Back when I said that it would be stupid for Soto to sign in MLS, I was primarily thinking it would be stupid to sign at this point in his career. He's on a free this summer and only 19, so he should have a decent shot at getting himself in a better club situation in Europe. If he had gone back to MLS in the winter window, MLS would probably require that he sign a multi-year contract, making it unlikely he could make it back to Europe. I'm open to the possibility that he could have been better off signing with RSL to begin with, putting up some numbers in MLS, and then moving to Europe, but we can't know what would have happened. I'm also open to the possibility that it will be a good idea for him to go to MLS in a couple years, if he still can't get anything to work in Europe. I'm in favor of the Lletget route--going from the bench/reserves of Euro teams to starting for a good MLS team and becoming at least a fringe USMNT player. There's nothing wrong with that route, and I suspect players like that will continue to be important for MLS and the USMNT. Hyndman and Parks might be doing this right now.
Reggie Cannon is going to be another. As will probably Ricardo Pepi. Durkin played some for DCU then got his loan/buy move to Belgium. I'll grant you it's not enough but it seems to be trending in a positive direction for some teams and players.
It's silly to claim that one path is better than the other. The concept of "Europe" vs. "MLS" is so vague, it's basically meaningless. It depends on the individual player and the specific opportunities in front of that player. For some, spending time in MLS at the beginning of their career is best; for others, going to Europe as early as possible is best.
This is a big year for guys like Efra, Busio, Bassett, etc. who could be on the same MLS > Europe pathway. Nyeman, Reynolds, Sealy, etc. are part of the next wave who are probably a year away from their breakout opportunity. The positive trend with youth development in MLS is strong.
exactly so why start at the bottom of the pyramid ? start as high as possible and if you fall you can still catch on somewhere (i.e. MLS) romain gall is a rare case of MLS washout actually playing for a UCL team in a remote country.... but players like augdelo shea eddie johnson altidore etc are much more the norm... try your best in EU and when that runs its course MLS is always there as your bottom b*tch now there will come a day when MLS catches up to top 5 euro leagues and the dynamic will change...then it will be a tougher decision.... *and we are talking about ucl level teams vs MLS....not bumbaclot fc or MLS...then the choice is easy
Because if you start out too high a level or at the wrong club as a young player your career can stall because of lack if playing time or opportunity. You wash out too hard you end up no where. Like Josh Perez or countless others. You come back as a 22-23 year old with limited first team playing time you're probably going to find it hard to land a regular role in MLS.
This is going OT, but not all Euro clubs or all MLS clubs are built alike. The keys for young players are 1) coaching/training 2) legit opportunities to play There are MLS clubs where a young player in the wrong position may languish worse than on a European team with a vibrant U team. Often you are better off play for, for example, Jong Ajax/PSV/Utrecht/AZ or certain Bund reserve teams than you are not playing for LAFC or getting crap minutes for Atlanta... And sometimes you're better off getting decent sub minutes for Atlanta then you are playing in some of the crappier Euro reserves, some of the bad teams in second tier leagues or sitting on the bench. The question is always who best predicts how their coaching, skill arc and PT will play out... which can be hard to do. I'm pretty skeptical there's any clear pattern here.
100% agree it depends on multiple factors. I think many American soccer fans incorrectly assume anything based in Europe must be better than MLS. It sucks when players get swept up in that mindset. A semi elite player going to a middling European club with no track record of developing talent is a recipe for disappointment. The same can be said for a top talent signing for the Chicago Fire. It seems many of our young players that go to Europe are being done a disservice by their advisors. Often times it seems to be flex by the agent to just say they have euro connections. Vastly overrating and hyping many of these kids who end up on the fringes of relegation candidates. My son is a u-14 ECNL level talent that wants to play DA for an MLS club, but he isn't ready to compete at that level yet. He and I talked about the reality of the situation and he's going to leave his current MLS partnered club and move to a USL club next season. As much as we would like him to be playing at a top club, it's better for his development to take the step down and play every game at a good level. If he's good enough he'll get his chance.
he should just have signed with H96. I'm sure that people won't be happy with following 3 lines but I've seen fans criticize both Gloster and Soto as being selfish and greedy players. That the club was going to integrate both of them. But that both players were impatient and only cared about money. H96 seems to be moving on, a 01 W who can also be deployed at CF, scored on his pro debut last week for the club. Him and a 01 CF who is inverse and can also be deployed at W both are headed for pro contracts. As stated by the 1st team coach Kocak and Kind too, who also want to give more overview to Academy. as for the coach and Soto, following his criticism incident of Soto, he still stated that he rates him. But at this point of time, it seems like it's too late. if he doesn't play can only blame himself it has nothing to do with Euro vs MLS, as he keeps having fitness issues and that he doesn't want to extend, run down his contract and leave for free. Clubs are more likely to integrate players who stay. The players who are used and run down their contracts are the already experienced players, not the ones with no real experience. And H96 still has a II team as well, not like he would be doing nothing if he's fit.
The answer is sometimes yes, and sometimes no. Now that I have posted THE answer, we will never, ever discuss this again.
for perspective, "Stehle will be doing the rounds in the near future, but only with money he has earned himself when he has signed his first professional contract. 96 gives Stehle and Gudra an entry-level salary, far below the average salary of the 2nd division, which is said to be around 400,000 euros. But Stehle and Gudra are just getting started." https://www.sportbuzzer.de/artikel/...tzter-mick-gudra-profivertrag-unterschreiben/ and according to most reports, Soto fresh out of U19 demanded over 500 000 as in more than half million. I've seen other places who mentioned that 2BL averages is around 430 000 and that's for experienced players.
Dont forget that the head coach recently threw his entire academy under the bus. Could be serious problems there
he was talking about the young players who are part of the professional team, he even clarified that. But what he said was a warning to the Academy players on what not to do. throws Academy under the bus? yet plays Academy player in Stehle and praised him highly post match last week. And now wants to sign 2 Academy players he likes to pro contracts. Kocak just seems like a coach who expects a lot from all players. H96 has some struggles and you need players to do well in numerous areas.
One key word that you missed from Ghost's post was "young", not that I agree or disagree with Ghost's point.
H96 II games kept getting postponed. anyways played full 90 today in a 2-0 loss to Kiel II. His 3rd II game of season.