YNT-eligible MLS players: 2019/2020 Offseason thread

He was good in 2018 and really shockingly bad in 2019. I know! I saw all his games, many in person. Made Wil Trapp look like a hybrid of Claude Makelele and Sergio Busquets.

 

I think Durkin is a good example of a couple realities of player development.

One, I think the move to Belgium was a bit of a time-driven wake up call for him. He's said he feels a stronger sense of urgency and need to compete, and I don't doubt it. The funny thing is: it's not like he was starting in DC. He should have felt that urgency in DC but he didn't. Probably because of expectations and being home and all that.

Two, the Belgian league isn't worse than MLS (though his team may be). But it is stylistically on the other end of the spectrum -- more skilled and less athletic. Durkin simply fits in better there than he does in MLS (though I imagine he is getting more athletic and could still improve there).

Or at least that's my theory.

 

Yes but take it with a grain of salt because Gary and John Pranjic have a terrible history of product placement with their. They’re more biased than CNN and Fox News.

 

Worth noting that Durkin is only on loan in Belgium..................................
And let's be frank. He's only started 7-8 games for them in league play.
He's doing fine, but also not lighting the world on fire. 1 goal 0 assists.
Its going to be interesting to see if they trigger that transfer clause. Cuz that's not an insignificant amount of money for a lower table Belgian team.

Let's be clear about playing time.

In 2018 Chris Durkin played ~1600 minutes across all competitions for DCU. More than folks probably realize. He got into 25 games.

Right now he's on about 750 minutes across all competitions for a poor team in Belgium.

 

Goals and assists aren't really his game. I don't know if he's having a good season or not but that's not the metric I'd use. The fact that he is playing is a good an indicator as any.

 

Goals/Assists are the worst metric to grade a 6 on. How his teams do in possession and goals conceded are much better metrics to judge. No one would look at Tyler Adams and be angry about a lack of goals and assists. Sergio Busquests, who Durkin plays very similar to, only has 9 goals and has been a first team player for Barca since 2008. An 8 or 10 is fair to judge their production by those numbers.

 

Sure. But I've watched some of these games with Durkin in Belgium.

This notion that he's somehow gone to Belgium, been sprinkled with magical European pixie dust, and is now playing at a different level..................isn't supported by the facts or the eyeballs.

Now I'm all for his loan move to Belgium, because he wasn't getting so much of an opportunity at DCU in 2019. That's fine. And hopefully performances there will catch the attention of bigger clubs than STVV, which is a very small club. If they were in MLS, they'd play in the smallest stadium in the league. Their average attendance would make ChivasUSA blush. I think their average attendance is about 5,000 fans this season. Just so we're all clear about the Belgian League, there are 5 clubs in the league with lower attendance than that. I know we have a colossal inferiority complex about MLS, but come on.

 

Attendance means little to the level of play though. Every American that has trialed, trained, or transfered to any of the top 10 leagues in UEFA have all said the speed of play is faster than MLS. Belgium is #8 in UEFA out of first divisions, probably #9 with the Championship slotting in above somewhere.

Why is MLS speed of play so slow? If the crowds and facilities are better here why is the midfield so devoid of pressure and why is the ball moving so slow? Is it playing during the hot summer? Are MLS rosters so much lower in salary than St. Truiden? St. T has the same Transfrmrkt value as DCU, so why is the play so slow?

Player interviews, stats, they all show the same thing, time and space on the ball is greater in MLS and the speed of play is slower. It can't be fan support, facilities, or even wages, what is it?

 

Is anyone really arguing that Durkin has magically gotten better or should get more than a u23 qualifying look?

 

On the other hand, is it impossible to think a 19 yo could get better over 6 months of time with a step up in competition? He is not someone I would call in to any YNT he is still eligible for. I would not have started him against Ecuador. But I can imagine he is a better player now than then, I would expect it.

I also expect no sale by DCU and him sitting on the bench this summer for them and then leaving for Belgium on a free in Summer 2021.

 

Goff has indicated the Sint Truiden are likely to trigger the option to buy:

Starting regularly now at Sint-Truiden in Belgium, U.S. youth intl @ChrisDurkin0 seems on path to permanent transfer from D.C. United this summer. Turns 20 in Feb. Fee has been kept secret but is ~$2 million. Belgian club will undoubtedly try to negotiate lower figure. #dcu #mls

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 24, 2020

 

Actually, he doesn't say that. He says the fee is probably high and StT will try and buy at a lower amount. Much like the EPB and Porto loan. DCU will think it impossible to sell him for less than the fee, the MLS fan boys will say that StT agreed to the fee then backed out, and Durkin will sit on the bench and leave on a free later having missed a year of development.

 

The speed of play is exactly what Durkin was struggling with in MLS. Whether that was just poor form or something else is debatable, but his struggles here vs. his success there doesn't really support the theory that "every metric proves that the speed of play in MLS is much slower than that of Belgium."

 

For me, Durkin needs to play in a certain system as he is an old school #6. He is not a deep lying playmaker which is the type of player we are now starting to see at the #6 position. These are players that everything runs through and can create from deep.

Durkin is not that type of player. He can succeed in a system where his main requirement is protecting the back line and help in advancing the ball. If anyone expects him to turn into a modern day deep lying playmaker, I don't think it will happen. He is perfectly fine when he has space and time, but so are 99% of players.

There is a place for him out there, just needs to find the right team.

 

There's no way a club like STVV can afford a 2 million transfer fee.
DCU and STVV both knew that from the beginning.
Basically, a meaningless transfer clause.

That would be one of the biggest transfer deals in the history of the club. For Chris Durkin of all people.

Can they renegotiate a better fee? Maybe. We'll see.
More likely, DCU will put him back on the market. Maybe somebody else will pay that 2 million asking price. Who knows if there are other clubs interested. One of the bigger Belgian clubs can pay 2 million.

 

After James Sands' breakout year was cut short, he spent the offseason working to get to the next level. @Kyle_Schnitzer talked to Sands and Fortuna Düsseldorf's sporting director about the player he's becoming. https://t.co/ZBNeII8cyc

— The Outfield (@OutfieldNYCFC) February 25, 2020

 

.@SportingKCII ➡️ #SportingKC

Welcome to the First Team, @john_pulskamp!

🔷🔷🔷#OneSportingWay

— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) February 24, 2020

 

You'll be extremely pleased to know that Nashville signed Tanner Dieterich '98, allowing you to finally check that "pro contract" box on the '15 U17 pool list.


Nashville also signed Luke Haakenson '97. He's from Minnesota — I mean, his name is "Haakenson", so that should have been obvious from the start.

 

Tanner Tessman has signed a HG deal. He might play this weekend from what I heard.

 

Please report to the FC Dallas thread immediately. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation.

 

Wondering how they made it work with them hitting the cap of 10.

Maybe Cannon also inked a deal to make room?

 

The cap just means he counts on the overall team cap right? So inking him means he'll count against the salary cap until someone else is moved out or sold, right?

 

You can explore age trends within individual clubs or across the whole of #MLS yourself in this @tableaupublic dashboard:https://t.co/5FLVSgNWta pic.twitter.com/oPAaPSMMCY

— Steve Fenn //\\ Mast: StatHunting@skrimmage.com (@StatHunting) February 26, 2020