Academies, youth development, representation, mentorship... what's the point of it all? Why don't clubs just spend that investment on wages and transfer fees instead? The case of #ATLUTD starlet Caleb Wiley, one of MLS's top prospects, shows why:https://t.co/L4JlADXVPo— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) May 24, 2024 https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/cale...lanta-united-everything-has-happened-so-quick
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5511449/2024/05/22/mls-transfers-almada-shaqiri-mcguire/ Buck, McFarlane, Ochoa McGuire, McGlynn, Luna
19 year old Gerardo Valenzuela now has 4 starts (all wins) for Cincy one of the best teams in MLS including three in a row, someone needs to create his WIkipedia page already... seems like he graduated from MLSNP after scoring a hat trick vs Philly 2 a month ago. MacMath was a complete disaster, gifting the opponents two goals... they should just give Beavers the starting job he's been the better goalkeeper so far. 🤦🏼 Blooper de Zack MacMath, que termina en el 1-0 de @FCDallas. pic.twitter.com/szPUCRvlTY— Rincón MLS (@RinconMLS) May 26, 2024 ❌ Segundo ERROR grosero de la noche de MacMath. Le acaba de servir un nuevo gol a Dallas. pic.twitter.com/EUywmBJ8zt https://t.co/KWPhp9MIay— Rincón MLS (@RinconMLS) May 26, 2024 Luna on the other hand is better than ever after a slow start, now at 4 goals 7 assists Diego Luna 🇺🇸 gets one back for Real Salt Lake 🌙🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/yLZQ7hW6pR— 🇺🇸 USMNTvsHaters (@USMNTvsHaters) May 26, 2024
These two seem like the most likely to me: Buck sold to a team in the EPL. Luna sold with a loan back to RSL until the end of the season.
I think McFarlane is the most likely of that group to go in the summer. I mean, he's a starter for England U17s at the U17 Euros. English clubs reportedly want him. If City want him to come to their academy, in the UK as opposed to NYCFC, that'll happen soon.
Buck hardly plays now. 186' in 7 appearances. 0/0 G/A. Hardly screams EPL to me. Maybe League One? Championship at best.
While Buck hasn't looked close to the same level as he did in 2023 before his injury, it's hard to hold not playing much against him when the Revs are 29th / 29 with 7 points (0.5 PPG)... we'll see how he looks after their inevitable coaching change.
I think he’s better than his minutes. Porter notoriously is not youth friendly and the team is struggling. Not the time he’s going to start trusting a teenage midfielder.
He's probably better but the gap between NE and PL is immense. No way he goes there or he should go. He might go to CC or Swansea, but not sure whether that would be a good move.
I think if he’s sold to an EPL team they’d loan him out immediately, probably to a team in the Championship.
They’re such a mess it’s hard to judge Buck given circumstances. Matt Doyle had a stat in his article tonight that there xG difference per 90 is the worse ever in the MLS database (which goes back to 2017).
I could see him being open to playing a bit at the U21 level before seeing what first team/loan opportunities were available if it's for a decent club in the EPL.
Cole Bassett, though. THis looks real and not just a couple of weeks of "hot form." I don't know how we fit him in. Another goal contribution for Cole “Goal Contribution” Bassett (‘01). This time a perfect cross. That’s 8 on the season (5G, 3A).I think we’re probably talking about the best U-23 American in MLS so far this season. Putting his name back on the USMNT map without a doubt. https://t.co/LJVbMaWId0— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) May 26, 2024
Diego Luna certainly has a case for best U-23 American in MLS so far this season... 3 goals 7 assists and RSL is top of the western conference. Also he got off to a slow start and said a few weeks ago that pressure on and off the field was affecting his mental state.
You'd have to wonder if he was playing if they'd be better. It's not like Arena was free with minutes to very young players unless they were damn good. Similar problems in Dallas with a coach who is not a good fit at all with a team built off of a good academy. Could be the players aren't good enough but I recognize the Hyndman tech where Uloa was cut under him, brought back shortly after Pareja took over and had a 10? year MLS career. Sometimes the coach is wrong (funny because on another thread I sort of defended them always being wrong).
Speaking of clubs that are a mess.....................what on Earth is going on in Kansas City? They handed the keys to the car over to Vermes, and he drove it off a cliff. Their academy was really seen as moving in a great direction at one point, and now its "meh." They're somehow worse than Dallas and San Jose right now. [There are no current FCD homegrowns as good as those in New England. I don't know what Porter is doing, but I suspect that there are bigger issues in Revs-land. That's seemed like a colossal mess behind the scenes since the Arena issue.]
They have a crowded territory in the Midwest (Kansas isn’t a soccer hotbed, let’s be real), and they aren’t creative like an RSL or FC Cincinnati with their recruiting.
Columbus also. SKC's last big recruit was Busio and they haven't signed an HGP since 2021. They're only getting serious minutes from that last batch from Jake Davis. I'd have to say that they have a serious recruiting issue.
Luna Wolff Vargas Matchday 16 was full of thrills and these young stars played a major role in why. 👏This week's youngest and brightest: https://t.co/AXtRtxQxhr pic.twitter.com/F79R1gmWnh— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 28, 2024
St Louis is historically a relative hotbed, and SKC controlled that area until the last couple of years. So I don't think you can dismiss it on lack of talent available. I'd say they have an integration issue as well. Pierre looked good in other settings and in limited opportunities for SKC, but they never expanded them. EPB is nothing special as it's turned out, but he's good enough to start on most MLS clubs, and his lack of chances for a couple years in SKC could have stunted him. They had a couple of keepers in Brooks Thompson & John Pulskamp who looked promising, but they never handed over the reins from Melia. Cam Duke showed promise, but he was never committed to for an extended period. I think Vermes is old-fashioned, and conservative, as Bruce Arena was before he decided to evolve. It's too bad SKC made that run to eek into the playoffs last year, in part due to the generous system. He'd have been at risk for termination otherwise. They're last again, so the calls are back for his head.