Yanks Abroad (2026/27 Thread)

Ramos to AC Milan set the tone for the forward market............and the rest of the continent and the island are going to hate it. Monaco are about to get PAID. Hope he has a nice day today.

RSL are gonna get paid by Gozo. Villa most heavily linked. Hes gonna be a big one next cycle.

Dest has been regularly linked to Bayern Munich. If PSV were to cash out, this is the offseason to get the most profit IMO. A strong game today helps that too.

Hopefully Pepi still has strong stock. As I said, forward market bar has been set. Thats great news for Pepi and PSV. Because it is LOW.

The more strong games Tyler Adams has, the more it could put him in the shopping window. But hes also in a fantastic situation with Bournemouth so he would have to think on that.

Tillman wants out of Leverkusen supposedly, and Fulham was linked in past.

Berhalter is due a nice move, certainly not anywhere near the profile, but hopefully Championship.

Id love to see that Parma Reyna connection reignite so at least a loan can happen (preferably with a purchase option). They were super interested all offseason last year until BMG late swoop. I really hope its still there, it might be his last overseas option.

Bryan Reynolds to Rennes link would be absolutely fantastic and probably would go a long way to getting him back in the picture for next cycle (hes only 24! insane)

George Campbell getting looks from Celtic, he had a nice end of campaign for West Brom last season and he actually ended up scoring crucial goals for them.

Peyton Miller has been linked to a few premiership sides, including Villa and Tottenham. As well as PSV.

I refuse to believe there are 100ish teams in the top 5 top flight teams of Europe that are "too good" to sign a player like Diego Luna. Outright refuse.

 

Good rundown.

I'd say that based on their current financial situation, Tanner Tessmann of Lyon has a good chance of being moved.

I was thinking Aidan Morris might be one to move, but they just sold his midfield partner.

Brenden Aaronson is an interesting one. Last year of his contract upcoming. They're in a re-sign or lose for nothing situation. If they get an offer, they may think about it. Maybe an offer from MLS??? Farke seems to really like Brenden, so we'll see.

Antonee is another we hear persistent rumors about.

Oh, Rokas Pukstas is another likely to move. We've heard Hull City had submitted a bid already................

 

Luna could play there. But that's not the question. The big question is whether Luna is better enough than many of the current players on those teams to justify the transfer fee from Salt Lake. And whether that better enough applies to the teams in question.

There's not really 100 teams. Luna's really not good enough for the top teams across those leagues -- so that's what, 20-30 out?

Luna's not going to be super expensive, but there's simply a group at the bottom of these leagues that don't scout the US, aren't going to look at the risk profile, etc., and even some that simply aren't buying much at all. That takes quite a few more out.

Factor in that his play style isn't likely to be appreciated by mid and lower table clubs (he's on ball and more than a bit saucy compared to the team player / defensive types preferred here), questions about his athleticism, etc., and you can see why the market isn't super strong on him.

I don't think that doesn't mean he couldn't actually play just as well as many in the league. But there's a lot of barriers a team has to evaluate when buying a player -- transfer fee, salary, evaluation risk, fit risk, cultural risk, scouting cost, etc. -- that it's simply always much easier and safer to stick with options closer to home. Especially since there's likely not a lot of transfer upside in terms of value.

 

Freese will have a chance to earn a move if he gets tested before the end of the tournament and comes up big.

 

I can see Luna moving to Liga MX like Brian Gutierrez did.

As time has gone on, I'm having a hard time seeing him go to Europe.

 

I think he could do really well in Portugal or the Championship, but I doubt the money there would make it worth the move

 

I've posted on this topic before, but I don't think people really grasp the reality of salaries in Europe. People are talking about Ligue 1. Diego Luna makes $450,000/year. That would place him in the top 1/2 of the payroll of all but 3 teams in Ligue 1. To be viable at a club like Lille, he likely needs to be a guaranteed starter, because all of their reserves make less than he does. I mean, maybe they would take him as a development player or maybe they will significantly up their salary structure, but that isn't really what their salary structure is geared towards and this is the 3rd straight year they have qualified for Champions League.

The championship is much more able to afford his salary as a rotational player.

 

PHENOMENAL MOVE! That sets him up SO well for next cycle. Should be direct competition for backup for right back. Him vs Joe Scally, let them fight.

Lets get Bello and Wiley levelled up next. Bello is technically fine, hes winning silverware,........unless we can get him a top flight team or at least a championship team.

Also, forgot to add, on review, Kevin Paredes also already moved to FC Utrecht for those who missed it in previous thread. Im also a fan of that move too

 

One of the Yanks Abroad we'll really be watching for this season!!

Translation:

Mathis #Albert will complete the preseason training entirely with the pros. He'll be part of the squad for the start of training as well as for the test matches against Oberhausen & Düsseldorf. On top of that, Albert will be included in the BVB squad for the Japan tour. 1/2

🇺🇸 Mathis #Albert wird die Saison-Vorbereitung vollständig bei den Profis absolvieren. Zum Trainingsauftakt wird er ebenso zum Aufgebot gehören wie bei den Testspielen gegen Oberhausen&Düsseldorf. Darüber hinaus wird Albert im BVB-Kader für die Japan-Tour stehen. 1/2

🗞️rn#BVB pic.twitter.com/IpN5DLV9Er

— Aro10 (@AroooBVB) July 4, 2026

 

WORLD CUP MOURNING PERIOD IS OVER. WE BALL:

Rokas Pukstas and Hajduk Split advance in Europa qualifiers despite losing 2-1 today with a 3-2 aggregate over MSK Zilina

 

Ouch. I just saw this.

 

Good write up from Brian.

Players already abroad he didn't mention but I am interested in seeing what happens to include:

Rokas Pukstas
George Bello
George Campbell

All three have been linked with upgrade moves. Pukstas especially is one of the most exciting young players we have.

Decent chance all 3 are off this summer.

 

Players in MLS I think may move this summer or in January and am interested in seeing where they end up:

Gozo
Mehmeti
Hall
Hezarkhani
Berhalter

The more I look into this Hezerkhani kid the more interested I become in following how things go for him... left footed.. powerful with both feet.. decent finisher.. decent pace.. exciting prospect flying under the radar a bit compared to some of the others.

Looks like Pierre is staying in MLS for a bit.. but excited to follow his development. Low key excited to follow Cade Cowell's development (I know) but I believe in Michael Bradley and if anyone can get something more out of Cowell I think he can.

 

One name we're starting to hear in the regular gossip rags is Balogun.
Will Monaco cash in on him while his value is high after the World Cup?

Juve is linked so they can have the CONCACAF trifecta of Santiago Gimenez, Jonathan David, and Balogun. Gimenez is injured AGAIN.

Transfer rumors, news: USMNT's Balogun targeted by Juve, Dortmund - ESPN

- Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland are all looking at Monaco and USMNT striker Folarin Balogun, Mundo Deportivo reports. The indication is that he will leave the Ligue 1 club, with Juventus best placed to secure the 25-year-old's signature. The Bianconeri already have Jonathan David and Loïs Openda in addition to new signing Jeff Ekhator, but they are equally interested in Balogun. Dortmund and Sunderland are both keeping an eye on him but are considered a step down from Juventus.

Oh, and Pepi is clearly one to keep an eye on.

 

Yeah, he'll be 23 in about six weeks, they tend to go aggressively after 16-20 year olds in MLS, don't seem as interested in 23, 24, 25 plus.

Still, I don't really get it. The guy has been incredible in MLS other than basically a 3 month stretch last fall.

His birthday is in September, so basically these seasons are primarily the first #, but here ya go:

His age 19/20 season: 6 goal contributions in 1350+ minutes in what constitutes his rookie year in '23.

His age 20/21 season in '24: 16 goal contributions in 2400 minutes.

His age 21/22 season in '25: 13 goal contributions in about 2450 minutes (including that massive slump post gold cup where he did virtually nothing the rest of the season).

This year, his age 22/23 season: 5 goal contributions in 700 minutes.


I just don't really get why they haven't been interested. It isn't other worldly production like we've seen from other guys over the years, but any scouting of the dude whatsoever would reveal he's got double digit goal scoring chops, and at least on the MLS level, and he's basically good for at least MLS comparable leagues assist rate of about 2.5 assists per 1000 league minutes, and of course the goal every 200 minutes or so. It's not an ideal rate, but for a guy working as a midfielder and WF, it's not bad at all in his first 3 years in the league. I just wonder if at the end of the day, his physique has habitually basically closed doors to him. With that Fred Flinstone body type, kind El Tri's Blanco-esque, he doesn't seem to attract European eyes. I'm amazed we haven't even heard a rumor of interest beyond LigaMX. It makes zero sense to me, but at this point, he's turning 23 in early September, and that UEFA club grooming thing tends to shut down around age 21-24, so other than the Arf route, of maybe getting a move on a free later, seems unlikely he gets the move unless it comes this winter or next summer at the latest, but after everything he did with Club in '24, and '25, and at the Gold Cup in '25, if he got no bites then, why would he now?

 

How amazing would Flo to Dortmund be…….. incredible

 

I don't see why he'd get anything, he got our gig basically because Steffen, Horvath, and Turner are all collectively imploded between '22 and '24. He didn't get the gig out of merit, the merit was basically not being a gaffe/howler machine like Turner had been '23-'25 for club and country, Turner basically lost the gig after his disastrous run of form that error culminating in the god awful positioning error against Panama in NL '25. Once Freese had his second howler in a year against Belgium, that run was over, his first, not really his fault, but also not his fault against Turkey last summer, he got a mulligan on, but not so in a knockout match of the World Cup. The e3ntire reason he was in net, the sole reason he was in net, was the sense that he wouldn't make the horrible error playing it out the back, in terms of positioning, or just Steffenesque, and instead, he made the worst GK howler in the history of US goalies, in the worst possible moment in the history of US GK's, and that is a wrap. That was the sole selling point: He's not gonna be additive in goals prevented like Turner, with his shot stopping, but he's not gonna cost us a game with a howler, like Steffen, Horvath, Turner, and Old Man Howard would have. Well, nobody can make that argument anymore, so now you just consult your advanced goalie stats, and Freese after the gaffe, is what he is, an average MLS Keeper, while looking up at superior Turner, the best domestic GK, and Brady, a pretty damn good one, w/a howler of his own against Senegal, but better advanced GK stats and at a much younger age (especially in terms of breakout as a keeper, where Freese broke out as a starter at age 25, while Brady broke out at age 18).....


This should be obvious for the next coach, and I'm sorry to the guy, but Freese should be cast out, to where he belongs, MLS, and MLS alone, while we bring in Kochen, and Brady, and whatever MLS guy is hottest, until either Eyestone, or Prescott or whatever latest Euro Fairy Dust Keeper (Gaga, please, for the love of God?!?!?!) can replace them.....

We need to be honest about Freese. He had the gig because he hadn't made any gaffe's that were entirely on him, and that was it. Because his #'s in MLS are largely meh, career wise (not bad, not good, just mid), and they do reflect a guy who wasn't good enough to win a starting gig until he was quite old......

So time to move on. Will we? No, we'll be stubborn, and probably a little bit sentimental, and not want his last USMNT start be that house of horrors performance, but the reality is it should be, unless you want to throw a Camp Cupcake start his way as a bow out of the program because come on, if you have to earn this gig, well, he never really did in the first place, and if you had to do something to keep it, which he did (No Gaffe's), well that run of form ended. So Good Night now. I hope he's gone by the end of '26, but honestly he probably won't be used out until '27.

What would I do? I'd call in Brady, Turner, and Kochen to the next camp, or two of them and take Prescott instead of Turner, and I'd probably give the start to Brady, so long as he maintains his reasonably strong 1.5 season run at age 20 and 21 so far......

 

All our keepers suck (relative to the highest level of play).

Turner has looked like crap in a usmnt kit lately as well.

He was never that good but at least was competent cerca 2021-2023.

I wouldn’t feel any better whatever if you told me one of them was in over the other.

It’s, frankly, a disaster.

 

I think you just need to look at performance #'s and scouting reports.

The only young MLS keeper playing well is Brady, who broke through as the starter for a disaster class, bottom dwelling Chicago in '23 at age 18. There's enough excitement about his upside to consider him maybe a guy that can work his way into a Guzan level if everything clicks.

Abroad we have Kochen, Gaga, Prescott, Eyestone. I think there might be 1 or 2 others I'm unaware of, or just forgotten the name of but the reality is we have to keep our eye on them because all of the vets who came through '18-'26 have flamed out as options, literally all of him.*

*The one exception is Turner, whom, as you said, put together a nice enough run '21-'23 to cover while we tried to develop more and the fact that Turner could come back to MLS, and immediately race past literally every single domestic starter we had in MLS easily, and produce #'s similar if not quite as good as his peak period ('18-'21), well, Turner probably deserves some more spackle call ups at least to '28 as we hope and pray we can grab 2 options, and maybe 3, out of the Kochen, Brady, Gaga, Prescott, Eyestone group.

Considering how well thought of Brady, Kochen, Prescott and Eyestone are to varying degrees (I think I'm forgetting another guy or two as well), I think we'll probably have 2 guys, possibly 3 good to go by some point between Summer '27 and Summer '29. If not, well, as you seem to feel, we'll be totally ----ed, and just starting another Freese and hoping he doesn't go down in flames like Freese did, but yeah, with four or five prospect/starters age 22 or so and younger, I feel we've got a reasonable shot at finding some answers.

I'm betting on the upside, and assuming at worst, we'll have a starter+ Brady, or Brady+someone good enough to train up behind him, then we spackle #3. If we have 3, all the better.

We'll see, but I'm hopeful. The only alarming thing for me was how cheap the option to buy was Barcelona supposedly attached to Kochen on his loan, that $$$, number does not sound like they think he's a stud, which goes against literally everything I've heard and seen the past 3 years (admittedly the seen is just clips).