City group owns multiple clubs. some of which he can play for when he turns 16. He is already missing time with the union to go train with city. I think they may prioritize having Cavan in their own system.
Ya I don't think its a guarentee he is in europe come january but I do think its a possibility. I'd personally much rather see him stay in MLS until he is just way too good for the level. And although a pipe dream, I think his best chance to make the 2026 roster is the light up the MLS the rest of this season and into next summer
......................and Girona REALLY struggled last year. Barely avoided relegation. Is Girona, a relegation battling La Liga team................the type of organization to provide first team playing time to a 16 year old Cavan Sullivan? I have serious doubts about that. If he wants to PLAY first team soccer at this early of an age, he's in a great spot as it is. Keeping him with Philly makes sense. The City Group doesn't have a middle ground. We'd prefer him at Philly than NYCFC. Or at least I would. Palermo is in Serie B. Troyes in in Ligue 2. Lommel is in Belgian Challenger League. They don't have a club that really would make sense. Let's say mid-table Eredivisie. You know? A team in a top division that does have the ability to focus on player development. [For a while we heard that both the City Group and Red Bull were interested in acquiring relegated Vitesse. Neither happened, and Vitesse had their professional license revoked. We've had a number of young USYNTers/USMNTers at Vitesse over the years.]
Though he can’t do that till he’s 18 and there are some who think this will be Pep’s last year at City. I think it’s likely he never plays for Pep unless in the unlikely event that Pep is USMNT coach in the future Also in terms of Girona, Cavan can’t move till January so at that point there will be a better sense in terms of what sort of season they are having and if they are battling relegation or not.
Milan Iloski looked very good in his first start for the Union against RBNY this week playing as a winger, not a true 9. Unless they sell someone this summer, which I don't think they will, it seems like Cavan is another spot down the depth chart. Would like to see him at a youth WC this fall.
Not going to beat a dead horse, but I agree with Tannenwald that it would have been smarter for Cavan to chose another team than City. Pep won't be there in a few years and he doesn't play u20s anyway. Careers of very talented players are often derailed for choosing the wrong club. I also agree that Cavan isn't ready to start games in MLS on the reg yet. BUT- he should be getting 20 minutes almost every game. Or at least playing with Union II. 3 mins cameos are not helping at all. He might be averaging 90 mins per month this season (Union & Union II)- that's horrible for player development. The Union play once per week until the end of season - except for the cup semi next month in Nashville. Aside from this weekend, I don't see Cavan getting much time for the remainder of the year, unless there's an injury.
He's still only 15. He's actually young for MLSNP still. The average age of a player in MLSNP is 21. [AI told me that answer. I'll have to believe it.] How many players younger than Cavan Sullivan have appeared in MLSNP this year? The answer is only 7 according to transfermarkt. No player younger than Cavan has played for Union II this season. He's younger than Jakupovic. I think folks have gone a little crazy with their playing time and impact expectations for Cavan Sullivan this year. The kid is still going to school for a portion of the day. He's played nearly 1000 minutes so far this season between the Union and Union II. That'll raise over 1500 by the end of the year. His playing time is fine.
Where I disagree is that I think he’s shown to be good enough to play more for the first team and people expect way more of him than the average player. He shouldn’t be compared to the average player.
Sure. I get it. ............but the Union are in Supporter's Shield position. The guys they're playing are getting the job done. Philly could win the MLS and MLSNP titles this year. They're in contention for both. All I'm saying is that he's not short of minutes. He'll play 1500+ professional minutes while going to school.
Iloski didn't start. He came on at halftime as a concussion sub for Indy Vassilev. He's going to play as a MF and as FW depending on what the came situation and opponent calls for.
For the first team, the last 7 days have looked like this: Game - played 4 min recovery day day off walkthrough day Game - played 1 min recovery day Walkthrough day This is not a schedule you want to use to develop a 15yo. 15yo MLS Next kids are training 5 days per week with a game on the weekend. ECNL kids are training 3 times per week with 2 games on the weekends. HS kids are training 3 times and playing 3 games per week. The point being, 15yo can handle much more than what he's getting with Unions first team. If you don't think he's ready for quality first team mins, let him play with the second team. I'm curious to see how Arsenal handle Max Dowman- who is the only 09 I've seen on Cavan's level, maybe slightly ahead. Dowman has a bigger frame which has helped him adapt faster to the pro game. https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/max-dowman-arsenal-fc-arteta-premier-league-b1243173.html
Union II played AT Chicago last night. If he played last night he'd be unavailable to play in tonight's game. Union II also played Monday Night at Red Bulls II. If he played in that game he'd likely not been available to play in Wednesday Night's Open Cup Game. There's also a big difference between high schoolers playing against high schoolers and a 15 year old competing everyday in training against grown adults..... You need to relax.
Tough game for Sullivan. He made the highlight reel but not in a good way. Turned the ball over quite a bit. Don’t mind him having a dud here and there, but I also want to see him get 20+ minutes like he did last night each game if he’s not going to playing with Philly2.
To be fair Arsenal spent a ton of money this year and are making a huge title push and they found a way to give playing time to a 15 year old yesterday (who drew a penalty). You can both go for success and give young guys opportunities (if it’s warranted of course).
Milan Iloski on Cavan Sullivan: "I mean, like, wow, from the first day I was blown away at the level he’s playing at." pic.twitter.com/MCQEDvvlAV— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) August 25, 2025 Milan Iloski on Cavan Sullivan: "I mean, like, wow, from the first day I was blown away at the level he’s playing at."
New teammate says something nice about young player, film at 11. Zlatan called Efrain Alvarez the best talent in MLS once upon a time.
By playing time we mean 26 minutes of substitute time. Cavan came on in the second half of the Philly game this week too. Anyway........................I just think that between Philly and Philly II, Cavan is doing alright in terms of playing time.
I would like Cavan to be given the same leash as Donavon. I don’t think it’s helpful giving a bunch of 10 minute cameos that seem to end of being determinants of future PT. I think that adds too much pressure for when he’s on the field.
I mean, Iloski's comments don't mean all that much, but they are still nice. Zlatan's didn't either -- like many players, he's proving to be a terrible talent evaluator. It didn't take long watching Alvarez for me to say he wasn't likely to be any good. The work rate simply isn't there.
As long as Man City doesn't call him in just to loan him back to NYCFC I say that especially having been an Earthquakes fan before Philly had a team, including when Donovan went back to Leverkusen for about 5 minutes just to turn around and sign with the Galaxy
The problem is he's in that tweener spot in terms of development where he's good enough to contribute off the bench for the senior team but not good enough yet to start, so Philly has to balance the short term value of his contribution as a depth piece right now with the long term value of his development which may be better served by spending more time with the reserves (and of course his long term development isn't going to benefit the Union, other than through a sell on fee)
26 minutes of playing time in the second EPL game of the year is not nothing. Arsenal seem to really like Dowman though they have such a stacked team.