The golden boot winner from the 2013 Nike Friendlies has his eyes set on a move to Europe. https://twitter.com/travismclark/status/413054661927899137 http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...uct-haji-wright-leads-us-under-17s-4-1-win-an He's a Galaxy academy product.
Travis Clark also said that he thinks Wright will look to Germany because of the ease to get a work permit or whatever a kid of his age needs to play in Germany.
There's no work permit in Germany, but he would still need an EU passport to move (anywhere in Europe) before his 18th birthday.
He trained with Fulham this past summer. Last sentence is important. http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club...-academy-eyes-american-ynt-additions_aid28988
That worked so well for Junior Flores. He is a March 1998, so he has a way to go to get to 18. If he has a Euro passport or his family can move for "non-football reason," then he might be able to make it, but it isn't a cakewalk.
I just find it curious why he would be going to Europe now if that is true. He has to wait until March of 2016 until he can officially move to Europe. Maybe he will sign with a club and just go back and forth for a few years, but this move seems more immanent than that from the way Travis Clark made it seem.
Aren't I correct in saying Haji is the son of former Kanas City Wizard's player and indoor legend, Paul Wright?? I think I heard / read that. If so, Paul was born in England (raised mostly in the US) and if Haji had opportunities in England it should make it a little easier to secure a deal.
Junior Flores didn't come out and tell the press that he was getting an agent and looking for a move to Europe. I would think that its more immanent than March of 2016.
I don't think Haji Wright is the son of Paul Wright. This post by DMN in the De La Torre thread seems to clear it up:
Your saying I'm not Wright but wrong?? Damn. I was positive I was. Since Haji is a So Cal guy and Paul currently owns and operates Speed to Burn, a speed training school, in So Cal. I connected the dots but the dots apparently don't match!
Something really doesn't compute here. I agree with the analysis above. 1) Wright doesn't have access to a Euro passport. 2) Wright is a March 98, meaning he can't physically move to Europe until the spring of 2016. So, what's the deal? Is he going to sign a pre-contract with a Euro club and continue training at Bradenton until the end of the U17 cycle? Is the Euro club going to pay the Galaxy to let him train there? [What we can call the Charles Renken Memorial Plan.]
Watched the highlights (ONLY THE HIGHLIGHTS) of the England and Brazil games the other day and Haji stood out immediately--and not because of the goal-scoring, but because of his size and fluidity, comfort on the ball, field awareness, simple yet tricky play (I hope you know what I mean--he's got the "shakes" but doesn't try to over-fancy it). Then he scored bunches of goals with ease, against really quality opposition. Then I found out he's on the Galaxy UNDER 16 TEAM! Holy shit, that's impressive. Obviously, how he fares now isn't an indicator of the player 5 years from now, but it's a pretty good start. Especially considering that what often happens with younger stars is that they hit a growth spurt and that changes their game drastically. Haji, however, looks like he must be over 6 ft already, so, unless he's due for another 6 inches of growth, he's probably pretty well-acclimated to what will be his full-grown size (minus some bulk, of course). These are good signs. Also of note, sounds like a really well-put-together kid, smart, bright, well-spoken, and doesn't come across as arrogant. I like all these things in a player--but, of course, some of those things can change rapidly if he makes it big somewhere.
He has no EU passport connections. Unless his parents move to Europe he will be doing the back and forth thing. Why not stay with the Galaxy...
LA Galaxy seems to have a good track record of recognizing really good young talent and bringing them up through their system. I wish the Timbers had these players in their pipeline, and I imagine everyone else does too.
They did but couldn't keep him Alejandro Segovia, who is actually in the Timbers academy, spent a lot of time with the US U17s as well.
After hearing what Ben Lederman's parents are going through to keep him at Barcelona, I worry that a family overreaches when trying to get their son to Europe.
Taken from the days of my favorite Dallas Cowboy speed merchant Alexander "If lovin you is wrong I don't want to be" Wright. Guy literally ran a sub 4.1 40 and had hands like the Stones on Easter Island. He actually made the Kessel run in less than "11" parsecs.