From the outside looking in, it looks like MLS has done yeoman’s work identifying talented youth and getting them into programs where they can train and play with other strong prospects. Our success in the u20s show that IMO. The next vital step is the finishing aspect that takes talented teenagers and develops them into major league players. No matter where one goes, it’s a long shot but MLS hasn’t shown any aptitude for this which may be understandable given it’s modest age. Therefore, from a USMNT perspective where we want as many talented players hitting their potential, I hope we see a lot more Richards and (non USMNT) Davies. Lastly, there was a lot of BS worry about what would happen to the DA programs if the most elite talent went directly overseas and bypassed MLS. I hope we can put that to rest as the good programs are flourishing even though many of our best prospect went to greener pastures early.
I’d add that we need to figure out a way to reward clubs like Dallas who are doing a phenomenal job with their youth development. I don’t necessarily know what that looks like. But, I would like all HGP to be cap exempt. Allow Dallas to keep their earnings off transfers. And maybe even offer a stipend from the USSF for academies that produce talent. For instance, the clubs pay an extra percent towards the club where the player was developed for every roster. If say, Dallas has 10 players on the roster, RSL 5, Philadelphia 5, and Galaxy 3. Then give those clubs a bonus.
A much needed next step is stripping HG territory lines so more domestics are free to sign for teams which actually give two shits about development.
I think the break-out MLS player is simply the player sold for the most money during the year...Sell-on clauses complicate things, so I'm only half-kidding of course. Red Bulls had three players starting the GC game, four in the game at the end and one on the bench. If all of MLS could approximate NYRB and FCD we will be getting somewhere. Interestingly, all the NYRB players except Long had been sold to European clubs from NYRB. The FCD players either left for free or are still with FCD.
What NYRB did so well is get their NYRBII reserve team up and running early. They (and teams like RSL and Philly) were the leaders there. Interestingly, NYRB's supply of quality USYNTs seems to have run a bit dry. I would take NYCFC's young academy players and U20s over NYRBs right now in a heartbeat. There has seemingly been a bit of turmoil in terms of academy leadership there.
It may be nitpicking to some extent but this line of thinking always bothers me. Not because it might not be true, but because the assumption is that MLS has to have a track record of developing "major league players" from talented Americans while Europe does not. How many talented teens did European clubs develop into "major league players"? Pulisic, McKennie JOB many years ago....anyone else? (it is even arguable how much finishing McKennie and Pulisci required in Germany considering how quickly they were put into the first team. MLS has Adams. Neither Europe nor the USA has a track record. How many US players have gone over as teens and been successful? Shalke has McKennie who joined the first team very quickly....was he just too good a prospect and already almost finished or did Shalke have to put the finishing touches on him? What about Wright and Tataigue? I know the jury's still out but they certainly aren't "major league players" yet. We have had a number of our best prospects in the past go over and fail to get anywhere near those heights. It begs the question, is there something about the European system that doesn't work for US players or were those players simply not good enough? I think most tend to say that the Hyndman's, Adu's, Kirosvski's Lleget's, and many more had flaws that prevented their rise....or just weren't good enough....they hadn't been prepared well enough as young teens in the US. I personally tend to believe that the latter possibility is the case (US youth players at a lower level in the past). I believe that the current crop of young Americans is much stronger than it was 10 or even 5 years ago and also that the European teams are now starting to treat the US players as viable prospects. This may seem like a strange argument because, even though I believe MLS is quickly developing into a quality development path for young players in the right situation, I actually do believe that going to Europe is probably the right choice for some US players. What bothers me using a lack of track record as evidence. Right now, we have plenty of evidence from Europe and from MLS...the problem is it is more subjective and anecdotal at this point in time. Adams showed how the best of MLS systems can prepare a player, Pulisic showed how the best of European systems can finish and develop a quality player, McKennie the same....Pomykal seems to be showing how it can be done by MLSand there are other players and systems in Europe and MLS as well but you have to use your own subjective judgement in each case.
What we know is that leading programs have a history of producing major league players, irrespective of where they come from. MLS has no such history although I’m hoping that Adams starts a trend. I think limiting the parameters to only Americans is the wrong way to look at it - do programs have the ability to refine major league talent or not?
On the MLS youth development front: Seattle's Academy starting to bear fruit https://theathletic.com/1046833/201...anded-youth-system-starting-to-pay-dividends/ Interview with Union minority owner and founder/owner of YSC Sports (Philly's Academy) Richie Graham: https://theathletic.com/1044636/201...from-academy-setup-but-still-hoping-for-more/ Also some clarification: MLS teams now keep 100% of the transfer fees from the selling of Home Grown Players. The reason RBNY and FCD's academy's are so far ahead is that they each had a 10 year head start on most of the league. LA Galaxy were the trend setters with LAG2. Now they haven't exactly used it to their advantage. Being disappointed in Atlanta United's Academy in their third year in the league is showing a lot of impatience. Building what FCD and RBNY have built takes time, as in years (or decades). These things aren't and won't be built overnight.
He hasn't broken through yet but DEST will be playing with the first team during the preseason. The kid has been moving up fast.
Folks seem to be split on Dest now. Many thought of him as a potential Breakout Youngster of the Year if he started getting playing time for the first team at Ajax. Then we all saw him at the U20 World Cup, and he didn't actually play better than the other prospects at the event. He wasn't a standout performer in the group. I thought he was just "OK." Of the two, I thought Chris Gloster played better. I know a couple people have mentioned it, but Gloster could have a breakout at Hannover next season (along with Soto).
I thought Gloster was better in the first two games but Dest was better in the last two. My problem with listing him here for this year has less to do with him and more to do with the fact Ajax just went to the semi-finals of the Champions League. He is not trying to break into a 2.Bund team, you are right! All the U20s are dark horses as any can break out with a move to the first team. Not sure starting for Hannover in November would do it if Pomykal is dominating MLS and moving to Leverkusen in January. Or Weah is starting in the UCL for Lille. No doubt, there are a bunch of guys just under the first teams at good clubs all over Germany and the Netherlands.
Yes, he didn't play well against Ukraine but he did against the other teams. The kid that was disappointed was DeLaFuente. Dest was clearly very much in control on both sides of the ball. I thought Dest was the second best defender. Richards was the best.
I will say this...................Dest played full time for Jong Ajax last season. Jong Ajax is in the Dutch second division, called the Eereste. The same division that Novakovich was in when he started getting full USMNT callups. Last season Jong Ajax finished ahead of Novakovich's former club, Telstar (Novakovich moved on of course). So can a player be under consideration for the full USMNT if they're playing well in the Eereste? Apparently the answer is yes. So even if he only plays for Jong Ajax again this season, Dest can be a candidate for the Breakout Youngster Award. Would he win it? Probably not as Weah, Sargent, and others are likely to get playing time in better leagues.
In KDLF’s defense, he was much younger than most of the defenders he went up against. I’m not saying he’ll be great (I really don’t know), just that the age difference may have been a contributing factor. And I liked Dest. He started the tournament slowly, but he really came around later. I don’t know if he’ll make it to Ajax’s first team, but there’s definitely no shame in that!
I thought Dest played much better as the competition got better. I loved his shot vs. France and would love to see more of those for the senior side.
I would call Dest in. But I doubt GB does. Nova got called under Sarachan and Gregg has never called him. There is a standard for European based players that is more stringent than MLS players. To me, if they have talent it doesn't matter and the U20 WC, especially against France, is an excellent level. But it seems to be different for Gregg, who has chosen even fringe MLS players over a player like Dest or even Championship and 2.Bund starters.
Players playing up a cycle rarely dominate. It was a mistake by Tab that he had to play so many minutes. He knew Llanez was not fit; he should have brought another forward (cough cough Amon). He has some things to work on. If he has the right mentality, he is certainly in a good place to add things to his game.
I don't really understand how anyone could watch Dest play in the U20 WC and not be impressed.?.? I really thought he stood out... especially as the tourney progressed. His game against France was studly.
I’ll rate based on 5 stars, akin to college prospects in football. GK Brady Scott * David Ochoa * Carlos dos Santos JT Marcinkowski Jonathan Klinsmann RB Sergino Dest **** Brooks Lennon *** Julian Araujo *** Kyle Duncan ** Joseph Scally ** Jaylin Lindsey * Manny Perez * Matthew Olosunde * CB Cameron Carter-Vickers ***** Chris Richards ***** Miles Robinson **** Auston Trusty *** Eric Palmer-Brown *** Justen Glad *** Mark McKenzie ** Aboubacar Keita * Donovan Pines * LB George Bello **** Chris Gloster **** Sam Vines ** Matthew Real * Aaron Herrera * Danilo Acosta * DM James Sands **** Cole Bassett *** Jackson Yeuill *** Brandon Servania *** Chris Durkin * Edwin Cerrillo * Christian Cappis * Derrick Jones * Keaton Parks * Wan Kuzain Juan Torres MF Paxton Pomykal ***** Alex Mendez **** Brendan Aaronson **** Gianluca Busio **** Richard Ledezma *** Danny Leyva ** Omir Fernandez ** Luca De la Torre * Kyle Scott * Gedion Zelalem R/LW Tim Weah ***** Jonathan Amon **** Konrad De la Fuente *** Uly Llanez *** Jonathan Lewis *** Emmanuel Sabbi ** Tim Tillman ** Sebastian Saucedo * Mukwale Akale * Andrew Carleton * FW Josh Sargent ***** Sebastian Soto ***** Jesus Ferreira **** Giovanni Reyna *** Jeremy Ebobisse *** Ricardo Pepi *** Haji Wright *** Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez* Brandon Vasquez * Justin Rennicks * Ayo Akinola Griffin Yow
5 stars: Josh Sargent Sebastian Soto Paxton Pomykal Chris Richards Cameron Carter-Vickers Tim Weah 4 stars: Jonathan Amon Jesus Ferreira Jonathan Amon Alex Mendez Brendan Aaronson Gianluca Busio James Sands George Bello Chris Gloster Sergino Dest
I might have to go ahead and bump Vasquez a star or two soon. I’m withholding praise for the moment, but he could breakthrough on the u23’s very quickly.
Once again... Thanks Bravo for taking the time. The rankings look pretty spot on... although I would rate Pepi as a 4-star.
@Eleven Bravo why only one star for lindsey? is that more potential ranking? lennon, for example, is a few years ahead in his development but i dont see a huge ceiling there, while lindsey has show potential to at least be at that level. im not arguing with your ratings, im just curious- while not really comparing those two to each other, im really only asking about lindsey- what DONT you see in him?