YNT-eligible MLS players: 2019/2020 Offseason thread

Still time then to go to rehab, find a higher power and start putting out hits

 

With the moves that FCD has made over the last week I think its more and more likely that we'll see a Reggie Cannon move this month.

1) They reportedly signed a veteran Panamanian fullback named Luis Carlos Ovalle on loan from a Venezuelan club. Not officially announced. Same Venezuelan club that former FCD luminaries Rolando Escobar and Carlos Cermeno came from (Deportivo Tachicha). So not necessarily a player to start, but a depth player.

2) Signed Eddie Munjoma to a first team homegrown deal. Eddie can play on the right or the left.

So now they have 5 first team fullbacks without Reggie (Hollingshead, Nelson, Ovalle, Munjoma, and Reynolds. Reynolds is STILL only 18 years old.) Bressan can also play there I guess. Plus a bunch of other potential signings with NTSC (Almaguer can play there), the academy, and NCAAs down the road.

It just seems to all be lining up......................

 

Aren’t they also over the cap of HG players now as well?

 

Rounds 3 & 4 of the Superdraft were today.

Round 3

54. Nashville SC Shak Adams FW Florida Gulf Coast 9/7/98
57. Orlando City Nick O'Callaghan DF FIU 3/11/97
58. Sporting Kansas City Jaret Townsend MF Washington 1/29/98
62. New York Red Bulls Stavros Zarokostas FW Rhode Island 11/5/97 -
Born in Greece, home town listed as Coventry, R.I.
65. D.C. United Andrew Verdi GK Michigan 3/30/98
66. FC Dallas Derek Waldeck MF Stanford 2/1/98
67. New York Red Bulls Barry Sharifi MF Loyola (MD) 11/10/97
68. Portland Timbers Zac McGraw DF Army 6/8/98
70. Houston Dynamo Duncan Turnball GK Notre Dame (No DOB found, Houston does not have a press release up at this time)
74. New York City FC Parker Siegfried GK Ohio State 2/17/97
75. Atlanta United Phillip Goodrum FW UNC Wilmington 6/20/97 – Announced he signed with Atlanta United 2

Round 4

80. Nashville SC Luke Haakenson MF Creighton 9/10/97
84. Sporting Kansas City James Kasak DF Virginia Tech 2/12/98
92. FC Dallas Aidan Megally MF Loyola Chicago (No DOB found)
93. New York Red Bulls Niko Petridis MF St. John's 9/29/98
96. Minnesota United Andrew Booth MF FIU 7/16/97

 

Ernst Tanner says two more academy signings are coming.

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) January 13, 2020

 

Yes, even after the signing of Pax and Ferreira to senior deals................their developmental first team roster spots are full. One over actually.

1) Reggie Cannon
2) Thomas Roberts
3) Bryan Reynolds
4) Ricardo Pepi
5) Brandon Servania
6) Edwin Cerrillo
7) Eddie Munjoma
8) Dante Sealy
9) John Nelson (GA)
10) Francis Atuahene (GA)
11) Edwin Twumasi (GA)

Obvious ways to open them back up again to sign other youngsters if they want to. If they sell Reggie, that opens one back up. They can loan other players on that list out as well, even to North Texas SC. [I don't know what the plans are for Atuahene and Twumasi for instance. They've done fine when given a chance with the first team, and did well out on loan last year. Perhaps they'd be better served going to another club.]

By the way, their senior roster is full if that Panamanian fullback is a reality. They don't have any room to maneuver. So they can't, for instance, sign Brandon Servania to a senior contract without other dominoes on the senior roster falling.

 

If they keep Reggie then he would be signed to a new contract taking him out of the developmental category. From there they would probably move Sealy (not physically ready), and the GA's to North Texas except maybe John Nelson because he plays LB. I would send Bryan Reynolds to NTSC because he is not an MLS level player and I personally don't think he will become one.

 

I'd also add that a club with so many good prospects like FC Dallas needs to adopt a move-up-or-move-out approach to the roster out of necessity. If Atuahene and Twumasi aren't ready, they should be sold, cut, or loaned out for the year to get them off the 30-man roster.

For the most part it's a good problem to have.

It's also worth noting that the new CBA might bail them out of this "developmental roster" issue, though of course nobody can count on that. I'd like to see the new rules make it a bit easier for clubs like FCD in this sort of situation.

 

Official ✍️

Welcome to the First Team, Aidan! #Crew96

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) January 14, 2020

 

As expected. Should have another one on the way. Hopefully announced in the next couple days.

 

HOMEGROWN: We've signed John Tolkin to an @MLS Homegrown contract, pres. by @premiofoods

📰➡️ https://t.co/T05jp6ucJm#RedRunsDeep | #RBNY pic.twitter.com/3OrTgCkk1S

— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) January 14, 2020

 

Finally someone younger than all those 22/23yr olds on NYRB2 that took playing time away from potential USYNT prospects.

 

home🅶rown.

Welcome to the big leagues, @EricLopezGK!

— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) January 15, 2020

 

Out of all the exciting players in their academy this is the least exciting prospect they could have signed. They're losing big time by not signing KHF or Jonathan Perez. Every other player is a pretty subpar consolation prize compared to them.

 

Lopez is good, but they also have Vom Steeg, whose not yet been given first team minutes. Both should be getting a chance to play by now, but MLS teams do not like playing young goalkeepers. It's part of why our GK production is falling significantly behind our player production at other positions.

 

Milan Iloski leaves UCLA a year early and inks a HG deal with RSL.

https://www.rsl.com/post/2020/01/15/rsl-signs-homegrown-forward-milan-iloski

 

NCYFC vs. Corinthians just underway in the first MLS preseason game of the year. Stream here though just in NYCFC's home market.

NYCFC XI | Barraza, Scally, Ibeagha, Sands, Rocha, Haak, Torres, Fatah, Zelalem, Jasson, De Rosario

Subs | Mizell, Taylor, Gray, Amponsah, Dumas, Suchecki, Kim, Kapanadze, Fortune, Perez, Lansade, Acito, Flax

 

Here's a non-geo blocked stream.

https://www.corinthianstvplay.com.br/videos/a0bd36ff-9b6f-4883-9394-b287573c8412#=

 

Finally, NYCFC could have an answer to one of NYRB's OG homegrowns, Giorgi Chirgadze.

 

They’ve already tried to sign Kobe, but Gary Kleiban is his agent and he’ll sign in Europe this summer. Kleiban might also be Perez’s agent/advisor as well.

You know why Gary’s brother, Brian, got fired by the Galaxy right?

 

Trust me I'm well aware. It's a shame what happened to Brian because of his brother. So far three 343 players (Efra, Jorge Hernandez, Cam Dunbar rumored to) will sign for the galaxy while they miss out on Kobe, Mendez, Llanez, and Perez. Efra is probably gone when he turns 18 as well. Everyone on here needs to pray that Kobe does not go to Bayern who have huge interest in him.

 

Why? It's not like they've been terrible for Richards so far. It might delay your playing with the first team but it's amazing training opportunities every day.

Plus, honestly, Kobe is one of those guys that I think will be fine pretty much anywhere. His left foot is simply too good. There just aren't that many left backs in world football with that kind of ability striking the ball.

 

We don't want Kobe to get stuck in the 3 bundesliga. Alphonso Davies is killing it at left back and will undoubtedly be their backup if Alaba is hurt or converted to center back. As good as Kobe is, for left back the road to the Bayern first team will be shut for quite some time. He is better off at any other bundesliga club or Ajax who we all know have fullback depth issues.

 

Kleiban was not an agent when Efra signed with the Galaxy, and I’ve heard they were disappointed when Efra went that path and is kind of what set the whole motion of Gary becoming an agent.

Dunbar isn’t really a Kleiban kid through and through, more similar to Araujo. He was recruited from Albion in San Diego.