Talk about a pivot. Prior all foreign players, now many USMNT players/hopefuls. That kind of pivot had to come from above Torrent right? Maybe a concious desire to tap into the American mainstream, or to set a new model of nurturing USMNT talent and then selling on, or to find THE American (field player) talent to send on to Man City?
Not sure, I think it's just the accelerated Red Bulls plan. Start off with flashy names to get publicity. Work on academies. When the academy is producing start using cheaper, better integrated local talent and send the occasional player to the main European club. In this case, the academy is not ready yet but there are a few likely young YAs to put in the reserve roster spot.
I don't know what's going on at NYCFC but I like it. What bothers me though, is that Reyna's son went to Dortmund instead of being signed by NYCFC.
Juan Pablo Torres had to get out of Lokeren. The club is almost certain for relegation out of Belgium and he doesn't seem close to playing for them. No EU passport, so what's possible for him? Probably not much at a decent level in Europe. NYCFC might be a stretch for him, but we will see.
Maybe NYCFC is investing in the technology to replace Yangel Herrera by combining Torres, Parks, and Sands into a super midfielder using a teleportation device a la The Fly.