I come here to hype Nimfasha. But not overhype. Imo he is our second best attacking prospect after Cavan. While I expect Cavan to end up better than Gio Reyna, I don't think Nimfasha will exceed Pulisic. But I think when all is said and done he will be our best wide attacking player other than Christian. There are a few more prospects that I think will end up among the best to ever play their positions for the U.S. (and better than current senior team incumbents). But they aren't attacking players. I don't know if they are glamorous enough to deserve a thread of their own. So I will just mention them here: Slonina, Wynder, Neal and Wiley. I'll mention one other youth-age level attacking player, who for various reasons, doesn't resonate much around here anymore but who I think will make a significant impact at the senior level. Ricardo Pepi. Of course Reyna and Musah are still age-eligible for the Olympics, but we no longer think of them that way. They are the Gold Standard against which we evaluate midfield youth prospects.
I think he will surpass Weah, Tillman, Paredes and Cowell. It is not a super high bar. But it would be something.
The cynic in me thinks that Cowell's ceiling is a crappy image of Iwobi. So I hope you're wrong about Berchimas!
Will be interesting to see how he physically develops. Looks like he might have a fair bit to grow. I’ll say that it looks like he has good close control.
Berchimas sneaks it in at the near post for his first of season! 😤1-0 @crownlegacyfc pic.twitter.com/aGFNmtLdEh— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) September 17, 2023
Ah, you must be new here. This story has been played out in this forum for the last decade. Look up Alfred Koroma, Charles Renken, Gale Agbossoumonde. Extremely over hyped prospects by posters on here because they looks great athletically as a teenager but always the same result. Nothing.
I think with Berchimas it’s not such an either/or issue. It’s true that he’s an early developer physically. He’s bigger, stronger, and faster than kids his own age, which is why he needs to be playing against older players. I think too you have to be prepared for that he either becomes a physically/athletically superior player or others will catch up in that regard. It can be some of both, but I don’t think this area can just be ignored as if it’s irrelevant. It’s also true that he’s a very talented player and is succeeding against older players. I think he’ll fall back a little (not that much), but he’s fast, he has good technique, he has good vision, good ball control, makes good decisions, and has reliable end product for a player his age. He’s probably one of the highest floor players of the 08’s. I’m a little unconvinced though he’s going to become like a Pulisic level winger.
Probably not Pulisic level. More Weah level is where I would peg him. But his 5th percentile outcome would put him above Pulisic. If a player has a 5-10% chance of being better than Pulisic that's a hell of a prospect. He's probably our best attacking prospect not named Cavan. Figueroa deserves to be in the conversation as well.
I definitely do not have a very good feel for Berchimas. There are times I watch him where he looks all athleticism and no skill, like he's pretty much guaranteed to get caught by others and struggle at higher levels. And then he'll do something that requires a decent chunk of skill, and I change my mind a bit. In broad buckets, there's a decent amount of Cade Cowell there. The skill's there at times, but it doesn't seem nearly as consistent or reliable as you'd want.
I think Cowell is a good comp on the physical side. And Cowell is a beast among grown men. Cowell is not a good comp on the mental side. Berchimas has figured some things out that Cade is still working on. He looks to be an instinctive player. He makes decisions quickly.
Julian Hall is the player that reminds me a lot of Cowell from the '08 age group. What I worry most with Berchimas is fluidity and just overall physical profile. I think he lacks a little bit of top level fluidity to his game. He has some, but it's still lacking a little both in his efficiency with touches and how he carries the ball in small areas through traffic. It could be that he's still very young and has too much of a "youth soccer" type game for now that'll get ironed out over the years, but regardless it's something I think is worth watching. The other thing I've noticed is that he hasn't grown the last year and a half to two years, or hasn't grown much. He's decently tall for his age, but it's very possible he doesn't grow much anymore and ends up like 5'8 or so as opposed to continuing to grow at an expected rate for a kid his age and his current height. I don't think it's a big issue, but he might eventually face some physical challenges against pros that he doesn't currently face against kids if he doesn't grow much. Generally though, I'm very positive about his outlook.
Jamir Johnson outplayed Julian Hall in the recent tournament where Cavan won the golden boot. Jamir looks very instinctive to me. Berchimas, Johnson and Hall are a hell of a trio of winger prospects.
Yes, if he doesn't grow he will be caught up athletically by many, and surpassed by some. I suspect he won't grow. Those who compare him to Cowell forgot that by age of 15 Cowell was a monster, he was bigger, stronger, and faster than 99% of adult players. Berchimas so far is faster and stronger than the kids. Cowell at 16. Are we sure that San Jose's Cade Cowell is 16 years old? pic.twitter.com/j4mQgctrdi— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) September 17, 2020
At 15 and a half, he has played 253 minutes in Next Pro. I hope he starts the last game of regular season as well. They have a strong team, so he doesn't have to be the man. It would be a good set-up for him. He doesn't have a lot to gain by playing U17 again in 2024.
Good discussion about Nimfa on the Scuffed Patreon podcast today. They (Marcus Chai and Matt Hartman) both agree that he has developed earlier on the physical side of things, but that his talent is evident even playing up two age groups.
Berchimas is in the top 10 of MLS Next Pro for players with as many minutes for total progressive plays (378 minutes, not the best sample but it's something.) He's by far the youngest player in the top 10. Pops out on both progressive carries and receptions. Still has some work to do on end product at that level, as he's producing a respectable but not remarkable 0.57 xG+xA per 96. Still, definitely a standout attacker for an '08.
He has the benefit of being surrounded by a super team at that level. Nimfa’s a damn big talent but on that team he’s the 3rd or 4th attacker you’d want to be prioritizing a game plan around so it benefits him because it gives him more time and space. Next season he should be expected to put up serious numbers at that level, I’d imagine he’s graduated from the academy at this point besides GA Cup
Agree. They rotate quite a lot in the attack and the best attacker on the team hasn't played with them over this last stretch when Nimfa played, so it is hard to say which group he is playing compared with the team as a whole, but the average Crown Legacy (CLT 2) team is way better than the average Next Pro team. It would be like being on Man City of the league. They are going to score more goals and create more chances than Burnley. It will be interesting to see his role next year and how they structure the team.