I don't think people are necessarily writing him off. Rather noting that he's not performing at a level that makes it likely that he will break through at Barca.
We also rarely get to see him play 90 minutes games. And when he did with the U17s and at IMG, he didn't do anything to cause the board to go into a frenzy. I think the board has gotten over being excited by a youngster JUST because he's at a "big club." I mean, the name Ben Lederman has been around on these boards for a long time. He's no longer a 13 year old prospect. He's 17 years old. Putting it another way.......................put these attacking and midfield players in order of age: Ben Lederman Andrew Carleton Josh Sargent Jesus Ferreira Ayo Akinola Timothy Weah Blaine Ferri Taylor Booth We tend to think of Ben Lederman like he's still a 14 year old and is an up-and-comer that's years away. We just think he's stashed over in Spain and we can check in 5 years from now. He's older than kids like Carleton and Ferreira that have already debuted in first team soccer. That doesn't mean he isn't more talented or a better prospect..................we just haven't seen it. The US U17 staff certainly doesn't appear to be treating him like he's superior to the guys in the list above.
Time will tell if not including Lederman on the current U17 NT was a statement about his playing level or John Hackworth's coaching and evaluating ability.
That's the nature of talent evaluation. Players get better than others over time but that doesn't mean that they were better at that time 3 years earlier. Can't use hind sight as talent evaluation analysis.
It's also how they all fit together. He may be great in the Barca style but that may not translate everywhere else. Just like Corona looked bad in the US game the other day those mids that rely on quick combinations with teammates they've played with a while can look bad with a more meat and potatoes style.
He sure has grown a bit. This next year will help determine where he is in the scheme of things. Check out @Ben_Lederman10's Tweet: Preseason 💪🏽👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/tE9xInZiV5— Ben Lederman (@Ben_Lederman10) August 4, 2017
If he's good enough for BArca or Barca B then he has to be in the 18 for the US point blank. We aren't there yet but once he's a pro, he's got to be given a chance. We don't have the luxury of choosing guys in our XI who "fit together with the team" and yet can't execute basic skills over our most skillful players. We have always had problems unlocking defenses, maybe that's not true anymore with the rise of this type of player.
Sadly, it's not looking like he's on the path to appear for either Barca A or Barca B. And I think you overrate Barca B greatly. The top prospects are elite, but much of the team is filler.
Has left Barcelona and signed with Gent in Belgium, where he will reportedly go first to their youth team: New chapter @KAAGent 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/uY7z0bbnic— Ben Lederman (@Ben_Lederman10) July 30, 2018
Plying his trade in Poland now for KS RAKÓW CZĘSTOCHOWA They play today (9am PST). Don’t suspect he will make 18 but I’ll update in about 30 in case he does.
So...our boy is in the 18!!! Dont know what number he is but I’ll keep tabs. I got the Ekstraklasa 30 day free trial.
This is in the YNT thread, so mostly focused on his YNT appearances. He has a full-thread in YA Academy, that can be moved to YA when he makes a 1st team league appearance: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/benny-and-the-gents-lederman-at-kaa-gent.1712095/page-27 Feel free to post in the YAA thread.
This is old news, right? This was announced in February. At the time, it was revealed that his contract runs until June 2020. So in other words....................pack your bags! https://sbisoccer.com/2020/02/ben-lederman-joins-polish-side-rakow-czestochowa
With some help, I started trying to look up Lederman's Infantil class -- the guys he was playing with around the time the big NYT feature ran. Here's some preliminary data. Volunteers to help round it out welcome! https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/b...stochowa-poland.1712095/page-28#post-38748627
I doubt many or even any major clubs see their U13s as a realistic pathway to the first team -- though, of course, getting just one player there would be a coup, given the acquisition cost of such a player relative to the price of a decade of his academy time. Big clubs can attract top preteen players from around the world based on name, reputation and resources alone, then use them to measure and recruit other players' prospects for the next however-many years. Of course some big clubs don't need to bother, but that's another story. Lederman's "classmate' Victor Gomez, of Espanyol's first team, is an interesting case. He started out at Espanyol, but he lasted four years at Barcelona before leaving for whatever reason -- they had lots of time to look him over. I would guess a 20-year-old who gets regular minutes in La Liga is worth something in the 7 figures if not more. Barcelona didn't get a dime that I can see. C'est la futbol.
Also, to change gears slightly: 7 of 23 players on that Infantil roster were born in January 11 by end of March 19 by end of June Lederman was born in May.