Kekuta Manneh will be out of contract at the end of 2017, at the same time he is guaranteed to meet the FIFA rule on residency (5 after 18), even if his waiver doesn't come thru. He spoke a bit about his aspirations: http://www.rednationonline.ca/Articles2016/Mannehreflectsonthetradethatsenthimto.aspx The future for Kekuta Manneh going forward is as uncertain as his spot in the Crew SC lineup. Manneh is out of contract following the 2017 MLS season, and free to leave. That's the main reason why Vancouver sought out a trade partner for him. It's every football players dream to one day play in Europe. Manneh isn't committing to anything yet. "No, for right now, I'm leaving it alone," Manneh said. "I have a pretty good idea in my head what I want, but it's not necessarily what's going to happen. Sometimes things don't really work out the way you want them to. There's a lot of people involved in this decision-making. I do have a pretty good idea of what I want. I have to talk to my agent, family, it can change things. I definitely do want to go to Europe. That's the goal, it's always been my goal to have an opportunity to play in that environment, and see what it's all about."
Crew announce 1-year extension for Pipa Higuain. Gotta think that's another nudge out the door for Kekuta Manneh. Big winter for him.— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) October 3, 2017
good to hear! now, he just needs to be discerning in his choice - assuming the proper options are there (no reason to believe they shouldn't be)
There's plenty of reason they won't be, unless you consider Sweden/Norway/Scotland proper options. He'll be getting spat out of MLS at 22/23 as a sub and coming off a couple down seasons. He got called up to January camp but didn't play in any games. I don't know how much that's worth to prospective European teams. And he doesn't have an EU passport. He's in a weird spot. He'll probably need to climb the European ladder and starting out of the consciousness of the bigger leagues. I don't know if he wants to gamble and play in this Jan. camp (if he has a promise) to try and use that to propel him for a game before the WTW closes in most leagues. I look at a realistic best case as the 2. BL, and he might have to go on trials to catch someone's eyes there or somewhere equivalent.
These are the countries who qualify under the Cotonou agreement. Angola - Antigua and Barbuda - Belize - Cape Verde - Comoros - Bahamas - Barbados - Benin - Botswana - Burkina Faso - Burundi - Cameroon - Central African Republic - Chad - Congo (Brazzaville) - Congo (Kinshasa) - Cook Islands - Cte d'Ivoire - Cuba - Djibouti - Dominica - Dominican Republic - Eritrea - Ethiopia - Fiji - Gabon - Gambia - Ghana - Grenada - Republic of Guinea - Guinea-Bissau - Equatorial Guinea - Guyana - Haiti - Jamaica - Kenya - Kiribati - Lesotho - Liberia - Madagascar - Malawi - Mali - Marshall Islands - Mauritania - Mauritius - Micronesia - Mozambique - Namibia - Nauru - Niger -Nigeria - Niue - Palau - Papua New Guinea - Rwanda - St. Kitts and Nevis - St. Lucia - St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Solomon Islands - Samoa - Sao Tome and Principe - Senegal - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Somalia - South Africa - Sudan - Suriname - Swaziland - Tanzania - Timor Leste - Togo - Tonga - Trinidad and Tobago - Tuvalu - Uganda - Vanuatu - Zambia - Zimbabwe So he'd count as a domestic in Denmark, Spain and France. Bund has no non-EU limits. So there's four leagues right there. Whether he's good enough to get a look is another question. I would probably suggest doing everything possible to get trials for a lower table Ligue 1 side.
france would be perfect, imo ...also gotta think a team like hamburg would be a good fit for him, so maybe a team in germany might take a chance......worst case, i think he could easily land in denmark if he wanted to...which might be a nice springboard if he does well there. manneh has better MLS stats this season than a lot of players on the latest USMNT roster...dont be so quick to write him off like he's some kind of bust....he's not....plus, he could still show well in the playoffs and improve his standing in the eyes of euro clubs..... if he can somehow land on a decent team this winter....theres still a shot he could play in russia (assuming us makes it)....i know he'd be in my 23 (over players like zardes and arriola)
Perception is reality in this case. He doesn't have the luster of an international and wouldn't be viewed as much of a success at this point. He has stagnated, even if he has talent. So why would a team in Ligue 1 let alone the Bundesliga realistically take him? They view themselves as far superior to MLS. He would have to have been seriously holding back in MLS and absolutely knock their socks off in a trial, that he would be fortunate to get. The worst case is considerably worse than Denmark. I actually think that's where the sights should be set, or the 2. BL, and for him to work himself up from there. It's really up to him to drive himself to get more out of his talent.
In this case, it's more important that reality is reality. He can't distinguish himself in MLS, and it ain't because of style reasons. He's just not that good. Reality.
On trial at FC Union Berlin. 🔴⚪️| Former @ColumbusCrewSC attacker Kekuta Manneh (22) has joined the team on trial this week. 👏 pic.twitter.com/6H7uQy4XfL— 1. FC Union Berlin (English) (@fcunion_en) December 5, 2017
Bravo. Exactly what I'd have encouraged him to do. Go on trial in places like Germany and do your best to create opportunities. Kid has raw talent plus athleticism you can't teach. He's just never really been taught the game.
I like the idea of american players going on trials....seems like a good opportunity (although I wonder if he could maybe aim a little higher....??)
Based on a quick glance at Transfermarkt, it seems like his primary competition for playing time, if he were to sign there, would be Simon Hedlund, a 24-year-old Swedish left winger who has 8 goals and 3 assists in 46 appearances with Union.
i get it. I just think a trial can be a "swing for the stars" thing sometimes....and if he's gonna take a shot, that maybe the shot might be higher than decent second division team. Not that i think it would be a bad landing spot for manneh but personally, i dont think he should really have to trial to sign with a second division squad.....there's ample footage of him doing amazing things vs decent comp. joevin jones didnt have to trial to get a 2nd bundesliga deal. fafa picault just came from the 2nd bundesliga and manneh compares favorably to picault, imo....
Your opinion is noted. The actual professional decision makers and the folks who cut the checks feel like he does need to trial.
They don't give a damn about MLS or any comparison between league bodies - and not in a bad way. If he happens to pop up on someones radar an analyst will watch the tape, if they like what they see relative to their needs (and not necessarily based on performance or production in MLS) there will be a recommendation, and somewhere down the line if the logistics work out he will be brought in for a trial since he is available to do so. edit: Didn't realize this was dated and he was already on trial.
By the way, Union Berlin canned their manager on Monday. That could be a problem for Manneh depending on who in the organization was the driving force in taking him on trial.
Perhaps a problem but a 22 yr old with his pace should get a chance somewhere. Don't forget as said above due to where he was born he qualifies as a domestic in Denmark, Spain and France due to the Cotonou Agreement. So those three countries plus Germany are wide open for him.
if thats true he should not just settle for 2 bundelsiga and try to make a jump to france or spain, imo.
Manneh played fewer than 1,000 minutes in MLS this season, and just a shade over 1,000 last season. Who in those leagues would 1) even be aware of him and 2) want to sign him?
FWIW: Despite trial in Germany, hearing Kekuta Manneh likely ends up in MLS in 2018.— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) December 13, 2017