Youth Yanks Abroad, ‘01-‘04 YOBs (and younger): 2019/20 Thread

No different than recruiting for baseball.

I guess with baseball they have to stay 3 years if they go to college, but still you sign players and then they get drafted and go pro leaving you high and dry if you don't have a contingency plan.

At least with college soccer there is a big pool of high quality foreign players...like Clemson typically signs 1 maybe 2 interesting US players and I am like how will this team be good, but then fall practice starts and some African or Scandinavian who just shows up unannounced is dominating and the team is pretty good.

 

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I'll be surprised if all 12 actually make it to college this August. Fully expect a couple of these, at least, to sign somewhere before then.

Case in point.

 

Of that list, I'm nearly sure Eliot Jones is part of the 2021 class instead of 2020. He's an '03, not an '02.

Forbes has already been trying to secure a professional contract. I suspect if he can secure one, he'll do so. Jasson is reportedly the next NYCFC HG, so I doubt he'll attend college. I think Bonilla is looking to turn pro, and if nothing else materializes, he would probably sign with NTSC. Armour seems like a good bet to trial across Europe at some point in the upcoming months. He has plenty of exposure with the U-17 NT.

 

He's been in Germany recently, he was with Nuernberg and St. Pauli in February.

 

Looks like SMU or Oral Roberts for Burns. Depends on the $$$ I guess.

 

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College soccer has very quickly been fleeced by MLS academies and the data really supports it.

Over the next decade we will start to see independent USL clubs (San Antonio, Phoenix, Louisville, Orange County, San Diego, Charleston, Las Vegas, Indy 11, Tulsa, OKC, Memphis, El Paso, Hartford, Birmingham) form their own academies and start signing players out of high school too. Some are doing it already. Add this in with MLS youth unfriendly clubs changing their ways (Chicago, New England, Houston) and new MLS academies who are either in their early phases or yet to start (Charlotte, St Louis, Nashville, Austin, Sacramento, Cinci, Miami, Minnesota, LAFC) and we will see almost every major area of the country have a fully funded academy within a reasonable commutable distance. This is where we see the sport take off and the USMNT/USYNT flourish.

 

'02 Mexican-American forward Ruben Hernandez training at VVV-Venlo. His 21 goals with Xolos and Queretaro makes him the U17 Liga MX scoring leader despite missing some time. He was originally with Atletico United FC in Stockton, CA. Was with the US U17s for the 2018 Nike Friendlies but has no other international experience. I'm pretty sure his U17 call-up came before he actually moved to Mexico, so it's interesting that the USSF identified and invited a standout from a non-DA, non-USLA, non-ECNL side.

🚨CAMPEÓN DE GOLEO A HOLANDA🚨

Rubén Hernández(17) estará entrenando de una a dos semanas con el @vvv_venlo_1903 club de la Eredivisie. Fue campeón de goleo con Xolos sub-17 la temporada pasada. ¡MUCHA SUERTE! pic.twitter.com/TsqcIKhTQE

— Jovenes Futbolistas MX (@Jovenesfutmx) March 11, 2020

 

Tampa Bay Rowdies have their own academy and are part of the DA.

 

Simons part of the video is the second minute of the video. Looks like a linking #8 from this video IMO.

Catalana U14
FC Barcelona Infantil B

Landry Farré
Adrian Simons

（Video that I'm not good at editing. Camera is low and distant.） pic.twitter.com/BOX8l6LfUr

— ANTONI (@LaMasiAntoni) March 14, 2020

 

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Armour has also trialed at various 2. Bundesliga clubs.

'02 GK Seth Wilson turns 18 today and his Instagram story is a photo of him at Austria Wien. Seems possible he'll be signing there.

 

Is he out of the country right now? Seems a bad time for trials.

 

His dad is a doctor so I assume he has the scratch to pay for school if soccer doesn't work out for Adam, which is often a consideration for these kids.

At the same time, doctors tend to want kids to prioritize education.

Basically, I don't know shit about this kid's situation.

 

Don't know anything about the players but here are a couple more young guys at FC Kaiserslautern. Kind of hard to believe their first team is in the B3 given their history but them's the breaks.

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/adrian-colon-at-kaiserslautern.2109550/#post-38605214

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/liam-gainey-at-kaiserslautern.2109549/

 

Here's an '03 midfielder at FC St. Gallen U17 listed on Transfermarkt with US citizenship. The '03 year has a number of dual-nat options in Europe to supplement the talented domestic crop, including in the academies of Milan, Sporting CP, Mainz, Werder Bremen, Forest Green Rovers.

https://www.transfermarkt.us/elvin-marisenovic/profil/spieler/708032

 

Couple of thoughts: as more US academies exist and more players are told at age 18 there is no professional contract in the offing then college soccer might start to become populated with more academy players...possibly?

If all of those academies exist there likely will be more quality players who are told college (or something else) will be their best choice. Whether those players are prepared for and want to attend college will be another question.

 

I've looked into this dude a few times and just can't seem to find anything more than proof of his existence. Doesn't mean anything necessarily, just -- frustrating, I suppose. I emailed the club a while back and heard nothing. Maybe worth noting him on the DWT:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/t...-guy-is-a-yank-detective-work-thread.1987805/

 

Can't remember who it was but saw a tweet from a parent whose kid was trialing in Europe and he was on his way home and the dad was grateful. That must have been intensely stressful for parents.

 

I wish he was faster. He has about pro average pace. He'll beat some slower players with pace, but most wingers usually are faster. I like his technique, dribbling ability and simple approach in the final third. He's not incredibly creative and he struggled with end-product last season, but I don't have big concerns about his ability to influence goals. He should be a good player in Europe. He's likely not Barcelona level, but he should be good enough to be a regular with the NT, even with the improving level of the team.

 

It really jumped out at me with the U20s how many times Konrad would beat his defender -- then the defender would catch back up to him before he could make a play. Of course, some of that might have been just a function of him playing up against more-developed players, but it's probably safe to assume that he's not gonna suddenly become uncatchable. The good news is that there are ways he can adapt his game to make that less of an issue and a guy who can always beat his man is an asset.

 

His instagram is @e.marseni

 

I think his ceiling is a mid-table bundesliga or la liga level player and I’m perfectly fine with that. His style of play needs elite speed to make it to the next tier but even at a mid table German side that is great for an American player who is not at the top of his age group.

 

According to reports, Joshua Pynadath is leaving Ajax.

 

A lot of his fans will go with him. For many of them, they liked that he played at Ajax, not his game.

I think this is a good move for him. He should be able to carve out a pro career, but not at that high of a level.