Well, do any have real Euro experience? Serious. Not some expat or first generation person that lives here. I think that really matters. We see it here all of the time. Plenty of people who clearly have followed the game in this country for decades, but show their very basic inexperience when it comes to Euro matters. Benefica is such an unforgiving environment, for any prospect coming from anywhere. It’s not just US boys who have faired poorly there. It’s how they work. I understand being confident in yourself, but what type of high level guidance is in his corner? If you don’t know that’s fine. Again, just curious. Best of luck to the kid.
It's wild to look at Keaton's B team teammates from that period... everything from Joao Felix reaching the highest echelons to Nuno Santos (who was frequently starting with Keaton) playing with Charlotte's MLSNext club at 25. The guy who "beat out" Parks for the 1 remaining first team midfield spot in 2018/2019 was Gedson Fernedes, and his career is... fine. Had a 1000'+ season with senior team, got sent on a bad loan to Spurs, a so-so loan to Gala, a good loan to Caykur Rizespor in Turkey (they got relegated that season, but he played well), and then finally got bought by Besiktas. He's 24, so like Parks, the best years of his career are still in front of him, but after watching the Benfiquistas hype him up so hard, it was surprising how quickly the club moved on from him. Benfica is like a factory... if you can't hang on until you're established at the A-team level, you're probably getting sold at 22-23 to the highest bidder. And if you do establish yourself in the first team before 22-23 years old, you're probably getting sold anyway... it's a "next man up" mentality at all levels of that club.
https://www.abola.pt/nnh/2023-06-08...ynder-benfica-e-bassette-fc-porto-e-ac/991156 Abola has a nice write up about him and a Belgian striker who signed for Porto and is considered a similar "diamond in the rough" As put through Google Translate:
what I do know…. which is not the intimate details…. is a strong family with realistic expectations, an agency / agent (name escapes me) that reps several North Americans abroad, and a former USMNT a player (again don’t know who) is advising him or at least providing a shoulder to lean on. Again, I don’t know intimate details. That’s just surface details. But on the surface, it sounds like a healthy environment. Time will tell is that’s true or not.
Sorry, I don't belong to the social media generation where offering a critical ["being critical means taking an analytical approach and examine everything, good and bad and neutral"] perspective is considered hating. As I said, I wish him well--why would I want him not to succeed?--but there are some very good reasons to be wary of this move as plenty of others haver explained. Defenders in particular need plenty of seasoning before they are fully cooked, and Benfica's method of development is ruthless to raw talent. I think he should have signed with MLS and established himself first, but I am not in his boots so it is not up to me.
Certainly possible that something is lost in translation here but the tone of this does not match with the notion of Benfica as meat grinder. It reads to me a bit along the lines of that whoever wrote this is pretty confident that he's already at the level of the second team and thus should be able to use time with that squad to refine his game, rather than to patch major holes/see if he can keep up. I could be wrong!
Hard to find much by the way of updates. Doesnt look like he has been making the roster for Benfica B so far.
1690777862624649216 is not a valid tweet id currently injured: "Joshua Wynder (myalgia in the right thigh) and Gustavo Varela (post-surgical status external meniscus) are injured. Speedy recovery, Joshua and Gustavo!
Another tidbit from some searching: 1689910522790215684 is not a valid tweet id Joshua was given number 66. This number is significant for Benfica defenders as both António Silva and Rúben Dias wore it. This well-followed fan account thinks its a sign that he's likely VERY highly rated by the club
Joshua has played in 1/2 UEFA Youth League matches for Benfica. He started vs Salzburg, but was pulled from the starting 11 vs Inter after allegedly experiencing some sort of "physical problem" and was listed as an unused substitute: 1709278566221828411 is not a valid tweet id Seems like he's really been struggling to get back to full health since his move. From what I can gather he's played 1 match for the u19s, 3 matches for the u23s, and 1 match for Benfica B. FWIW, the Benfiquistas have appreciated his play when they've been able to watch him.
He was purchased from Louisville City (USLC) for a league record fee of $1.2m plus addons at the beginning of the summer, and attended his first senior USMNT camp back in April, but was an unused sub vs Mexico. For comparison, the alleged offer made to Varzim for Keaton Parks was well-under $1m. The Benfica press spilled a decent amount of ink about Wynder's signing, and many fans are expecting him to be a long-term project with big upside. Part of that perception is due to his price-tag. IMO, Benfica as an institution only rates their players on their performances, so until he's playing regularly we won't know how Benfica are evaluating him. Good signs for a 19 year old are frequent B-team starts, Youth League participation, and the occasional call into senior team training during breaks.
According to posts in his thread on the serbenfiquista forums, Josh remains injured. I can't find any mention of him playing for any team since, like, October-ish. I don't know that we ever learned what the nature of his injury is, but it feels like his move to Lisbon has gone really poorly :/
Proof of life: 1756045732790890948 is not a valid tweet id According to the bio, this guy is a Louisville fan, so he might know Josh or his family personally, which is where the "return to play by March" timeline could come from. Benfica has said nothing (why would they, he's a B-team / u23 player). Even the serbenfiquista posters have been openly wondering what Josh's deal is. Anyway, glad to see that he's back in training.
I was hoping to see some signs of life from Wynder before the end of the season, but... nothing. None of the rosters I've seen for any of Benefica B's matches have included Wynder this calendar year. Rosters for the u23 matches are harder to find, so maybe he's been playing with them. The benfiquistas haven't mentioned him since February. Closer to a black hole than we thought...
AH! Here we go. A B-team match report from 2 days ago (which doesn't appear on their English site) has Joshua still on the injury list. Translating it gives us an update: "Joshua Wynder (status after surgical treatment of pubalgia);" So, he's (still??) recovering from sports hernia surgery. Unclear if this is the cause of his prolonged absence from the team or if this is a fresh issue.
Last game was in October apparently. https://www.zerozero.pt/jogador/joshua-wynder/962962/jogos?epoca_id=153