How do you know? And how does your knowledge square with the reality that he's a part-time starter for a reserve team at age 22? I believe Akale has some real ability, but all the context clues suggest that Villarreal isn't the right place for him any more.
For Josh and Gedion, It might be the physicality but it might not. Neither of those players established a floor where you can judge their abilities - neither have played much first team soccer in their careers. Gedion's loans to Rangers (then in the Scottish 2nd tier) and to VVV (in the Dutch second tier) were lackluster. That was before his injury. The same could be said for Perez who got one Serie A outing with Fiorentina but struggled to get meaningful minutes in Serie C with Livorno. So the problem might be the physicality of MLS or it might just be the talent level of Gedion and Josh.
Random...but remember when Arsenal played RBNY at Red Bull Arena in 2014 after the World Cup in July? The stadium was literally chanting "USA" for Gedion that day as a recruiting mechanism...not sure if he even started, or was subbed on, but it's pretty funny how these things work out.
I'm all ears! If there's some sort of non-soccer reason why he's not getting a fair shake at Villarreal, and he's on a better trajectory than his record indicates, I would be thrilled!
Villareal B drew Melilla in the Segunda B playoffs, which begin this weekend. The bright side is 2 of his 12 starts this season (38 total games) have been the past two games.
I went through Ceuta on my way to Morocco a couple of months ago. It's really weird being in mainland Africa but still being in Spain. Cool, but weird.
Leg 2... Melilla wins 4-1 to take it 4-1 on aggregate. Villareal B remains in the 80 team Segunda B division for next year. Looks like he got 21 minutes off the bench.
@Giggsy1986 with the season over, any insight on his next move? looking to come back to the states and play in USL or still going to try it at Villarreal?
Now that Villarreal B's season is over, can the folks on this thread who truly believe in Akale's potential help those of us who are on the outside looking in to understand a little better what's going on? Maybe take your best shot at answering these questions: 1. What's his ceiling? How confident are you he reaches it? 2. What's the most likely next step for him? What SHOULD his next step be? 3. Which YA that people rate more highly will Akale end up having a better career than? So your answers could be (these are not my views, just examples): 1. Ceiling is UCL starter/USMNT difference maker, 100% 2. Stay put, Villlarreal is so much better at development and Tecera Division is so far ahead of most countries' top flights that leaving would be a step backward 3. He will be the tortoise that beats Pulisic's hare Any takers?
I'll bite. 1. Ceiling is MLS All Star or European Big 5 first division player but mid table/relegation fodder. 50% 2. If he knows he will not be not rostered on the Villarreal first team for next year he needs to move to a first team spot. Minnesota United seems like a plausible destination if he's willing to move to MLS. 3. He's currently better than Lewis or Sabbi. His peak will be better than Weah or Amon.
FYI I wouldn't be surprised if the MLS communists running this forum kick me off again. If any of you want to pay homage now is the time!
WHY? WHY? do you have to instigate the mods? I want to hear these Akale updates so it satisfies my Akale dream of him one day running through players like Messi does. Now, I have to settle for 300- pages of nothing.
Quick update from Spain. He's back with Villarreal B this preseason. Started the most recent friendly vs. Levante's B team.