I expect him to have a verbal agreement with a club this summer. Then do the back-and-forth training thing until he turns 18.
As mentioned on #TheXTRA, sources tell us 17 year old US U-20 star Josh Sargent is Werder Bremen bound. No timeline on announcement. #USMNT— Kevin Egan (@kev_egan) May 23, 2017
What's so underwhelming? Werder Bremen used to be a solid upper-middle-class Bundesliga club, though they've slipped over the last 5-7 years. They still finished ahead of Schalke, Gladbach, and Leverkusen this season. What's important is that he goes to a club where he'll be a valued prospect and where he'll have a reasonable path to playing time. At Werder, Sargent won't have to compete with elite Lewandowski or Aubameyang types to get into the first team, but he also won't be on a club whose first team is outgunned and face the threat of relegation or being starved of service all the time. Like any other player, if Sargent turns out to be too good for Werder, the market will rectify that soon enough. Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Obviously you don't want to see your best prospects go to crap clubs because of what that says about how scouts see them. But I'm not sure you want them to go to elite clubs either, as they tend to be buying clubs that set a very high bar for prospects to clear before they get any first team playing time.
one must also add that there are also rumors that Selke might go back to Bremen. So even more competition. There is also Eilers and Manneh.... the thing about Sargent and playing in the 1st team is that you have the U19 and Bremen II plays in 3rd division, he might be more likely to be sent in either of those 2 over the 1st team.
Lol there's a big gap between the "elite" and Werder Bremen. I'm not saying I want him to go to Real Madrid or something. I just think it'd be more beneficial to let the WC play out and weigh his options after that instead of handcuffing yourself to a team. You guys all seem to be assuming he'll get fast tracked to the first team. So let's say Bremen gets relegated next season while he's with the youth squad (not entirely unrealistic).......now what? His stock is still rising as we speak and he would end up essentially having his pick of what club he'd like to play for. This is just an odd time to go to a team like this when he is sure to have even more suitors when the u20 WC is over.
So he'll be at the u20 World Cup for the next few weeks (hopefully), then back home I'd guess, then u17 World Cup in early October. I wonder if STLFC will throw him a contract for that limited time window. Taitague's "amateur" contract allowed him to play with Schalke right after signing on his 18th birthday, so hopefully Sargent can get something similar.
Werder haven't been relegated since the 70s. I'm not that old, but I'm old enough to remember when they finished in the top three for six out of seven years in the 2000s. Their budget is a bit thriftier than some other Bundesliga clubs but they aren't exactly minnows either. I'm not sure anybody is assuming he'll be fast tracked to the first team. It's just a question of how big the hurdle is if/when the time comes to make the jump. McKennie is about to get a shot at Schalke next season. He probably would have a much harder time of getting a shot were he at PSG or Chelsea. Having a more reasonable path to playing time in a top three league is a good place to begin one's career. Anyway, this isn't about finding the flashiest club. It's about finding the right fit from a coaching and developmental standpoint. If Sargent & whoever is advising him think that Werder will be a good spot, that's what matters. It is important to divorce how you think about clubs from a first team perspective from how you think about clubs from a youth development perspective. If Sargent does end up a Werder, I just don't see it as cause for whining. He'll have a platform to develop and, hopefully, excel at a solid Bundesliga club. And from there, if all goes well? Who knows.
@Epitome990, can we get an opinion on the situation at Bremen? Does he have any chance of going right into the first team when he's eligible or will he play with the U-19 team initially? I believe he has '98 German youth CF Johannes Eggestein in front of him, a very highly rated player who for all intents and purposes might be a two years older German Sargent.
I'd think his timeline would be similar to that of a European player who's season is ending right now. He's got another few weeks (hopefully as you said). Then he'll rest and relax for like two months before preparing for about two months with the U-17's for the U-17 WC. Maybe he'll throw a stint in at Bremen after he returns and before the U-20 WC, and maybe he'll also spend the winter training camp at Werder Bremen before hopefully signing in February, if he signs somewhere in USL or NASL for a season, even if he doesn't play any games. If he's for real, Young is not real competition.
I think we'd all love for him to officially sign with Bremen in February, make his senior team debut a short time later, be an instant success, and be our secret weapon in Russia. Realistically, I'd love to see him improve his hold up play and creativity. I think he has a great finishing ability and does some things really well. But I think he could be even better if the right coach is patient and takes time to develop him in the areas where he is lacking. If he's going to Bremen, I wonder where some of the other kids are going. I'm guessing most of them won't get the pub this one did
I kind of agree. I think he's already made big improvements with his finishing and athleticism. He was always very hard working, good in the air, and good with the target work. His technical ability is average at best though, and he has minimal ability to beat defenders with the ball. He's needs to get service from other players, he's not going to create his own chances. He's a smart player with the runs he makes and how he reads defenders, but I think he's maybe not the best with fitting into a quick, one touch very technical type of game. I'm not sure he has the best read of his teammates movements when they are off the ball, and how to keep a quick tempo game going. He tends to slow down the game. He's a very good player who's made big improvements already, still things he can improve on though.
I wouldn't know since I've never seen him play. But transfermarkt has 7/11 games as CF and only 4 games as winger. So almost 2/3 of his games are supposedly CF.
Young is Zardes 2.0 in play style and positions he's able to play, IMO, so he can play both wing and striker, IMO.
Now Werder Bremen is underwhelming for US prospects? good grief. Some folks really just don't know what they are talking about. Anyways, I'm off to find the mythical perfect European club for Josh Sargent. Not too big because he won't get first team opportunities.... Not too small because they might get relegated.... Somewhere just right..
So Bremen signs Johansson, then tries to get Morris, then brings in Young, and now goes after Sargent? You think they want an American at all, or...
The thing about Sargent is that he seems a little like a smart poacher, very skillful, but without an overwhelming physical advantage (speed, size, etc.). My first impression of him is that he reminds me of Tomas Muller. But that could just as easily be Taylor Twellman.
As a player who is born in the year 2000, Sargent will realistically be joining the U19s first. It's just the general structure of the youth system for how young players get transitioned in Germany. Example is how Alexander Isak didn't get first team minutes with Dortmund right away. In terms of youngsters ahead of him, Werder Bremen have Johannes Eggestein and Ousman Manneh who are born in '98 and '97 respectively. Worth noting though that we are the only club in the Bundesliga who have a reserve squad that will compete in the 3.Liga next season. Which is still a fair amount of challenge for younger players. If he shows strong impact immediately, then I can see him being promoted towards the Werder II team and possibly even make a pro debut later on in the season.
I'll go against the grain. I'd love to see him at Spurs. Here's why: 1. He plays very similarly to Harry Kane. He could literally learn from one of the world's most prolific strikers (29 goals and 7 assists in 30 games), who also happens to have an extremely similar skillset. 2. Pochettino is one of the top developers/promoters of his youth players in the world. In just the last few years, Lallana, Schneiderlin, Shaw, Chambers, Kane, Alli, Winks, Dier -- and has several more youngsters (including quasi-Yank Samuel Shashoua) lining the bench, waiting for a chance. If I'm not mistaken, we've had the youngest team in the Premier League for the last two years. 3. We don't have an established backup for Harry Kane. His current backup is Vincent Janssen, who has failed to impress (to say the least). 4. He'd be surrounded by extremely high quality attackers, like Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, and Christian Eriksen. 5. Spurs' schedule is slammed. You have the 38-game EPL season, Champions League/Europa League, FA Cup, and the EFL Cup. He'd have frequent opportunities. In short, I think it'd also be a faster road to the top of his game (state-of-the-art facilities, excellent coaching, talented teammates, wide-open depth chart, and almost guaranteed playing time if he's good enough). At the same time, I wouldn't complain about him going somewhere like Bremen, as long as he can get some playing time. I just want to see him develop and reach his potential.
What's crazy is that he won't be available for first team selection for 2, possibly even 3 transfer windows. So a lot of these hypothetical "where would he fit best" scenarios won't apply 1+ years from now. Maybe one of the benefits of commiting to Bremen early is that they won't add more young talent at striker in next year.