USMNT Transfer Watch - Movers and Shakers

At the end of last year Tessmann was already starting to lose the confidence of his manager starting IIRC when poor passes caused his FB's to get RC ejections. He went through trials at CB and finally lost his starting spot in the midfield towards the end of the season.

Tessmann is a traffic cone on defense and his vaunted long passing did not produce much if any offense. He is very strong and fairly press-resistant on the ball and very confident moving and circulating the ball.

At this point he looks to be close to transfer listed by Lyon and they make take as little as $15M for him.

 

He's currently injured.

I think he lost his spot for tactical reasons.

 

I hope he doesn’t go to the EPL.. especially not Leeds

 

🇺🇸 Sources: Werder Bremen sign USYNT center back Ramiz Hamouda from Birmingham Legion.

Hamouda, just turned 18 this week, featured at U-17 World Cup. Talented player, off to Bundesliga https://t.co/QZ4O5Ff5xJ

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) May 28, 2026

 

SKC academy product.

 

Was there a transfer fee?

 

Doubt it. Should be some solidarity payments.

 

To me, the story is as much about how thoroughly a club the size of Werder Bremen (a big enough club, sure, but there are probably 40 clubs in Europe with more financial resources) is scouting America. Unless Bremen has some kind of partnership with Birmingham.

 

Well, he was a YNT starter. And they’ve done it before, with Sargent.

 

Okay but you'd have to actually be paying attention to realize this is nothing new, with the exact same club, and then you couldn't weigh in with a comment that makes no sense while trying to sound reasonable and smart.

 

From Feb 2024:

The Sporting Kansas City academy product was not offered a homegrown deal, but the New York Red Bulls offered to trade for his homegrown rights. That deal ultimately did not come off. Other teams including the Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew were interested, the sources said.

Hamouda, a left-footed center back, went on trial with the Werder Bremen under-19s last fall and impressed during his time there, but was unable to sign a contract until he turned 18 due to FIFA rules.

They'd been tapping him up since he had a trial in 2023 and he's been over there to train multiple times.

 

Good move for Hamouda. I'm looking forward to following his progress.

As we know, this isn't the first time a kid has left an MLS academy and used the USL as a "holding area" until he could go to Europe at 18. Jonathan Gomez is a good example. Everyone involved with Lousville knew exactly what was going on there. Everything is transparent from the beginning. No surprises.

[I do like this strategy of getting first team playing time in the USL if the MLS club path isn't working out for myriad of potential reasons. Diego Luna, Brooklyn Raines, Matthew Corcoran are recent success stories. They came back to MLS stronger for it.]

Our recent history of CBs of this age going to Europe isn't super exciting. Josh Wynder, Matai Akinmboni, etc. There's a third that's trying to pop into my mind. And I'm not talking about the group that went before them. Nico Carrera, Jonathan Tomkinson, Justin Che (played CB at North Texas), etc. Kobi Henry.

Josh Wynder is one we were hoping would have a breakout year. We at least expected him to get a little bit of time this year. [Thanks Mourinho.]

Obviously these guys are still young, and the CB position can be a later-blooming one, but still.................................

We had all of these hopes for the 2024 Olympic team, and in the end we had to use two overage slots for the position. Fingers crossed for 2028 (I'm looking at you Noahkai.). Probably should have used three and brought Luna!

 

Overall a very good post but the initial statement doesn't jibe with body of the overall content. Moving to Europe is always a gamble but it certainly seems to be a death sentence for our U20 CBs. Can we even name a success story after Richards? I don't count Banks because I think he has been raised in the Augsburg youth system... Che, Wynder, Akinmboni, and Henry could have all stayed in the US and likely have started their U19-21 years as starting CBs in the MLS.... but they went to Europe and are either overlooked or moved to FB. I like what I have seen from Che since returning but is he better for playing RB in Europe for those years? Of course staying in the US doesn't assure success either... see Neal. We will just have to wait and see if this move works out... it's early on for Pierre as well. But I have to wonder if the U23 CB pool would look as bare as it is now if these guys had solidified themselves as starting MLS CBs for a longer period of time before attempting to move across the pond.

 

But in this case SKC didn't even offer him a contract. Other MLS clubs saw his potential but given that someone had flown him to Bremen for a trial when he was 15, I guess not being offered a contract was a defining moment.

 

Sure. That happens too. Did San Jose offer Fidel Barajas and Diego Luna homegrown contracts? If these players have an opportunity to go play for a USL team that they feel is a superior situation (for a myriad of potential reasons)..............then go for it. There have been a group of Dallas academy kids that did it, and most aren't heard from again. But Gomez and Corcoran "made it."

Hamouda went to Birmingham AND PLAYED.
Matthew Corcoran went there, and had a bunch of injury problems. But HE PLAYED.

The CEO and head coach of Birmingham (basically runs everything) is former MLSer..................Jay Heaps. He gets it. Assistant coach is former MLSer and USYNTer Eric Avila. Long may it continue.

They have an interesting roster with a lot of guys we've talked about on these boards. Hell...........Sebastian Saucedo.

 

We might as well put this tweet here as well.

James Sands won't return to FC St. Pauli for another season, with the club announcing his departure. Around his injuries he proved himself Bundesliga quality, but it's unclear where the midfielder, under contract with NYCFC through 2028, will play next https://t.co/xuW4BzJTVB pic.twitter.com/T14Caue0Em

— New York Soccer Journal (@nysoccerjournal) May 29, 2026

 

Luna went to Barca Academy.

 

Yup. Before that he was with San Jose Earthquakes for three years.

Why didn't he sign for them? Seems complicated.
Our San Jose friends have feelings.........................

Captain hindsight: Was our handling of Diego Luna an all-time MLS level failure? | BigSoccer Forum

 

Let's add this one here too...............

VfL Wolfsburg confirm six departures ahead of next season:

Jeanuël Belocian, Adam Daghim, Jenson Seelt and Jesper Lindström return to their clubs, while Jonas Wind and Kevin Paredes depart after long spells.

Thank you and good luck, Wolves 🐺#VfLWolfsburg pic.twitter.com/hAUWcZphQR

— VfL Wolfsburg EN/US 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 (@VfLWolfsburg_EN) May 27, 2026

 

Serie A midfielder could be available for West Ham

Not sure confidence level of link but Musah to recently relegated West Ham wouldnt be terrible IMO, especially if Nuno stays on

 

Has any player who’s gone to USL before 18 before a European move been a success story? I feel like pretty much everyone would have been better off starting in MLS and getting real playing time.

 

Haji Wright is probably the closest thing to that. He went from LA Galaxy Academy to the NY Cosmos who were playing in the NASL (second incarnation) at that time. As soon as he turned 18 he went across the pond on a free.

 

And he had a very long and winding path till he established himself.

 

Despite being a regular starter, FC Koln have declined the purchase option on the loan for American left back Kristoffer Lund

Lund will now return (at least for now) to Palermo, which will play next season in Serie B after its recent elimination from the promotional playoffs https://t.co/QYh76A49O3

— Brian Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) May 29, 2026

Despite being a regular starter, FC Koln have declined the purchase option on the loan for American left back Kristoffer Lund Lund will now return (at least for now) to Palermo, which will play next season in Serie B after its recent elimination from the promotional playoffs

 

We might as well put the Musah to West Ham rumor here too.
Serie A midfielder could be available for West Ham

That's story has been circulating for a while. From several weeks ago.
West Ham join transfer race for USMNT star Yunus Musah as former Arsenal trainee is linked with a return to England | Goal.com Ghana

The original rumor came from the Daily Mail, so take that for what its worth..........................

I wouldn't hate it.