He can go to Europe in January just not City or England specifically. But to any EU country. Which would be on of the City Football Group teams and likely Girona. But unclear what the plans for him are.
Well, do to work commitments I wasn't able to be at the game. I did watch it on TV. I'd say Chicago played like a team trying not to make any mistakes. They didn't create much from the run of play. When they finally switched from the 3-5-2 formation the Union took advantage. Chicago's two goals came off of restarts. The first of which was a scrappy kind of goal. Chicago is in a bit of a pickle. Their strengths play right into the Union's hands. The Union have struggled all season against teams that play 3 at the back. The problem for Chicago is that when they play that way, they sacrifice the creativity they have going forward which is their biggest strength. No rumblings as of yet. He'll likely go on a training stint with Man City's U20's for a week or two, though if Philly makes it to MLS Cup on Dec. 6 they'll be back in preseason the first week or two of January to get ready for Champions Cup play which starts in early February. Cavan will also be in line for more playing time next season with his brother Quinn being out until after the World Cup break, and the Union's packed schedule. There's going to be a LOT of midweek games. MLS' regular season is going to get condensed as the World Cup Break will likely start a week or two prior to Memorial Day due to the US and Canada hosting games.
Girona is currently in last plast in La Liga. A relegation scrap might not be the best place for a loan spell for a 16 year old.
Yeah though the other European alternatives are French or Belgian 2nd division which seem like worse options than the Union.
The past two Belgian Pro League Golden Boot Winners now play in MLS too. They're not exactly setting the league on fire either. Though I'd be shocked if Denkey didn't bag 20+ goals next season (barring injury). To your point, Ligue 2 and the Belh]=gian 2nd Division aren't a step above MLS. He's 16. He's not physically ready to start game in and game out. Especially players in the Union's system, they need to build their engine in order to be able to press all game. It's going to take time. I wouldn't downplay the fact that Philadelphia is a host city for the World Cup, and the Union will certainly be hosting a national team at their facility during the tourney. Cavan likely will want to be around to be a part of this event in his home town. Not to mention he's going to get more playing time in 2026. The Union's congested schedule is going to make that a necessity. Also, he's pushing for playing time now. I wouldn't scoff at his 15 minute runout last night. Both of his parents are educators as well. I wouldn't downplay them wanting him to at least finish High School before going off on his European adventure.
I’d be very surprised if any team would want to take a 16yr old on loan unless it’s at a lower level than MLS.
I'm in line with what Jim Curtin said about it at the time of the sale: "When the time is right, the game tells the truth," Curtin said. "You can trick it for a game or two or a half, but over the course of a season, if Cavan has a season where it shows that he's above the level in MLS, he'll move on." Is Cavan Sullivan showing right now that he's "above the level in MLS?" No. He's never had a goal or an assist in MLS. I'm with y'all. None of the City Group opportunities RIGHT NOW looks better than the Union. That can change.
I find it hard to judge without a consistent run of extended minutes. I would love to see him with the union for one more year but….. is it reallly worth the risk?
Cavan was actually one of the youngest players IN MLS Next Pro this year. He was 15 most of the year. Still very young. He was the youngest player to play for Philly II this year according to transfermarkt. I don't really see him staying another year as a risk. Moving to any of those Euro options is just as much of a risk. He's in a good place. This year he'll likely play around 1500 minutes in MLS and MLNP combined. Again, he was 15.
I personally am under the viewpoint that Cavan is a player who needs an expedited development path. He is clearly very hungry and slow walking him isn’t saving him from anything, it’s possible it’ll have an adverse effect. He needs to start asap. We are already seeing 16,17 even 15 year olds get extended minutes in better leagues. If he is a top 5 birth year player he should be starting for an MLS squad.
Philadelphia won the Supporter's Shield this year with the guys they've had starting. If you guaranteed us that Cavan would get first team starts for Girona, Palermo, Troyes, etc. everyone would likely take that. We'd all sign up for that loan move. We don't see that happening. Its weird to me. Do people watch Cavan Sullivan and think "He should start in La Liga!!"? He has zero goals and zero assists for Philadelphia. Can we be normal about Cavan Sullivan for a second?
From what I’ve watched he definitely looks good enough for MLS imo. Just unfortunate he’s on the best team in the league
Philly has a really dialed in play style for MLS, a league with parity. Any team can win the supporters shield in any given year in MLS. When you promote a player (Union w/Cavan) to be some prodigy, Man City supposedly say he's the best 15 yr old in the world, you play that player... a decent amount. It does always amaze me how the best young (16,17) players from other nations play regular in their first divisions, but somehow they have to wait their turn in MLS. Ibrahim Mbaye Jeremy Monga Estevao Kendy Paez Francesco Camarda etc. etc.
Camarda, to use just one of your examples, played a total of 12 minutes in 2 appearances after he debuted at 15 years and 260 days. Sullivan debuted at 14 years, 293 days, and has played 161 minutes in 7 appearances (pre playoffs).
Cavan has been on our radars for so long that I think people forget how young he still is. He just turned 16. Most of the year he's been 15. Estevao is a 2007. Camarda is 2008. Cavan is a 2009. A fall 2009 at that. He's still younger than these players that everyone is comparing him to that are playing. How many players have played in La Liga this year that are younger than Cavan Sullivan? None. The answer is none so far. The youngest player in La Liga this year has been Toni Fernandez of Barcelona. He's a 2008. He's a year and a half older than Cavan Sullivan. You can go across leagues like that. There are little exceptions that have made a garbage time appearance here or there. Yes, there are a very few select number of 2009s, etc. that play. Very few. Who's a good age comparison to Cavan Sullivan? Max Dowman. He's played 27 minutes this season so far in first team competitions. This is what most 15 year olds do. Get minutes here and there when they're available. So people are complaining about a 2009 that'll have played 500 minutes across first team competitions. What exactly is the problem? I don't get it. Cavan was the youngest player in MLS last year, and he's the youngest player in MLS this year. He was one of the 10 youngest players in MLS Next Pro. The next youngest player that appeared in MLS this year was Caraballo of Orlando, more than a year older than Cavan. By the way, 25 kids under the age of 18 appeared in MLS this year. That's pretty darn good. Compare that with leagues that are known as developmental leagues. Let's not have some sort of misplaced inferiority complex here. Also, I thought we learned the lesson about anointing 14/15 year olds as future world stars.............like 20 years ago.
My point was that the best talents start playing around the same age as Cavan, but you take into account the praise by Carnell/Man City , outplaying MLS Next Pro, and the eye test you have to say that he deserves meaningful minutes. Connor Donovan should not have seen a minute over Cavan this year and it was abundantly clear. I also don’t care about hyping young players that deserve it, if they can’t handle the media pressure than they were never gonna become that global superstar they were made out to be. Now if we revise our assessment of Cavan and say he isn’t as good as originally billed than expectations would be adjusted accordingly.
from what i can tell cavan sullivan is not in FM26 while mathis albert is (and pretty highly rated according to my quality Man Utd scouts)
Dowman got 71 minutes in London today in an elimination cup game between two premier league teams. And he looked like he belonged. He's the youngest ever start for Arsenal. He's made two brief appearances (27 mins total) in the premier league prior to this. Just another data point.
Cavan got a start for the Union at a very similar point to Dowman's age right now. The problem is that he didn't play well at all in that start.
I just don't get the consternation. We go thru this navel gazing every 3 months or so. Cavan Sullivan is in a good place. He, the Union, and the City Group are working out next steps. ......................but its not like he's shown he's too good for MLS and needs to be tested at a higher level.
I would say he's in an OK place, it could be worse but it could be better. I don't think it's about being too good for a league/team. The right fit is so important for development. Many talented players fall short of their potential because they are with the wrong coach/playing out of position/wrong style of play.. etc. We haven't had a talent like Cavan, since Reyna/Puli/Adu/Landon, so his development is under the microscope. Philly's style of play isn't great for Cavan, their formation isn't ideal for Cavan and they have 3 strong players ahead of him for 2 positions. I think this is mostly his (and agents) fault for picking the Man City pathway over the more conventional (Dutch/Portugal to top 4 league team) pathway. I'd be feeling much better if he was heading to PSV/Ajax this Winter.