Parks and recreation in Lisbon: Keaton at NYCFC (on loan from Benfica)

Unless he's on the way back to Benfica and may have a shot to be with their first team.

 

He's still got a month plus until the next registration window, though. I just don't think they're interested in seeing him at the U23 level which is just crazy to me.

 

He's 100 percent eligible for the Olympics too. I checked just to make sure.

Who knows why. Could be Keaton trying to get back to Portugal. His career is such a throwback to the 90's guys just going to Europe and trying to make it work.

 

Here's something I think is noteworthy: Keaton Parks has been protected by NYCFC in the upcoming expansion draft

Other players on 1-year loans were left 'unprotected' (like Nicolas Benezet at TFC on loan from Guingamp). Given that productive players like Ben Sweat and Ofori are 'unprotected' this probably means NYCFC think they have a good shot at keeping Keaton or bringing him back on loan for another season.

edit: I forgot that Ofori himself was on-loan from Stuttgart. So, yeah, NYCFC must be really serious about bringing Parks back.

 

But, was he prevented from being called for the U23 camp by his club or was it YNT coach's choice?

 

Glenn Crooks, who seems to have decent connections at the club, described him as being on a "preliminary list" for the U23s, which made it sound like it was Kreis' decision.

 

How can someone that is only on loan in a league possibly be drafted?

 

MLS gonna MLS

 

I believe the drafted player has his rights acquired by the team that drafts him. For players owned by MLS (remember, MLS centrally controls all player contracts, so technically speaking Benfica loaned Keaton to MLS not NYCFC), those rights include his remaining contract, but if the drafted player is on loan to MLS, they'd have to renegotiate the terms of the loan with the team that loaned them (unless it's a multi-year loan, which I think doesn't happen often in MLS).

In short, MLS gonna MLS.

 

Thanks for the explanation but if that's legit then it is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

 

I'm pretty sure it gets dumber: if Keaton goes back to Europe, has a long 10 year career abroad, and then decides to return to MLS at age 32, NYCFC would still have 'first dibs' to sign him, and if any other team wanted to sign him, they'd need to trade with NYCFC for his rights...

 

Rights aren't retained indefinitely unless a player leaves as a free transfer after receiving a "bona fide" offer. Parks would be free to join any team he wished whether he came to MLS next season or 10 years from now.

Also, there are ongoing CBA negotiations, so who knows if the whole player acquisition and retention system will be the same 6 months from now.

 

The mystery to me is how any of this works with players on-loan. Like, if NYCFC is protecting him in the expansion draft, presumably they are offering him a bona fide offer, but if he turns that down, would he be classified as a free agent within MLS because his 1-year agreement with the central office expired, and if that's the case, would NYCFC keep his rights?

But, yeah, I keep having to remind myself that the renegotiated CBA could mean all of this is totally blown up and left in the dust. Given how much could change with the new CBA, I kinda feel bad for NSC and Inter Miami... building your team's foundation on an expiring system has to be a little weird.

 

Didn’t something like this happen with Yamil Asad?

 

Heading back?

Keaton Parks termina a ligação por empréstimo com o New York City FC no final de Dezembro e vai regressar ao Benfica. pic.twitter.com/ZJHBpHPDLX

— Diário de Transferências (@DTransferencias) November 18, 2019

 

Pretty much what I expected, reason why he was not with the U23: at this point he must be looking to find a place somewhere in Europe. This coming window is when his fate is decided: he either gets some hope of making it over there, or resigns himself to be back in MLS.

Keaton is, basically, deciding his career in the coming weeks.

 

His play is special to some team. Let's hope they are looking for what he brings.

 

I saw this earlier, and FWIW, despite having 11.2k followers, I could not find another Portuguese source that made this claim. It's an account that is run by a college student, and I think he might just be parroting whats on transfermarkt.

Either way, this December will be interesting for Keaton.

 

Keaton Parks is one and done for #NYCFC #MLS https://t.co/LMTHke7fvH

— Glenn Crooks (@GlennCrooks) November 20, 2019

The MLS article is just reporting what Diario de Transferencias tweeted, but if Glenn Crooks isn't pushing back there might be more weight to this report.

 

Why do dogs lick their balls?

Because they can.

That simple.

End of.

 

Needs a loan to a Dutch or Belgian or another Portuguese team.

 

https://www.nycfc.com/post/2019/11/20/new-york-city-fc-announces-roster-moves-2020

NYCFC confirms it. Pretty much all windows will open in January but hopefully there’s some word about a destination before then.

 

Having had dogs I can guarantee you it's not just because they can.

They seem to derive honest pleasure from it.

 

As a fellow dog-owner, I can attest to that.

Then again, the two are not mutually exclusive: for super-rich guys like MLS owners, part of the genuine pleasure derived from doing something comes from knowing that "just because I/we can" is an accurate statement of reality. For a while. The trick is make that while last for, well, a good long while.

 

Benfica will soon make a decision about the future of American midfielder Keaton Parks, whose loan to New York City FC expires on December 31st [A Bola]

— Daveatronic5000 (@daveatronic5000) November 21, 2019

This is more like what I expect. That dude's an English ex-pat living in Portugal who translates Portuguese gossip for English-speaking Benfica fans.

The O Jogo article mentions that NYCFC did try and get Keaton back next season, but, "such scenario did not materialize, which is why the 22-year-old now returns to [Benfica]" (they use a nickname here).

A Bola online goes as far to say that Keaton, "has a valid contract with Benfica until 2023 and is not part of Bruno Lage's plans, so the possibility of being reinstated in the main squad, to which he was promoted during Rui Vitória's time, does not arise"

FWIW, Benfica are playing a 4-4-2 at the moment, and are comfortably stacked at CM (so much so that Gedson has been used as a wide-midfielder at times). The A Bola comments section includes opinions like: "I saw in team B and A games, I liked it, I saw a lot of potential. Enough? Do not know..." and "A player who has a style of play very close to that of Samaris. Having 30-year-old Samaris, and eventually with a market to go, perhaps it was not unreasonable to sell Samaris and return Keaton Parks, who is too young and with room to make even more progress."