Youth Yanks Abroad (1997s or later)

Nick Taitague starts and scores vs Bayer Leverkusen’s U-19

40.| 3:0!!! @NTaitague macht das Ding für die #U19! 🎊🎊🎊 #schmiede #s04

— Knappenschmiede (@knappenschmiede) February 21, 2018

 

I love that our boys continue to be key contributors on one of the top youth teams in one of the top leagues in the world. Interested to see what they can do with Zyen Jones. #progress

 

Even though Goff already broke the story I have a feeling he's talking about Booth. Maybe it's Garces



Eskilson made another scouting report -

 

Love that someone is actually putting videos like this together. Really, we should have videos like this for hundreds of kids by now.

Given that the average person in the Twittersphere is not as YNT savvy as BS (youth) posters, I’d expect that “HUGE” means it’s someone the average person knows. That means it’s down to guys like Carleton, Durkin, Adams, etc. But I’m betting it’s someone random and not as big of news as he’s making it out to be.

I also have $1 that says someone like BShred or Goff breaks the story before Ian Joy can. That’s the way this normally works

 

Meanwhile, in news about players already under contract, CCV went 90 in Ipswich's 0-1 loss to second place Cardiff City. No clue if our boy was involved in the goal. Ipswich is now in 14th place and seems very safe to neither drop nor be in the playoff hunt.

Interestingly, at least too me, Carter-Vickers and Antonee Robinson now have the same amount of Championship appearances this season:

Antonee Robinson - 23 Championship games (20 starts), 4 cup games (all starts)

Cameron Carter-Vickers - 23 Championship games (23 starts), 1 cup game (started)

 

I’m sorry but he just seems like a really fast athlete that we’re so good at producing. There wasn’t a single clip in that video of him showing any creativity or dribbling around an opponent. A Bundesliga forward needs to be able to do that.

Ask yourself this too. How many of these super athletic have forwards have come through our youth system in the last 20 years and how many have actually turned out to be quality USMNT starters. Be honest.

 

On Theon the Joy tweet, I’ll make three assumptions:

1. Huge means a player people know outside of BigSoccer.

2. It’s a player who hasn’t already had a move reported to Europe (Booth, Jones).

3. It’s a player without a contract, as MLS doesn’t like taking transfer fees for promising players (Adams, Durkin, Carleton).

Any of these assumptions could be wrong, but if they’re all correct, then Reyna is the only player I can think of who checks all three boxes.

 

I want Jones to make it just so we have an excuse to sing Iron Lion Zion at games he's playing.

 

You must’ve missed the conversation where we said Carleton is only signed through next year. Durkin is only signed through 2020. The tweet doesn’t say when the player will be moving or even if MLS is going to get a transfer fee. Obviously if it was Durkin, they would have to get a fee back. But you’re right that MLS doesn’t seem to have any desire to sell good young players.

 

I saw the Carleton contract discussion, I’m still skeptical of that. Do we have a source better than transfermarkt? Could it include club options like someone else suggested? Even if it didn’t, when is the soonest he could sign a precontract? The summer window?

 

They didn't do anything with the other three. They were all highly touted and top players in their age groups. I don't think you'd find many who would claim that Jones is.

 

It's not a crime to be fast and athletic. Having a physical advantage over an opponent will never be a bad thing.

That video is all of two minutes long, and hand picks a couple of positive movements, and a couple of negative moments, from two games. It's not an in depth scouting profile.

How many of our "super athletic" forwards in the past 20 years have benefited from legitimate coaching instruction and development infrastructure as youth? You're wrong if you think that the cause of their ultimate inadequacies had anything to do with them being super athletic.

I trust that Schalke have done their due diligence to insure that Zyon Jones is within reasonable distance of their technical-tactical standards at the U19 level. I'm sure they didn't just see him running fast and it moved.

 

This is so silly.

 

Nitpick all you want. They worked on minor things with these players. They were very successful before they joined Schalke. This idea that European clubs can turn raw athletes into footballers is absurd.

 

It isn't nitpicking, it's just a matter of reason and accuracy.

To say Schalke did nothing for Taitague, McKennie, or Wright in the context of development is wrong. The fact that they were successful before arriving isn't relevant. To be honest, you don't have any idea what they worked on.

The idea that European clubs can turn raw athletes into footballers is an absurd idea that you just concocted. Nobody else has said or implied that.

 

Aubamayang never dribbles around anyone and led the league in scoring last year. Making the right run, a good first touch, calmness in front of goal, can be just as our more important than being able to dribble.

 

I consider it major progress that they're even interested in our "second-tier" prospects.

And I like this move for Jones. Great athlete with decent technical skills that needs tactical improvement and better professionalism. Sounds a lot like Haji without the top notch YNT resume/production. They'll either improve on his weaknesses (which they are far more capable of doing than any options Stateside) and we might have a useful player or they won't and he'll come back and find his level here. I think it's a risk worth taking and obviously so do Jones, Gibbs and Schalke.

 

I also think it's good that a secondary player has interest from Schalke, I agree. 10 years ago, maybe the best player or two from an age group might get European interest. Guys who can't even make their age group's YNT on merit (IMO) are now getting contracts at big clubs. But I don't think that means we should expect more than we would if this contract never came up. I don't see much soccer skill from Jones. He runs fast and is powerful. I think that's about it.

I also am very opposed to a comparison between Jones and Wright who I think has little in common with Jones game. They are both fast, but I think the difference between two good athletes here is soccer skill, which I think Wright has shown he has and I don't see much of from Jones. We see this all the time. Any good athlete is instantly compared to another good athlete who played a similar position (they don't even play the same position). Some in this forum after the U-17 WC said that Wright was just an athlete, he was being compared to Quavis Kirk. Yet, this was clearly not the case and he's proven himself since. Since playing for the U-17's, he's always showcased good technical ability and good finishing. I don't think anyone would claim he's an athlete-only now. I think this also shows up in their production through the different levels. Wright has been dominant just about everywhere he's played.

And sometimes those types of athlete-only
opinions are correct. IMO, Jones is an athlete-only. I think it sounded like Eskilson said that in a nice way in that video. I've not really seen anyone claim he's a skilled player, whether it was before him signing or after. I think he was the sixth best '00 from Atlanta's academy after Carleton, Garces, Goslin, Crain and Asensio. I could also understand arguments for Brighton, Castro or McGann ahead of Jones. It seems like a bizarre signing. I hope he makes it at Schalke though.

 

This describes Wea more than Jones.

 

There's a reason Jones is only signed on at Schalke thru the 2018-2019 season. He has a year and a half to prove he's more than just an athlete. Not much time.

But hey, clubs like Schalke want to work with our raw materials to try to identify "diamonds in the rough." Gotta be happy for that.

 

I am happy Jones is getting a chance in Germany.

I doubt he would even be able to play for ATL2 in USL, so this is a good option and better than college soccer.

I don’t expect anything from him, because he has never impressed me and isn’t even productive for ATL Academy, but you never know. He is certainly a good athlete.

 

If nothing else it's a good test to see if a really good academy can improve a really good athlete. A measure of progress as it were.

 

Ipswich defeats Preston North End 1-0. Cameron Carter-Vickers goes a full 90 in the away win. Ipswich has conceded 4 goals in 7 games since the #USMNT central defender joined the club on loan

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) February 24, 2018

 

Antonee Robinson goes 90 in Bolton's scoreless draw with Norwich.