitting it is "scary" how good the starlet is at such a young age.

That being said, if afforded more game time next season at Ibrox after only making ten league appearances for Dortmund last term, Reyna could well begin to truly blossom in his own right, eventually becoming a leader-like figure for the Glasgow side as Bellingham already is for their current club.

It may be something of a pipedream to think that the forward could arrive in Scotland, although if sporting director Ross Wilson can make it happen then it would no doubt be a notable coup.

AND in other news: Van Bronckhorst can unearth his own Bernardo Silva with “dream” Rangers swoop for “fantastic” gem