richards is a long shot, but this (and the bs love that goes along with it) is about status. reynolds to an italian power or a sexy enough club, if he gets say a third of his teams minutes, would stand out. bremen said sarge was going right into the first team also, and (much less importantly) ive just never really seen it with scally. but hes also in that big ynt name/sort of hidden away in an academy mold as reyna. heres to being so wrong again, right? as i said i expect aaronson to move right in, but the (relatively) low level (on every non-cl matchday) is going to be tricky to overcome. but back to richards- i doubt bayern will get upamecano because there are deep pockets interested and they really do bidding wars. they also dont do (very rarely, i should say) loans. if gets to the top 3 cb rotation (and barring a big transfer in, in which case he should push to leave permanently) i think thats the pick of the list being bandied about currently. i think "player no ones talking about tbd" is the statistical fav.
There is some talk that the Upamecano deal to Bayern is already done. This is the Sun, so who knows............ Dayot Upamecano ‘agrees to Bayern Munich transfer’ in huge blow to Arsenal and Man Utd after chasing RB Leipzig defender – The Sun But anyway, the point here is that Bayern Munich can go out and sign almost anybody they want. So the standard that Richards has to meet in order to become a regular starter for them is extremely high. Higher than even the standard that a player like Yunus Musah has to reach (who's currently on a bottom half La Liga club). RIchards has to be one of the World's best at CB. Is he? Bayern also, of course, have a couple of other really-well-thought-of young CBs. Frenchman Tanguy Nianzou for instance. Anyway, I'm just not convinced that Richards is going to be given enough of an opportunity at Bayern to win this award. He'll be making gameday squads and making the occasional appearance if he stays. He'll either need to be loaned out or sold, which is a real possibility. I'm hopeful that if Bayern does sign Upamecano or somebody else that will result in them selling Richards down the table in the Bundesliga. Gladbach, Frankfurt, Hertha, Freiburg type of clubs. Become an established starter there first, and then worry about that next jump up in class.
He's leader in the clubhouse. I had no clear #1 beforehand for this yr, but Otasowie was my #2 after Ledezma as of a few months ago. And we know what happened to Richie. (knocks on wood).
I'd say Musah is the clear #1 the second he commits. I mean, he's a La Liga regular already. But Otasowie is certainly one of the guys making a case. 1338924392651366404 is not a valid tweet id Owen Otasowie vs Chelsea (12/15/20) https://t.co/yfseUIICkk— FalseFullback (@FalseFullback2) December 15, 2020
You just gave two of the strikes against Musah as a candidate (not committed, arguably already broke out), so Otasowie is the early leader here.
What I saw from Otasowie was that he's still really raw. I'm not convinced yet. Yes, the kid is an absolute monster in terms of physical tools. RIght now I have Johnny ahead of Owen on the #6 depth chart (both eligible for the U20s and U23s). I won't be surprised if Owen is moved to CB. OKAY. TIMEOUT.19-year-old Owen Otasowie is YOLKED. 💪 pic.twitter.com/7dMPxOMWcq— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) August 13, 2020
So, arguably, Jedi is eligible for the list with only 8 caps but then again this year has only had 1 FIFA date that we used. Just want to get a concensus on this before he inevitably is brought up. I vote he shouldn't be counted.
Owen's outcomes were very good for his position and minutes. He maybe rough looking but both offensively and defensively he is doing what he should and beyond. Owen Otasowie in his Premier League debut:45 minutes played30 touches1 assist2 key passes1 big chance created13/16 passing6 duels won2 tackles4 interceptions1 blocked shot pic.twitter.com/i3MgKDJBSa— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) December 15, 2020
1 Musah 2 Johnny 3 Reynolds 4 Kayo 5 Otasowie Cardoso plays in Brazil, so it’s tough to stand out as a young player. He simplifies the game very naturally and does everything well. He’s primed to make a Euro move with more national team exposure.
I don't think he looked rough at all. He uses his large body very well for someone so young. He out dueled Mount; in a challenge Mount usually wins (the one thing he does well really). Then he out dueled Kante in another. Then Abraham in a another. His touch looks good, his passing was good. He seemed a little hesitant on where to go in build up, but was in the right places on offense and defense. If he was 5'9", he would have looked like a typical EPL midfielder. But since he is 9'5" tall, people try and peg him as a CB.
I think there are fair critiques about his off ball movement on both ends. He saunters around instead of moving suddenly into the open space to be a recipient on offense. And he also doesn't have that urgency light often times to recover on d or rotate. So he needs to work on those things & they are causes for concern as a cm. Wouldn't be as much of an issue at cb. But I do think there's presumption he's clumsy on the ball because he's big and that's not really true. He's pretty smooth and nimble actually. Allows him to evade pressure, keep possession, & make an advancing pass. I expect this to only improve as he gains comfort in the big leagues. Though he hasn't shown much vision passing outside his area from what I've seen.
Otasowie has star power. So he has an advantage. He'd also be at a club having unusual success in the EPL right now. If Reynolds transfers to a big team, his stock will rise a lot.
Yeah. I got the same impression at first. He kind of reminds me of Parks. But when Owen turns on the jets, the kid is fast. Owen can defend like a CB, that is something Parks never had.
Reynolds is another guy that wasn't on the initial list. We really should have learned from Dest. There are kids who are going to rocket through the ranks like nobody's business.
The initial list is just something to laugh about next December. You don't have to be predicted to win to win.
Oh, I completely get it. I thimk it was a good list. What is amazing to me is that it hasn't been a week and we have three amazing news stories about kids who aren't on the list. That's a new candidate every two days.
Reynolds has got to be one of the biggest shooting stars we've seen in MLS........maybe ever. I'd have to think about that. He was an afterthought in 2019. I saw him play one game for FCD, and it was in the USOC against New Mexico. He made a bad mistake, and cost his team a goal (and one can argue the game). He didn't play again that year. He was with NTSC, where I thought he didn't stand out in USL League One!!! After the season I speculated that FCD might not pick up their option and let him walk. After they sold Cannon, they didn't start Reynolds right away. They moved Hollingshead to right back and started Nelson on the left. So I'm not sure Reynolds was even the #1 plan for FCD there. But that Hollingshead experiment didn't work, so then they tried Bryan. He played well right away, and FCD signed him to a lucrative contract extension thru 2024 (with an option for 2025). Eve that was astonishing. But then he played so well, that he got Europe's attention right away. I don't even know how they knew he existed. Where they watching FCD games for somebody else? Tanner Tessmann? I don't know. So now he's gone from a total afterthought to even FCD fans...............to receiving 10 million pound offers for him in one calendar year. Unbelievable.
Reynolds literally grew. He stood out as a physical phenomenon immediately much like Alphonso Davies did. I mentioned him as an impending export on this forum immediately because he looked like a man among boys out there and he has the tools everyone wants in addition to a clear degree of physical superiority. I think that his case goes to show just how important it is to be a superb athlete in the top leagues. Americans tend to talk about skill a lot because we have an inferiority complex, but the key to getting minutes in a top league is having high level athletic traits.
Well, if Reynolds takes off and Cannon continues to improve; then that’s going to push Dest to LB full time.