Jairo Reyes is a 17-year-old midfielder who plays for Independiente del Valle. The defensive midfielder mainly played for Independiente del Valle U-19, but also played some matches in the U-17’s. Reyes made his first-team debut for Independiente del Valle in the last match of the regular season. He also featured for Ecuador U-17 in the U-17 Sudamericano and U-17 World Cup. I previously wrote a scout report about him in 2022.
Standing at 1.77m with an average build, Jairo Reyes has a good build for a defensive midfielder. Reyes has a very good physique, displaying good strength on the ball and in defensive duels. The Ecuadorian youngster has a decent burst of speed and good speed over long distances. He is a mobile midfielder, being able to use quick feints and changing directions quickly. Reyes has good jumping reach in aerial duels.
Reyes has either played as a single defensive midfielder or as one of the two holding midfielders. The Ecuadorian midfielder is effective in first-phase possession. Jairo Reyes has the vision and technique to progress play through line-breaking passes, whilst also being capable of taking on and dribbling past opponents. He likes to use quick feints to avoid pressure and takes the ball away from pressure quite well. Reyes has a very good and consistent first touch under pressure. He seemingly always knows where his teammates and opponents are, playing good one-touch passes in midfield and often making the right decision. Reyes has a very nice long passing technique, being capable of switching play but also finding runners in behind with great over-the-top through passes. He also is a good ball-carrier, using his speed, strength and good close control to hold off opponents and create separation.
Defensively, Jairo Reyes can be vulnerable in defensive 1v1 duels when an opponent runs at him as he is too flat-footed which makes him look slow. Reyes cuts passing lanes in midfield well, using his tactical intelligence to be in the right position at the right times. Due to Independiente del Valle tactics, he can get dragged out wide out of possession but this wasn’t the case for Ecuador U-17. Reyes has great power in defensive duels, winning almost every important duel in midfield.
My expectation for 2024 is that he either becomes a regular squad member for Independiente del Valle’s first team or he gets signed by a European club. Jairo Reyes would be a good long-term signing for clubs like Club Brugge, RSC Anderlecht and KRC Genk. I think Reyes should be retrained to a box-to-box midfielder as he has the attributes to become a really good box-to-box midfielder.
Target Scouting 