1.5 million plus sell on fee. About the same as Chris Richards to Bayern Munich. It's a decent fee for a CB with very little pro experience who will need time at the academy.
Good for Wynder to get the move but he's more than likely 2 years away from being ready to compete for first team time at Benfica... at lesst
It’s a small bet on their part. They make a handful of similar bets and as long as one pays off they’re all good. Wynder is basically a lottery ticket for them. And they’ve paid for enough lottery tickets that some are bound to pay off.
He's one of our own. 👏Congrats to last night's @LAFC3252 Man of the Match, Erik Dueñas! pic.twitter.com/Qs5gLuxW9U— LAFC (@LAFC) June 8, 2023 Disappointing result for LAFC, but not a bad performance and Dueñas looking more comfortable on the half turn. The game has started to slow down for him and more flair emerging in his passing and dribbling. A couple mistakes in possession but generally a smart player that does the little things right. Effective in midfield in MLS at his age and size (5' 6"?) is quite impressive.
True. But Richards was going to a developmental partner. There was a built-in deal there. Same as how Tyler Adams was a huge bargain for RBL from RBNY. Bigger bargain than Richards! This is a really nice deal for a player that really hasn't done anything yet. Never played above USL level. Large Portuguese teams buy prospects in bulk, and toss most of them. I'll never forget Benfica refusing to let Freddy Adu even train at their facility. Freddy had to train elsewhere in the city with the other "unmentionables."
I think 500k is probably a lot for Louisville. But also Benfica have a date by which they have to exercise that option.
1.2m (so the meme still works) & add-ons don't have anything to do w/ Benfica's investment to incentivize playing/developing him. A sell-on would actually dissuade that if anything. It's a pittance. W/out sifting thru every one, I'd guesstimate they're more invested in 10 CB's in their system right now. And Bayern has a much better track record in having a plan for their youth + prospect acquisitions that come with all types of transfer fees. Booth didn't leave there in bad shape. Whereas Benfica treat them as lotto tickets. They're more like Chelsea. And these players end up typically taking a step down below what the Bayern kids are when they're ejected.
When it comes to the Richards transfer, Tyler Adams transfer, etc....................the MLS clubs cleaned up with the sell-on fees and percentages. I think FCD got 40% of the ~13 million fee to Palace. A helluva lot more than the initial transfer fee. Sometimes those transfer percentages/fees don't amount to a hill of beans (Cannon for instance). But sometimes you clean up. Just a balancing act the selling club has to make. More up front, or more potential on the back end? FCD is about to get another check in the Pepi deal. Maybe another check from the Bryan Reynolds deal too.
There's definitely 10 center backs in the Benfica system that they are more invested in than Wynder. I can't imagine there's even 10 center backs that they paid a fee for in their system. If you look at the 4 center backs on their B team (where he is supposedly starting), they only paid a fee for 2 of the 4 and both were less than what they paid for Wynder. Of the 4 center backs on the first team (plus the two they have out on loan), they paid a fee for 4 of the 6 (all of which was higher than what they paid for Wynder). Past the B team on the youth teams I could only find one center back they paid any fee for and it was the same amount they paid for Wynder. None of this means he'll make it there, but it's also not the case that they've invested more in a ton of other center backs.
USL transfer numbers Largest transfers out of USL 💰📈Josh Wynder: $1.2M + $0,5m/% (Benfica)Hadji Barry: $800k (Future)Kobi Henry: $700k (Reims)José Gallegos: $500k (SönderjyskE)J. Flemmings: $500k (Toulouse)Diego Luna: $300k + $100k (RSL)Hayden Sargis: $150k (DCU)Jo Gómez: $100k (RSOB)… pic.twitter.com/WM2WY6TNUe— US Soccer Plus (@ussoccerplus_) June 9, 2023
Not the most impressive list, but whatever. Flemmings flamed out at Tolouse. Scored one goal this season at the worst team in Ligue 2. Barry scored one goal in the Egyptian League. Gallegos has fallen off the map. Henry and Gomez haven't made first team debuts yet. Henry is hurt. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Gomez this off-season. The fact he hasn't made a first team debut yet is quite disappointing in his case. ...............but at least the ball is in motion. Transfers are happening from the USL.
Matthew Corcoran is one that's definitely looking to go to Europe. He left FCD to be on the Jonathan Gomez path to Europe at 18. He doesn't turn 18 until after the next January window, though.
What I meant was is that USL right now is seeing increasing transfer fees, drafting off the other American successes. But if players like Gomez and Wynder do not provide value, the reputation and thus price of players from that league will drop. Every league has players that are sold that miss, but you would not see the market for MLS players if folks like Pepi, Aaronson, McKenzie, Trusty, Dike, Adams, Larin, Almiron, Davies, etc. didn't provide value on their purchase. I don't expect the same rate of top end of MLS -- there's a reason for the difference in leagues. But they do need a few success stories.
Where is USL in terms of MLS timeline, 2005? 2012? Of course it won't fall neatly on the MLS curve, but in terms of financial stability and infrastructure they feel beyond MLS 1.0 to me.
The league isn't as uniform. And it's not following the exact same path. It's somewhere in in the early stages of MLS 2.0, I think, if that is Soccer Specific Stadiums. Lousiville, Sacramento, Indy all have or are in the stages of building nice stadiums with stable, strong fanbases. But many other USLC teams are far earlier in the process. At the same time, they are also starting academies, which is like the early stages of MLS 3.0 or 4.0, where others in their league are nowhere close. And the real MLS 3.0 -- Beckahm or MLS 4.0 -- Allocation era -- aren't as accessible to USL. They don't have the cash or cache to attract a Beckham, and their salaries are still like 1996-98. So I think we're like in 2003-5 or something but player development is more like 2007 or 2008.
You can't compare the two, because MLS has always been a first division league and USL will always be a second division league. They are definitely not beyond MLS 1.0, given teams are always folding and going on hiatus for years. Teams like Queensboro FC go from having stadium plans to not existing. When are Oklahoma Energy coming back? The Austin team moving to Fort Worth seems to have fallen apart recently? Also a big chunk of USL's success is due to their previous partnership with MLS, that led to a lot of teams choosing USL (Sacramento, Orlando which turned into Louisville, Phoenix, Cincy, etc. etc.). MLS is not the standard though. It's probably already the most successful and stable second division soccer league in US history by a wide margin, even if that's not saying much. If they can start to make money on player transfers, both to MLS and abroad, they can be a viable league long term.
What's going on in Columbus, I thought they had decent player development now... I keep this list updated whenever a new 🇺🇸 U21 is signed to a first team deal in MLS. A few stats: 134: Total # of 🇺🇸 eligible U21s in MLS5.15: Average # of 🇺🇸 eligible U21s per 🇺🇸 MLS clubMost: RSL (11)Least: Crew (0)https://t.co/2lUKHfrhNH— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) June 9, 2023 https://www.ussoccercollective.com/mls/mls-u21s https://www.ussoccercollective.com/mls/mls-u21-impact-rankings
They have 7 U23s with over 100 minutes. Six of them are Americans, and another couple guys with a cup of coffee. So some of it is simply timing.
Shrug. Its also true that USL contracts can be pretty short. These kids are signing there because they want to leave. Don't want to be tied down to MLS deals. Gomez could have gone for more, but set up his contract so he could leave for little at his 18th birthday. Louisville is lucky they got anything. What'll be really nice is USL developed players being bought by MLS clubs with sell-on percentages. Then Euro moves, and continuing profits for the USL clubs. So if, like, Diego Luna can hit at RSL. Its unlikely that many "star" kids are in the USL and not scarfed up by MLS clubs. Why would a kid train at El Paso when Austin or Dallas are on the line? Gallegos stayed at San Antonio when there was MLS interest, and I'm not sure he was well-served by that. You need to maximize your development opportunity every day. MLS clubs are in the habit of extending their guys on long-term deals before selling. FCD does it for a lot of their guys. Maximize their return.
I have no idea what you are responding to. I wasn't trying to explain the transfer prices or why anyone would go to USL or anything. I'm just saying that if no one succeeds in Europe out of there, USL is not going to get as much interest for their players in the future.
Halfway through the @MLS season, the youngest players to feature:🇺🇸 Caden Glover, 16🇺🇸 Matai Akinmboni🇺🇸 Kristian Fletcher, 17🇺🇸 Obed Vargas🇺🇸 Noah Cobb🇺🇸 Miguel Perez🇺🇸 Noel Buck*🇺🇸 Niko Tsakiris🇺🇸 Gavin Beavers🇺🇸 Brooklyn Raines🇺🇸 Benja Cremaschi* - Most Minutes pic.twitter.com/rro2c00wp7— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) June 10, 2023