https://www.instagram.com/p/BqA3X2hns2K/ '99 US U20 left back Sam Vines has flown out to Germany to train with SC Freiburg. He was a regular for Charlotte Independence in USL for much of 2018 before making his Colorado Rapids debut late in the MLS season. He was not part of the current US squad for the CONCACAF U20 Championship but was with the team in September.
https://www.coloradorapids.com/post...-sign-sam-vines-three-year-homegrown-contract This says he signed a 3 year HG deal back in February 2018 but option years are sometimes part of a HG contract that aren't announced but are still in the details. Someone smarter than me (a lot of people tbh) can probably shed some light on how a 2 or 3 year HG deal can turn into a 5 year deal.
It looks like '01 CM Cole Bassett will be joining Vines over in Freiburg, waiting for more confirmation. Similar to Vines, Bassett signed a HG deal w/ the Rapids this year, made a handful of appearances/starts at the end of the season
Good opportunity for them both. Bassett went under the radar for our YNT's but he looked great out there for the Rapids. Reminded me a lot of Nagbe in that he just never turned the ball over.
I only saw him against SJ, but doesn't he play a little more advanced/higher up in the attack than Nagbe?
Yes and no. This is his passing map from the 2-1 win over FCD in which he scored. A lot of green all over the field, a lot like Nagbe. A whole lot of green and very little red. It's still very early on in his career, but he's already showing comfort on the ball all over the field. He can be better than Nagbe if he develops properly. That comparison is only in both of their calmness on the ball in tight spots in the middle of the field. We don't have enough data on Bassett yet for me to feel comfortable going further with it. There's a lot we don't know about him but from what I've seen, I've liked it a lot. A lot of green all over the field, very little red, a lot like Nagbe. It's still very early on in his career, but he's already showing comfort on the ball all over the field. He can be better than Nagbe if he develops properly. That comparison is only in both of their calmness on the ball in tight spots in the middle of the field. We don't have enough data on Bassett yet for me to feel comfortable going further with it. There's a lot we don't know about him but from what I've seen, I've liked it a lot.
I think a standard HG contract is 3 years + 2 team options. Since those 2 years are team options, it's basically equivalent to a 5 year deal in terms of getting a transfer.
This is the typical deal. 3 years with 2 team options that effectively make it a 5 year deal for any player of quality. Individual deals though can and do vary, so while likely Vines/Bassets deals are the typical 5 years under team control their specific deals may vary from the norm. Unfortunately MLS doesn't release contract details which is super annoying. Nobody knows for sure when Durkin's deal ends same with Carleton.
Good first couple days! @scfreiburg pic.twitter.com/4pKzFNfkDp— Cole Bassett (@colebassett19) November 14, 2018
An exclusive interview with Colorado's Cole Bassett.@Sousa7474 has spoken to the 17-year-old about his Rapids breakthrough, his first MLS goal, and his plans for the 2019 season.https://t.co/vK9RiyiVAj— SCOUTED (@scoutedftbl) November 14, 2018
From a Denver Post article on Cole Bassett training with the Arsenal U-23s this offseason: "Last winter Bassett and Sam Vines trained with Freiburg of the German Bundesliga. Freiburg eventually offered a transfer on each, which spurred other offers for the young local duo."
Overseas interest: 👀I will be flabbergasted if Vines is not sold to a European club way, way, way before 2025 but this re-up gives the Rapids excellent leverage for that deal. His price tag was already ~low seven figures a year ago and he's made further strides since then. https://t.co/j7axgxFcnx— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) March 5, 2021
why are these players who want to play in europe re-signing? makes no sense to me.... on the surface, they can say it doesnt impact if they are transferred...but it doesnt help. in any way. sands and now vines.... these guys are playing with fire
I think it’s because Sam Vines has Aaron Long’s ceiling. He’s good enough for MLS. He’s probably good enough for the CONCACAF and will punch above his weight at the international level. However, he’s not good enough to stand out in the international market for a club to buy him.
Depends on how the contracts are worded. Like with Reggie Cannon, he and his agent basically put in a poison pill in his contract that his salary would drastically increase the longer he stayed at Dallas (and in a salary cap league, not worth it). Reggie was sold 6 months later, Reynolds sold 6 months after signing a brand new deal.
As someone who likes both players, Long's development was unusual and tough to compare with anyone. He never even played central defense (outside of a few limited occasions) until he was like 23. That was full credit to Jesse Marsch in preseason 2016 who took a chance signing him (Long was out of work) converted him and sent him to RBII to learn the position. That was when RBII won USL and Long was the league's best defender. As for Long, he's a good defender but his career would have been far better had he settled into that position when he was 17 or 18. For what he's done with such a late-age position switch is actually very impressive. But Vines really hasn't shown anything yet why you should bet against him. He's generally improved every season at a very respectable rate. He was solid in 2019 and better in 2020 with Colorado. I think he'll be sold before too long. The new deal just offers him some security and it protects the club from losing for free. It's not an uncommon move around the world for young players to get extensions and still be on the market.
sam vines didn’t make a lot of money and was likely to move abroad. sam vines now makes a lot of money and has a comparatively high salary for a number of years and is even more likely to move abroad. will also say that vines has a way higher ceiling than aaron long, who wasn’t even a pro at this age and was like four years away from establishing himself at rbny.
He’s in that age group where’s he got 1 to maybe 3 years of prime age of prime European interest. Once he hits that 24 mark, he’s pretty much resolved as a career MLSer unless he goes in the ‘traditional’ way of earning a bunch of international caps, making a move into the Championship, and earning promotion through them. However, I prefer the earlier Germany, Netherlands, Belgium route. And I think we should stress that if he does not go to Europe that his career will not progress to the level that we need it to. Although we would like to promote MLS, I think we should all be aware that we will never be a top 10, probably never top 20, with our players playing in MLS.
Who is the poster child for MLS-based American players who let their contract expire and went overseas into a better situation?