He really has no business playing champions league football yet though. He has no track record and trying to get to England Championship, BL2 or maybe lower tier BL1 team is fine. You have to have some kind of track record to go anywhere above that I think and I dont Soto is ready for all that anyway. Mbappes dont grow on trees. He does look like a nice talent at this point though. I think his best bet is just to stay pat and run out the contract. Then he can do what he wants.
The problem with running out the contract is that he might not play much because Hannover isn't going to focus on developing a player that leaves. He needs to move to someone that's actually interested in his future with them. BVB is a step too far imo, but there are plenty of other good BL1 and BL2 options.
Dortmund really need help at striker considering Goetze is not going to be taking a pay cut. The jury is out on Isak still even though he performed well for Willem. Then you have Alcacer entrenched probably. I just dont see where have room for Soto unless Dortmund want to commit to him and I just wouldnt see them doing that with playing CL next season and trying to better their 2nd place finish. I would love to see Soto on my favorite team but I think Isak would deserve his shot first and Soto would likely go to Dortmund II first and then you have no clue if you will ever see Soto at that point. Boyamba had a decent season at Dortmund II as well and is fairly young too so you could he theoretically see him higher in that pecking order so they decide if they want to ship him out.. Playing striker for those bigger clubs can be great but not if you dont get any time. then you toil away until they sell you off.
Could it be about more than $$$? Like would Soto's agents want a guarantee of expected PT in the 2 Bundesliga?
Pulisic made his CL debut as a 17 year old against Porto, a 2-0 win for BVB. That debut, at the end February, came a few weeks after his Bundesliga debut. At that point, CP had been in Germany about 10 months. Many of us were very surprised to see CP playing CL football. He proved us wrong. My point is..... Soto's pathway has been similar. He had to wait to sign with Hannover, lit up the youth leagues / reserve league, and made his Bundesliga debut within a short time frame. Like Pulisic, his trajectory is upward. I don't think he could walk right in - at say a BVB - and play in the CL but after some grooming and some league games under his belt, it would not surprise me to see him capable of playing in the CL.
I dont know, you could always tell Pulisic was going to be good. I really havnt seen as much as Soto to make a comparison. Seems to me that we (US) have never really had a world class striker and Im not sure that Weah, Sargent or anyone else will become one. Id love to see it happen in my lifetime though. (obviously there arent many world class strikers just laying around either, i get that).
You make a fair point. I just contend Soto is on the up-and-up and has a similar path as Pulisic in his German career. This next move / season are going to be crucial to seeing what he can or can't develop into. Oh... IMO, there are only about 10 strikers that I would consider truly world class. The US may never have a truly world class striker. I just hope we develop one that is two or three steps above a Donovan, Dempsey, and a McBride. These things we could accomplish if we did.....................
Completely agree but we are likely 6 to 7 years away from that. We dont have an Mbappe or someone who is a teenager ready to dominate and frankly neither does anyone else I cant remember a single player like Mbappe that was ready to dominate so early in his career. I think he may end up being one of the greatest ever. But we could have anyone of Soto, Sargent,Weah, hell Kelman, Alfonso,Adebayo or Reynolds could be the next striker to mature at 25 and be a WC contributor. I do think that our teenagers right now are better than 20 years ago and that bodes well for 2026, Im just not sure we will have the roster I would like to see in 2022. I like the 2026 chances better than 2022 and maybe I am wrong but this group still has too many holes that scare and I fear asking Weah Sargent or Soto to get those WC goals that are needed to advance at 22/23 years old is asking a lot in 2022.
Couldn’t agree more. Spot on. We definitely have the same thoughts. 2026 WC on home solid with be huge. That really needs to be the WC in which we need to be contenders.
Scored a a cool, calm, and collected finish against the Frenchies. Maybe that increases his interest.....
Yeah he is performing very well. Very poised for his age. I think we are going to like this kid. Get him up to the Senior team and lets what he can do.
Fingers crossed....... but by the time the next set of US games (after the GC) roll around in October he should have a few more than 25 professional minutes. IIRC, those games are in the Nations League vs Cuba and Canada. If he's getting minutes at Hannover or elsewhere, it wouldn't shock me to see a call-up.
Lots of variables there. If he earns it, sure, but he is far from that right now. We have a ton of promising players at the moment; there's no need to rush them all to the senior team at once.
No doubt about that. He has to earn it but I see no reason he can't earn it especially if he's getting minutes at Hannover or elsewhere.
Soto working the resume with a nice summer internship. Only highlights I've seen up yet; got to give kid credit for being a cool finisher. (96 might have picked the wrong time to low-ball him...)