This kids have been doing this to us all this month. Making us look like fools. Couldn't be happier about it frankly.
I know it's only one game but his finishing looked top notch! Very confident on the ball like if he has been playing against pro for years.
Let's be greedy. Let's send all of our right backs to Europe........... https://t.co/9k9WoDb3s5— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) January 10, 2021
And here's yet another youngster for the competition. US U20 winger/attacking midfielder Cam Harper with the start for Celtic today. He's made the bench a bunch of times without appearing. This is his first team debut. 📋 Your #CelticFC team to face Hibernian at Celtic Park.First team coach Gavin Strachan takes charge of the team tonight, supported by Reserve team Manager, Tommy McIntyre & Reserve team coach, Stephen McManus.#CELHIB🍀— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 11, 2021
He's still raw, but I think Cowell will turn heads and make up more ground than a lot of the other candidates. Richards is blue chip all the way. I don't know if he'll get enough playing time to shine. Hoppe is intriguing. I like Clark I like Tessman I like Roberts' game a lot. I'll go with Cowell for my breakout player.
Thomas Roberts? Interestingly, Bayern Munich wanted to bring Thomas Roberts over on loan last season. FC Dallas didn't let Thomas go because they thought they were going to need him. Then the season was shot to hell, and they didn't. That kid has been around so long that we forget he's only 19. Could he be the "next Bryan Reynolds?" A kid that's been around FCD for a long time waiting for an opportunity, and will then shine when a spot is freed up? Maybe. Like Reynolds stuck behind Cannon, Roberts has been stuck behind Pomykal. Cade Cowell is an interesting prospect. There's seemingly a lot of skepticism about him on the youth boards. But all Cowell did last season as a 16 year old was impact MLS games when he got an opportunity. Certainly one to keep an eye on. USSF scouts must like him as they called him WAY up in age groups to the U23s. I actually think that for 2021, Ricardo Pepi in Dallas is going to get more playing time than Cowell in San Jose. My prediction? RIcardo Pepi is FCD's leading scorer in 2021. [Based on their roster right now anyway.] Another batch of CLint Eastwood predictions. Dante Sealy will be sold to Europe by FCD at his 18th birthday in April. Tanner Tessmann will also move to Europe at the end of the 2021 season. Who is the next homegrown signings for Dallas? Hell, it could be one of 20 players. I'll go with Jordan Jones. A 2005 that's currently training with the U19s. He'll break into North Texas this season.
Hype is cooling off, at the moment: Owen Otasowie, Wolverhampton Johnny Cardoso, Internacional Konrad de la Fuente, FC Barcelona Chris Richards, Bayern Munich Folarin Balogun, Arsenal Malick Sanogo, Union Berlin Uly Llanez, Heerenveen, on loan from Wolfsburg These players have been nowhere to be found lately. We really needs our potential breakout players to step it up.
Our already-breakout players' current forms are as well not good now, including Pulisic, Adams, Sargent.
You wanna talk about a breakout that nobody saw coming. True story................Matthew Hoppe is tied for the most goals by a teenager in a top 5 league. Anybody who says they say this coming is lying straight to your face. Schalke fans didn't see this coming. This is a player who wasn't scoring in the German 4th division for Schalke II. Its seemingly out of nowhere. Cardoso has been out with injuries since November. Just made his return. 1350977340139073538 is not a valid tweet id
Alex Mendez has returned to Jong Ajax after being out 3 months with an injury. Let's hope he can gain some momentum in the 2nd half of this season. Good luck tonight, #JongAjax! ×××↝ 18:45hrs↝ @ESPNnl#jutjaj pic.twitter.com/DPP7UFJ16V— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) January 18, 2021
Hoppe again. Minute 1:55. Before that he has a substandard first touch and maybe could have scored earlier.
Hoppe was lucky. The defender was more concerned about blocking the other Schalke player than getting to the ball, enter Hoppe to finish it.
I can't imagine anyone catching Hoppe at this point... maybe Musah or Aaronson? Even assuming he becomes mortal again he is going to keep starting for Schalke the rest of the year.
Hoppe was a scoring machine in the DA. He moves to Germany, doesn't do much for a year. Gets into the first team and has the most goals in the Bundesliga in 2021. Incredible. Is it a fluke? How do we tell? I hear he isn't fast or super technical or anything. But when I watch the latest, "lucky" goal or the last, I notice that he might have one attribute that is elite: his acceleration. Maybe his top speed is average, but he gets to his top speed in a step or two. When that ball drops today, he is the furthest of four players and beats them all to it. On his fourth goal, I think he is in faster than expected which catches the GK & CB in between. Again, his top speed might not be elite. But his burst might be. Maybe something he has learned to use recently and that is why he seems to have clicked. Or maybe he doesn't score again and by next December is a footnote on this thread.
He is not slow but he doesn't have T. Weah speed. No, he is not technical. His hold up play is nowhere the level of a Sargent or Jozy, his is more of a Zardes level. He does anticipate very well, almost at the level of a Dempsey. I say almost because the sample size is small. He is strong, doesn't easily breakdown like Pulisic or Adams. He is an odd duck that may become a swan one day.
After 10 starts is when much more reasonable assessments can be made on the upper levels of Hoppe's abilities. So far, so good, however. Bayern Munich are on Saturday. They'll be the first top team he'll have started against.
Pippo Inzaghi was about as non athletic as they come, but he had amazing instincts in front of goal. Hoppe’s a poacher, for sure. But those instincts in front of goal, especially if they’re at an elite level - which we hope that Hoppe is at, are a great thing to have on any team. He has good size, good speed, good reflexes, and if he gets an opportunity, he will place a good shot on target.
His one factor that you can't teach is his positioning where the ball is going to be. That alone makes him unique.
What I like most about him is that he doesn’t give up on a challenge. He’s very hungry to score. A couple of his goals were scored when he shouldn’t have simply because he went harder at it than the defender. In that way, he is very Gyasi-like. But that is one of Gyasi most redeeming qualities - he sees the game well, he works hard, and he puts himself in the right position. But what is frustrating about Gyasi is that the execution is often lacking once he gets there. If Gyasi could put away his chances of just do a little better on that final ball, I swear that Gyasi would have been a UCL level center forward. So, if Hoppe can do all those things that Gyasi can and score - we should expect big things from this youngster.
One more thing that is top notch. His composure when striking the ball. I see no nervousness. That is a rare trait for someone so young.
Someone's gotta bring it up - his xG right now is 2.23, which isn't anywhere near 5, but is still pretty dang good for 460 minutes. His xG/90 is .44, compared to Sargent's .26.