MLS is guarded about contracts which is annoying, but I think Carelton's deal is for 2.5 years with two 1 year club options. It might be 3.5 with 1 option. So 4.5 years total and goes to shortly after Carleton turns 20. Cashing in on any move Atlanta will need to be thinking about selling him in the next two years. I do know that Durkin has a more favorable deal in-terms as it is shorter and ends when he is still 19. MLS really haven't had enough coveted prospects recently to have any real track record on how they will handle them. EPB is really the only prospects since Miazga that was generating interest. Miazga was sold, EPB wasn't but he was loaned with a buy-option, so it wasn't like SKC wasn't willing to sell. Zendejas was also sold during that time period by FCD. At the end of the day, we want our high level prospects to go to the best situations to develop, but you also want them in the best situations prior to turning 18. You also need a system where MLS gets adequate compensation for their investment in youth development. Lose out on all the best players that you develop for free and what is the point of spending all the money? The best system to me is clearly sign with MLS at age 16 or 17 and get sold overseas at age 18, 19 or 20. Hope to see that type of relationship between top prospecst and MLS moving forward, but right now it is too early to tell.
Yup. And of course we can't fault MLS for offering these deals to youngsters. They're trying to protect their investments.............. Its also hard to understand why a youngster like Carleton would turn down that deal from Atlanta. He signed it with years until his 18th birthday. So his choices were to train at Atlanta for free or to train at Atlanta for money. All he lost by signing the deal was his NCAA eligibility. And I know this is going to sound crazy, but maybe he enjoys the world-class facilities that Atlanta has built. And maybe he enjoys working with Tata Martino and his staff. Folks can complain about his playing time this year as a 16-17 year old, but I haven't heard Andrew Carleton complain about his playing time once. In fact, part of the reason he's not got much playing time is that he's spent so much time with the US U17s.
I'm not convinced by Yueill either...........................(ducks). As far as the U20 crew goes, Adams, Gonzalez, and McKennie are the three to introduce now. There will be others that come along, but we should call those three up within the next three months.
1)As for as SKC...everything didn't work out. He literally lost two years in his development during the most important time. He should've been playing some instead was being held up by SKC. 2)carleton has been paid pennies for two years and will be paid that way for the next 4 even if he does do well. Do you know how much homegrown kellyn acosta makes? $260K...pennies for what is supposed to be a big time prospect. Will Trapp? 350K...Steffan? 105K...pennies. mckennie at schalke...well lets just say he turned 150K from Dallas.
You may have just been thinking of central midfielders, but I'd definitely have CCV on a near-term call-up list, too. EPB and Sargent could get there by next summer if they hit the ground running in Europe. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see Klinsmann in a Euro-centric friendly camp at some point, either, as he has as strong a case as anyone over there after Hamid and Horvath. The other U20s are probably a little farther out, but most all of the starters should end up getting a look at some point in the next couple years. We'll have to cross our fingers that it's realized, but our roughly 16-23 group has so much more potential than the generation before them, which has been thoroughly documented as an almost total flop. 2020-26 could be fun years with a little luck and more hits than misses on development between now and then.
For me is Chris Goslin as a player to keep an eye besides the usual ones from this age group of course.
Why Weston McKennie matters so much for Schalke 04 https://t.co/mTAfHTOaLv pic.twitter.com/oyFl7JRh8g— Bundesliga FANatic (@Bundesliga4u) November 5, 2017
A bunch of our breakout players BROKE OUT in a big way for the USMNT against Portugal. Reallly impressed with McKennie, Adams, and CCV. So which current U20s are "next" to get USMNT caps? I actually think the answer will be Justen Glad. He'll get a callup to January camp and a cap against Bosnia in January. Then, I'd go with Jonathan Gonzalez as soon as possible........................
Wonder if Sargent will be at cupcake. Probably could given the Werder situation. If so, he'd likely get a cap. Might have today if not for the quad injury.
Looks like the answer to 2017 Breakout Youngster is Weston McKennie. Just ridiculous he didn't get his first cap until today. He is starting regularly at Schalke which is competing for a Champions League spot. Only one other American is on a team competing for a CL berth in a Top 4 league. And he won this thread last year haha Others receiving votes: Jonathan Gonzales Matt Miazga Zack Steffan Tyler Adams Justin Glad Cameron Carter-Vickers Came out of nowhere to get in the conversation: Antonee Robinson Favorites to win that disappointed: Emerson Hyndman Kellyn Acosta
For me is Keaton Parks, he is the ACM that we don't have, that is, if Pulisic doesn't play centrally.
I'm not sure its all that ridiculous that McKennie didn't get his first cap until yesterday. Last club season he played a grand total of 13 minutes. Prior to about late September, he'd only played about 25 minutes in this Bundesliga season. Don't get me wrong, as an FCD academyophile, I'm the biggest McKennie fan there is. But were we really expecting Bruce Arena to call him up to the USMNT for do-or-die WCQers in September/October? I realize hindsight is 20-20, but there was no way he was going to do that. McKennie hadn't proven anything by then. [If we want to discuss the idiocy of McKennie being cut from the U17s by Richie Williams in 2015, I'm more than happy to do that..................cuz that was political. The U20s was a different matter. Ramos wanted McKennie, but couldn't get him released by Schalke much. So that's a good problem to have.] I thought Acosta had a nice game last night, by the way. At the end of the season he was completely worn out. In fact, he was sat a couple of weeks towards the end of the MLS season for what Pareja described as "exhaustion." There's a reason Acosta had gotten into the USMNT picture in the first place. He's going to have to get back to that level for FCD in order to retain a place......................as the youngsters are coming up behind him! I just think folks have cast him aside prematurely. I agree with your general assessment there. There were few teens getting minutes in MLS, but a bunch of those had really nice seasons. I would simply add that Erik Palmer-Brown had a real breakthru year in 2017, just not with SKC. His performances with the US U20s at the U20 CONCACAF Championships were epic, earning him player of the tournament. And he played very well at the U20 World Cup. Those efforts led to a move to Man City............................ There are a lot of youngsters we can add to the disappointments, unfortunately: Gedion Zelalem (injured, but not really doing anything prior to that either) Josh Perez (after a breakthru last season with Fiorentina, now on loan in Serie C). The list goes on with the disappointments actually. Any homegrown or youth player in the first team at the Galaxy............................pick one or seven.
No, Arena was probably incapable of that. But a competent coach would have brought him to the June camp, maybe given him minutes against Venezuela (whatever that friendly was). Then brought him to the Gold Cup to integrate him with Bradley and Acosta. Then, you know, he would have had that magical "Experience". To suggest McKennie is so much better now than 3 months ago is ludicrous. Arena made a horrible mistake in not using him and many said it at the time. It isn't 20-20 hindsight, and we aren't paid like Arena was to do this stuff. Excusing it is dumb. Arena got McKennie and his roster wrong for September and October. Same for Williams. Whatever excuses you have for why he didn't play are also dumb now that we failed to qualify. You are totally right on Zelalem and Perez. Perez in particular seems more interested in girls than soccer. Arena left the Galaxy and USMNT in shambles.
Both, funny that you picked up on his Twitter account. I guess I wasn't imagining that he loves to retweet anything a beautiful girl says. And the girls are very beautiful and I can imagine, if you had the chance with them, it would be a huge distraction. But I'm for Hyndman, Perez, Zelalem to come good. I hate the constant crapping on our prospects here. They are all still young. Hell, in MLS, they wouldn't even play they are so young still. Perez had an assist in his most recent game. It is Serie C but it is a big club. I think Americans get too hung up on the division and don't look at the club. Playing for a Rangers or Newcastle or Livorno or St. Pauli or Stuttgart in any division is playing in front of 30,000 die hards with a larger fan base, media scrutiny, club history and general local interest that any MLS team.
Its worth noting that we're not particularly deep with "pacy" wingers/forwards. I have no clue if Lennon will end up being good enough, but I also have no problem with him being thrown into the discussion. He's actually proven more than somebody like Mukwelle Akele. I'm not quite sure I understand what Brooks is doing? Is he going back to Liverpool right now? Was his loan with RSL extended? As far as I know the deal ends on Dec. 31st, 2017.
I think the January Camp should be U23 and under. I just don't think any MLS player over the age of 23 is worth investing time in. Much rather spend the resources and time that would be wasted on Dwyer, Altidore, Nagbe on Carleton, Durkin, Farfan, Goslin, Glad, Ebobisse, etc.
@Clint Eastwood pretty much answered your question for me. He may be a future USMNT player or may be another flop but he looks a little better than Arriola IMO. It wouldn't hurt to call him up.