He gets a significant bump in pay. He was being paid pennies and essentially on an Academy deal. From what I understand, he will make more in the next 6 months than he has in his entire time at Lou CIty.
Sure, he gets a short term bump in pay, whatever that means from a USL side. My understanding is that its du jour in world football to run your contract down and leave on a free to negotiate a better economic package for yourself (signing bonus/wages) where the club saves on paying your transfer fee. Doesn’t seem like 6 months of improved USL wages is worth that bargaining position to me.
Yes, that’s true on the surface. But there’s also a sense of loyalty / gratitude for Wynder and his family to Lou City. This is player that has truly been developed at Lou City. This is a local kid. The is not like a Jonathan Gomez who Lou City signed on a short-term super player friendly deal that allowed him to leave when interest from abroad popped up. It’s my understanding, he and his family want Lou City to be compensated for his development. It’s a thank you of sorts. His older brother is also at the club and has big potential, too. So there’s that. You also have to remember that his market vale will be somewhere between $1.5-2M that’s chump change for any of the clubs that are interested. It’s a small investment for a kid that has big potential.
Plus his old contract likely ran through the full season, so he wouldn't be able to leave in June and he'd still be on his USL wages until it expired.
Surprisingly it also provides some extra insurance. Young free agents are often treated as garbage, those who were bought treated as investment.
It’s du jour if you are a known player and have leverage. This gives Wynder better leverage via Lou city
It’s also pretty common to sign a contract extension with a pay raise before being transferred as well. Assuming you are still a desirable player, someone will pay for you.
Sure, and it makes a lot of sense when you’re Hoppe at S04 and your new contract is 3+ years and worth 1 million euros or so. It seems to make less sense to me when you’re playing in the USL and your new 3 year contract is worth $210k
I know he's not abroad, but he scored a beauty for Louisville in a friendly vs Austin FC: 🔥 Are you kidding me? 🔥 Get a look at @WynderJoshua’s recovery and stunning goal from distance in Saturday’s preseason friendly at Austin FC! pic.twitter.com/k0mMeOhfZr— Louisville City FC (@loucityfc) February 12, 2023
Benfica, Monaco and Red Bull Salzburg have made offers for the 17-year-old Louisville City FC central defender, a source close to the situation tells Pro Soccer Wire. https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/...r-united-states-u19-centerback-joshua-wynder/
Kristian Dyer says he is headed to Benfica: https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/...transfer-usmnt-prospect-set-for-benfica-move/ Louisville City defender Josh Wynder is closing in on a move to Portuguese giant Benfica, a source tells Pro Soccer Wire. The fee for the 17-year-old is expected to be somewhere between $1.3 million and $1.5 million, which would be a USL record. The move could be completed as soon as this weekend, with Wynder able to move to Europe when he turns 18 on May 2.
I’m curious as to how he’s able to move outside the transfer window. I know terms can be agreed to in advance. My understanding is that the summer window opens on July 1.
He likely would go over for training & development, but not be registered until the transfer window opens.
Though presumably not for long as the U20 World Cup starts on May 20 and I imagine the camp begins at least a week before.
She also reported that RB Salzburg and Monaco were pursuing him. Monaco's interest is funny to me, they were consistently linked to Keaton Parks while he was in Portugal... maybe they just follow the Benfica scouts around the world. It wouldn't surprise me if they announce the transfer, but wait to integrate him until pre-season camp begins. That would give them the opportunity to know exactly where he's going to spend next season: u20s, Benfica B, or maybe even the senior team...
Mixed feelings about that move. Great development club, but simultaneously a dead end league for Yanks historically. Looks like they have at least 2 highly rated CB’s who are 21 or under. If they really are that good, they may not be around long enough to block Wynder. Great to see a decent sized fee. Hopefully it keeps Benfica from throwing him out with the trash if he isn’t immediately successful.
Yup historically Americans have not done very well in Portugal, with Reggie Cannon probably being the most successful US player ever to go over there.
It’s true. Have any been as highly rated as Wynder though? Of course Adu had a lot of fame but he was already on the downward tilt of hype.
This report says he really, really, *really* signed with Benfica now: https://prosoccerwire.usatoday.com/2023/03/15/josh-wynder-transfer-benfica-louisville-city/ The highly rated 17-year-old will make the move to Europe this summer. All medicals have been conducted and Wynder’s contract has been signed with the Portuguese club.