Why is it illegal if he's not officially affiliated with the club yet? Couldn't they just consider him a trialist of sorts? (or he could be training somewhere else in Germany, I'm not sure)
Yeah he's just doing the back-and-forth thing that many of our prospects (Pulisic, Rubin, McKinnie, etc.) have done until they're eligible to sign.
If any of you guys read the article that was posted earlier, it's literally in the tiny paragraph written about him. (tie-tah-gwee)
The Guardian lists him as as one of the top 60 players born in 1999: "The Virginia native has been on trial at Schalke and according to their youth director, Oliver Ruhnert, he will receive a contract offer once he turns 18."
Not exactly news here, but an update: Taitague cannot sign a pro contract until he turns 18, which won't happen until February. But many of the top soccer clubs in the world are interested in his services. When he was only 14, Manchester United brought him in for a tryout. He has also trained with Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona. Sports Illustrated reports that the German club Schalke plans to offer Taitague a contract when he becomes of age. http://wtvr.com/2016/10/18/chesterfield-soccer-phenom-is-ready-for-the-world/
The German transfer window closes on Feb 2. Will Taitague be able to play in any real youth games this spring, since he doesn't turn 18 until after the registration period ends? AFAIK he didn't pull a Haji Wright and sign a short-term pro deal. He was with the Carolina RailHawks, but on amateur terms.
Haji played in official matches last season after turning 18 in March so Nick could presumably do the same.
Haji and his people smartly found a loophole by signing a pro contract with the Cosmos before signing with Schalke. So, Haji was on a Bosman when he turned 18 and was not subject to having to be registered in a transfer window. There's previous examples of amateur players going to Germany but having to wait until a registration window opens up, before they can play official matches at any level.
Can someone do a quick explanation of amateur contract vs pro contract? I assume both Taitague and he Railhawks knew he was headed to Germany when he signed his short term amateur contract, so why not agree to the same financial terms on a "pro contract"? Thanks in advance for saving me 5 minutes of semi intense googling.
I'm not sure why Taitague signed just an amateur contract with the Railhawks because he was never going to college. The amateur contract in NASL/USL means the player obviously doesn't get paid, but allows them to retain their college eligibility. It's possible that Carolina wanted to sign him to a 2+ year contract if he signed a pro contract, and he opted for the amateur one.
Guessing the contract was a formality needed to make him eligible to play competitive matches with the Railhawks.
#US-Boys Nick #Taitague, Weston #McKennie & Haji #Wright after today's last of the year #U19 match in #Duisburg. 2-0 away match victory #S04 pic.twitter.com/eaYebMCJXX— Volker Barth (@barthvolker) December 10, 2016 Unless I'm missing it. @bungadiri Nick Taitague at Schalke 04 --->academy forum