Not for me. I like @Suyuntuy’s criteria in post #1018 above combined with @Patrick167’s original post to this thread.
Weah and Sargent combined for probably over 500' with the USMNT in the past 9 months. They had 30% of the goals, if I count correctly. Nyeman had zero minutes with the USMNT. He had zero goals. Tyler Adams is the clear pick for me. But certainly, Sargent made an impact with the USMNT. If Sargent had even gotten as far as Haji Wright this fall, he might be more in the running.
Telling me their NT minutes showcases the problem here. They don't play at the club level. In no other competent system in the world does a prospect earn their reputation at the international level. If they don't do so at the club level, they aren't in contention. If you think we aren't competent and think we should be compared to teams like Panama and Jamaica, maybe we should temper expectations for 2022. There is no hype squad youth list that adds pet projects of the federation to the NT over players who've earned it at club level for competent programs. I suspect the point of this thread is to discuss players who play at the club level. I wasn't seriously suggesting we should consider Nyeman or Rotundo as "the breakout youngster." One of them just turned 15, the other 14. I was over-exaggerating a point to show the ridiculousness of a system where players earn accolades not for their accomplishments at club level. By all means, I have no problem with you or anyone discussing anyone in any thread, but I absolutely do not agree that pet projects who don't play at the club can be "the breakout youngster." That should almost entirely be earned at the club level. Players who should be in contention are Adams, Cannon, Amon, etc. Players who play regularly. Are they the best youngsters? Maybe, but they are the ones who are proving themselves. They aren't prospects.
Yes, I understood you were being ridiculous. Just my dry humor to play along. Donovan became a international star before a club star. Many Americans have broken through with the NT before getting a career off the ground. Conor Casey was playing NCAA when he was seen at the Olympics playing with Donovan and company. Lalas played with the NT then got a move to Serie A. There are other countries that elevate their best U20 players before they are fully established at clubs. Non-UEFA countries almost have to. It could be a product of our best elite young talent not staying domestic. If an elite 19 year old is on the fringes of a Bundesliga team, do we really just ignore him and play a 27 year old MLS journeyman? It is a conundrum. I sympathize with the view point of, "earn it", but I also don't think playing in MLS is earning it unless you clearly stand out. I'm just not going to punish kids who bypass MLS because the way things stand right now, that is the smart move for their careers.
Yup. But..................…we are in unusual times. The USMNT went really young and unproven with their callups over the past calendar year...……………..because why not? There has been nothing to play for over the past calendar year. So we've sorta accelerated the schedule for some young prospects. Some really had done zippo to earn it. Matt Olosunde and Luca de la Torre have gotten caps this year. Based on what? Who knows. Shaq Moore is getting callups. He's a squad rotation player on a bad team in the relegation zone of the Spanish 2nd division. He is nowhere near good enough. This thread is about "potential" breakout players for the USMNT. So in a sense we are trying to look a little bit into the future here. Folks have to predict who WILL break out into club football in a big way and thus subsequently break out into the USMNT. At the end of the year we'll see who's right. Josh Sargent is the perfect 2019 candidate. It might not happen. If he doesn't break into club football on a regular basis, than somebody that does can pass him by. Sebastian Soto? People predicted Keaton Parks for this past year, and it didn't happen. I don't know how we call Keaton Parks up again until he's doing "something" in club football.
For me it is Reggie Cannon (I personally think Tyler had just as much of a break out last year a McKennie)... went from never having played a single match and largely being completely off the radar to being an every match starter and getting two caps to where some folks think he is competing with an EPL player. We are in strange times I agree. That said, I also think there is a danger when we anoint players at youth levels. They could all burn out by age 22. They could go on to be NATs starters for a decade. One concern for me right now is we are pre-determining who will be the best players at age 24 based on what they do at age 19.
I think signing in Europe is usually good for these players, but I don't see it as punishing these players for signing in Europe. Most of the attackers would not be playing in MLS, unless they played for a handful of teams.