Snip: The 16-year-old has been chosen to train with PSV Eindhoven in Holland and is leaving later this week. "We are going over for seven days and there's a good chance they'll offer him a contract," said Jeff Sargent, Josh's father. "We'll come back and decide what to do." Josh Sargent also had a tryout over the summer with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. His trial with PSV Eindhoven, which has won 23 league titles, is just another step on a long road that could be coming to successful ending soon. http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high...cle_76a5f758-8da0-11e6-a31e-57083590b305.html He's an '00 birth year from Missouri who is in the current U17 pool. Don't know if he's eligible for a European passport. http://slmo.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams/index.php?team=1400991&player=30159765 http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...est-of-both-worlds-for-u-17-mnts-josh-sargent Nice visit home @joshsargent4 pic.twitter.com/vz8QzMh4sA— soccerSTL (@SoccerSTL) October 9, 2016 https://twitter.com/joshsargent4
That'd be great to have another striker in a european setup especially when Dutch academies are reknowned for their development of attacking players. Me gusta. Even in he doesn't sign, training with them is always a good experience for a youngster.
Snip: Sporting Kansas City has secured Sargent's homegrown player rights, multiple sources confirmed to Goal USA . How did Sporting KC pull it off? MLS teams are allowed to submit claims on players from their geographic territory even if the player wasn't part of their academy, and if there isn't enough strong interest in the player from other teams in the league, then the player's local team can be given his homegrown player rights within MLS. Sporting KC put in a claim on Sargent last summer, after he spent time training with the first team. ... Of course, the claim on Sargent only matters if he actually winds up signing with MLS. At the moment, Sargent is being actively pursued by several European clubs and could choose to sign overseas. That said, if he decides to begin his professional career in the U.S., it will be with Sporting KC. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110...atlanta?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Schalkamerica! Josh training with FC Schalke ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/XtTbYc3VpV— Jeff Sargent (@JeffSsarge64) January 28, 2017
I love this. Having a couple Americans at the same place has to diminish one of the hurdles to going abroad for these kids, homesickness. Also it is an effective draw at least for me, I have started watching the bundesliga primarily. It's very easy on the eye brand
I started watching the Bundesliga recently, too. Yesterday, I started watching the replay of the Schalke-Eintracht Frankfurt match. I made it 23 minutes before it put me to sleep. I hope these kids get first team opportunities before Schalke can dump all it's players and get new ones cuz they are pretty brutal to watch.
Looks like Josh is also visiting Bremen and Stuttgart on his tour of the Bundesliga: Checking out the pitch at Werder Bremen pic.twitter.com/DK46btW7Kz— Jeff Sargent (@JeffSsarge64) January 29, 2017 Last leg of the journey, enjoying a visit with Stuttgart pic.twitter.com/bl3yDPkzWs— Jeff Sargent (@JeffSsarge64) January 30, 2017
Not exactly overseas related, but a few things on Josh: This is an appropriate time to mention that Sargent is probably the best player on the current U17 MNT, Carleton et al included.— Will Parchman (@WillParchman) January 28, 2017 SLSG Academy product @joshsargent4 named #1 in @TopDrawerSoccer Top 150. https://t.co/PlwkM7ISHK— SLSG Pre Academy (@SLSGusdaMO) February 7, 2017 http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/featu...urce=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_m_medium=t
Honestly i just don't know what everyone sees in him. I wouldn't say he's even 2nd on that team. His ability to finish and make the final pass are great but he looks slow and clumsy. He looks like he can't do anything unless he has 10 yards of space between him and the defender. JMO and I hope I'm wrong.
I've gone on record stating that, in my eyes, he's a Harry Kane clone. He, like Kane, is tall and slender, average speed and athleticism, but a tremendous work rate, great vision, and great finishing. He may not be some super flashy player, but he makes the right plays and produces goals and assists for his team. When I first saw Kane play (his late teenage years at Spurs), I wasn't blown away, either. I kind of wondered why we were playing this kid who was destined to be a Championship-level player. He just didn't seem to have the attributes. I'm ecstatic to say that I've never been more wrong about anything in my entire life.
Obviously I'd take it if he turned into a Kane clone. It seems like the cool thing to do with this u17 squad is tell everyone why every player won't succeed. Except, for some reason, Sargent gets a pass. I'm sure it's all because we've already started to compare every player to Pulisic. Any player who isn't starting at a major club by the time he's 17 is overrated and the new Adu. Even though I don't see the same star level in Sargent that other people see, I still think he has the potential to be a good pro somewhere.
I think that's fair. The reality is, none of us can really predict where a player's development will go. Surefire, can't-miss prospects fail every year, while some unknowns work their tails off to become top players (Kane, I think, is one of those). Bottom line: we all want Sargent to succeed and turn into the next Kane (or whoever). Some of us just think he has a better chance.
While I'm inclined to agree with you, there are many who aren't. It's important for us all to remember that the best US U17 player might not have ever been on a U17 roster. For that matter, 5 years from now we could look back at this time and see that the best 21 year old player then isn't even a consideration for a U17 team now. I think the hope we all have is that we are getting more and better players so our B team should still be good enough to make the semis of a U17 word cup. Also, those players should be good enough to break through as starters on senior teams in top 4 leagues by the time they are 21 at the latest. At least, that's the goal.
I agree, it's hard to project but saying he's better than Carleton at this point is silly....that team has a ton of talent on it though, I'd say Josh is the 3rd or 4th best player on that team as of now....and that's no slight
Just so I understand this, the goal is for the U.S. to be two of the top four U17 teams in the world?
I don't think it's unrealistic, the 17s have more talent than any other class I've seen.....the midfield and forwards are fantastic....the WC will be decided by our defense, we won't have a problem netting....I think Carleton will become a worldwide known name after the tournament, I can't wait to see him light it up
Haha nice. In all seriousness, I really think that we can be every bit as good as Germany, Brazil, or anyone else. I don't think it's unrealistic or geocentric of us to assume we could be an elite soccer nation- one that can make the semifinals of a U17 tournament because we have 30-40 players every year who can compete with anyone in the world (at their age level).