And he had 5 goals for the Fire in "only" 50 matches played, in 1090 minutes. Who needs Lewandowski, we should have just kept 'mighty' Tom Barlow! Actually, good that he is getting some playing time. Seemed like a decent enough person.
Was he - underutilized? underappreciated? Unmotivated? Not sure. Looking like a change in scenery was needed.
Excessive expectations for a teenager, not all talent is wunderkind, and now that he is maturing his potential is blooming.
I think the first two more than the latter- one of the things that impressed me about him way back in 2021 or so was the way he went after every 50/50 ball like it was his, chased every ball down until hit the end line, and generally seemed to care as much as any of the vets on the team. His creativeness was obviously the draw, but his hustle is what put him in positions to be creative to begin with. Once Greggg came I think it was just a situation where he didn’t fit into the system, and despite his and Greggg’s best efforts, it made more sense to move on than to try fitting the round peg into the square hole.
He seemed to lose that drive for the 50/50 ball. I too imagine what Gregg was asking simply didn’t fit his style. I’m just glad he didn’t go to another MLS team.
I didn’t see that from him, but I did see him being less aggressive offensively to fit in what appeared to be Gregg’s desire to have him play more of a two way (rather than attacking) role. Hard to tell intent, of course, and I was watching way more games on tv last year compared to actually attending and seeing the whole field in previous years, so there may be some things I missed. I would’ve been furious if we let him to another MLS team, probably more so than I am that the USMNT let him go. It’s been fun watching him meet the moment in league and national games since the move. I’m very happy for him and hope his run of form continues through and beyond the WC.
The Red cards he picked up might influenced his "aggressiveness" and drove for 50/50 balls a bit. I have no problem with him going to Mexico, playing fine there and great for him making the Mexican World Cup team. Two Chicago Fire homegrown players making World Cup squads is pretty cool. Now, Djordje...? Not sure why he barely gets a sniff for the USMNT.
Speaking of Fire homegrown players, we have not heard about Gabriel SLONINA in a while. I did not realize that he was sold to Chelsea 363 days after he made his professional debut for the Fire (pro debut was August 4, 2021 and sale was August 2, 2022.). What was Chelsea thinking?
Personally, I think Chelsea makes a lot of questionable acquisitions. Was definitely a compressed timetable, especially for a GK.
I'm curious about how his injuries played into this, because his play (when healthy and in form) has been worthy!