I don't know the '97 pool all that well, but EPB, Redding and Akale are the three that I think have a chance from that age group to make the 2015 U-20 WC. If there was a decent GK, then he might have a good chance as well, but no one has really stood out as a special GK prospect from that group like Steffen did last cycle. I think Akale will have a good chance to make the U-20 side, but I think CB is the position where the 97's have the best chance to make the roster at. EPB and Redding arguably already have better pedigree's than any player eligible for the 2015 U-20 WC other than Matt Miazga. I'd have a hard time leaving either one off of the team right now. Akale will get his chance just like a number of other prospects, but its hard to imagine that his age will not factor into the final decision if he doesn't distinguish himself from the other contenders.
Usually in these situations the tie goes to the older player, not the kid wanting to "play up" a cycle. So Akale will simply have to prove he's better than the Lynden Gooch, Eric Lickert, and Romain Gall-category of guys. Can he do it? How the hell should we know? Most of us haven't seen more than a handful of games from most of these players. A lot changes in a U20 pool over a calendar year. This time next year we could be talking about Cristian Roldan, Zach Pfeffer, Benji Lopez, Brian Iloski, and on and on. Zach Pfeffer is completely forgotten by some, and Tab Ramos had very good things to say about him after the last camp. He's had good things to say about Luis Felipe as well. And Kainoa Bailey has just started to play with Leverkusen. Where does he fit in with this attacking group? I just don't know.
The 97 Group off the top of my head and ranked using my dimwitted opinion 1. Kyle Scott .. Club: Chelsea a lot of big clubs are interested. He could play for England and Ireland too. I think he is leaning to the US 2. Tommy Redding I think he is with the Chicago Magic PSG highly regarded CB 3. Mukwelle Akale 4. Erik Palmer Brown CB with KC highly regarded CB
Good point about Scott. If he is progressing with Chelsea and would play for the USA at the U-20 WC, then he deserves a shot as well. He plays at a position with a lot of depth though. Even though he is a special talent, I'm not so sure that he is better than the players at his position that are a year or two older than him. If he wants to play for the USA, he definitely deserves a shot though. His pedigree is impressive.
This is a very good question. From some other posts it seems like his dad is a coach and that might explain it but again I do not know that...anybody?
From what I garnered he was a disaster in the Limounge tournament in France and Perez decided not call him back. So, to put him ahead of our home guys just because he is in Chelsea does not bode well with reality.
He might have had an uncharacteristically bad tournament. I've never seen him play, but from what I have read it sounds like he has a fantastic pedigree.
You might be correct that he had a bad tournament, he played the first 45mins against France and never saw the field again. Playing in the Chelsea Academy doesn't mean he is better than our top '97s. I have watched him play and I will take Saucedo and Swanson before him. I wound not even compare him to Akale, Redding or Palmer-Brown. He is not close!
He seems to be progressing in the Chelsea academy, he has gotten call ups from English youth national teams and he has been linked with a move away from England to some of the biggest clubs in the world. I've never seen him, so I can't comment from watching him play, but his pedigree is very impressive.
You also have to consider that Scott is coming off a major injury. I think judging him off 45 min of football is unfair. He may simply not be back to pre-injury levels yet and it's also possible he may never be.
Oh well, I wish I was one of the coaches evaluating him at the time but I wasn't. The blame of unfairness should be placed right at the door steps of the US technical team. They were the ones who gave him the chance and they were the ones who pulled him after 45mins and never gave him another minute. Placing him ahead of our top three '97s is what I find unfair. I hope he comes back strong and represents us well.
Rumors..... Lyon deal for Mukwelle is on the table....his side is waiting on Bayern Munich .... exciting times for youth prospects.
Not sure how much I like our kids going to these clubs at 18. Too often they simply get stuck in the reserves or sent out on loan to a club that may not even want or value them. The jump to the first team is such a high bar that they often get lost. The name is sexy, but that's about it.
Agree, although a good gauge on where the club rates them is the amount of money they're paying the player. Is it a pro contract or a youth contract definitely is telling. Can Akale count as an African player via Cotonou?
And according to that poster, Lyon is one of the rumored clubs. If he can, wonder if that would allow him to move to Lyon before his 18th bday?
I don't think it allows you to move before your 18th birthday. I think it simply allows to avoid those league's foreign player limits.
Personally, I think its good to have US youth players climbing up the ladder in a variety of places. We have plenty of prospects going the MLS route. We have prospects going the Mexico route. We have prospects going the Europe route. We have prospects developing in South America. We know we still have prospects going the NCAA route. On top of that we now have some prospects signing with lower division clubs in the US. And we're going to have successes and failures via every route. I'd have to imagine that the most lucrative route is Europe and the level being discussed here with Mukwalle Who do we think will earn the biggest paycheck in 2014......................Junior Flores, Joel Sonora, Kellyn Acosta, Tommy Redding, or Zack Steffen. I have no idea, but my gut tells me its Flores by a wide margin.
I haven't seen anything from a reliable source yet either. Just internet scuttlebutt: USAprospects @USAprospects 18h Just chat with source close to '97 #usynt Mukwelle Akale. No decision made on future club but some big Euro teams watching him close And that for all intents and purposes means that even if we trust that particular "twitterati"...........................watching a player "close" doesn't mean that he's about to be signed by a big club.
I don't have a problem with Europe per se, but I would prefer our guys go to clubs where they are likely to reach the first team relatively soon at 18 years old.
I wonder where I've heard that before Gil and Yedlin are getting looks for the USMNT because they are in a good training environments getting first team minutes instead of toiling through International youth football. Please ignore Julian Green for the sake of my point please.
I don't think that there is one clearcut better way to do this imo. That being said, I would much rather they stay in the MLS and get playing time or sign with MLS and go on loan to USL Pro. However, some players may need to be in the european style of youth training where you can probably play under more experienced coaches and firmly establish youth systems. While here we are still sort of setting thatup. But like I said I would much rather have them play here, but it isn't for everyone.