YNT-eligible lower division-pro players: 2022 IN-SEASON thread

I would think so. He doesn't turn 18 until Jan 1st., so it makes sense for him to spend the season with Loudon. Highly unlikely he's able to leave for Dortmund next year if he signs a MLS contract w DC.

 

I won't claim to have looked EVERYWHERE, but everywhere I looked, I couldn't find news of a transaction. That to me suggests academy deal, but I might have just missed it, and it's just a guess, based mainly on the perhaps-fanciful assumption that there's some kind of obligation to announce that you signed a guy to a pro contract.

 

This is where I think the Fletcher situation is.

I had it explained to me by a few people, but I don’t understand exactly what type of contract he has. I would agree academy contract is most likely. He’s there to get higher level competition. He trains with DC first team and plays for Loudoun. The plan is still Europe, so I would not expect there to be any long-term contract with DC.

 

Fletcher also seems to have an agent, though while it's not surprising, it looks like he's committed to the pro path.

 

I watched the 2nd half of the Loudoun game to catch Fletcher. He started off as more of a CF and then drifted out wide left towards the end of the half. He had 3 turnovers trying to dribble past guys, the rest was pretty positive. He had multiple shots on goal and I think hit the crossbar on one.

Impressive athletic profile, he’s a pretty big guy that moves well. Looked to have a bit of a cannon of a right foot. Exciting profile, will definitely tune in more

 

A few clips from Kristian Fletcher’s first professional match w/Loudoun. General thoughts:
- Very rare for 16 yr to look physically advanced vs grown men, but that’s what’s going on
- Love his relentless pursuit of goals, very few in 🇺🇸 pool have that killer instinct (think Gio) pic.twitter.com/dY5KP1lHiu

— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) May 17, 2022

 

Do you know, or get the feeling, that he will be able to play for a Dortmund academy team next year? I know that the reports have indicated he does have a UK passport. The FIFA rules seem to flip flop a lot and Brexit. It would be sad if he can’t play for Dortmund until he’s 18. USL minutes would make that not as bad, but still not ideal.

 

Next season? No, it’ll be 2023-24. I also question the pathway. Don’t see how he’s breaking into that club after only one season in the U-19’s. He’s at such a disadvantage, especially given he’s almost certainly not going to have any first team reps going in, but maybe he’s rated that highly by Dortmund that it won’t matter.

 

He can’t play for Dortmund’s academy until 2023-24.

He may be eligible to play for DC academy for time being. Not sure about rules about switching mid season, and then he’d age out of traditional age groups at DC United at the end of this season.

 

Games from last week:

Orange County SC: Korede Osundina ('04) had a very dangerous performance that included nearly scoring a nice goal. His speed is such a big threat. It'll look like he can't possibly get to a 50/50 ball, but with his running against a non-elite athlete, it's 70/30 that he gets there first due to his burst. I've mentioned many times before that he reminds me a little of Tim Weah. He had a few weak crosses in this game that he could've done better with, but he does usually make pretty good decisions, and this is only his first pro season. Give it some more time, and I think we'll see more goal productivity.

Jonathan Gomez ('05) was subbed on for his debut. He was playing as the LCM in a double 8. He barely played, so it's hard to derive much, but he showed some confidence in getting on the ball and also showed he's willing to put in a tackle or two. Need to see more than less than 10 minutes to asses his game any more than that.

Louisville: Joshua Wynder ('05) had his weakest game of the season a week after I said he doesn't have many bad performances. He was beat for one goal by quick play and nice movement, and the other he was a little out of position covering LB, and got caught with poor positioning. Both were probably his fault. The first was more of his fault. The second he deserves blame, but I think it's harsh to put too much of it on him. He's a good player, but positioning does need some work. As he moves up to higher levels, he will be challenged more often than he is in USL. He doesn't have the raw pace to recover, if he's poorly positioned, although I wouldn't say his pace is bad. It's just not good enough to recover from positioning errors.

LAG II: Marcus Ferkranus ('03) was about average in his first start of the season. He had one slight error. A player got in-between he and the other CB to head one a cross from close range. The two of them deserve pretty equal blame. That kind of goal is tough to defend, but needs to be defended. Aside from that, he did his job well. He didn't have an active game with his passing, but was able to make a few nice defensive plays. Cameron Dunbar ('02) had a pretty inactive game, which is unusual for him. He usually is active, even if he's not playing his best. He did have two goals though. Sometimes that happens where a player has a few goals, but has one of his weaker games.

Jalen Neal ('03) was subbed on late to play RB. I suspect this may be a move aimed at using him there for the first team with Araujo potentially missing a few weeks coming up here soon, getting Neal more first team minutes, and getting Ferkranus some more minutes. He did his job defensively, as usual. He also had a nice pass into a CF for a pre-assist.

New Mexico: Cristian Nava ('03) in an attacking midfield role shows good soccer IQ, ball control, and ability to combine, but I don't know that he's overly quick (or fast), he's not overly creative or a great passer either. He can create some danger and belongs at this level, but he's more of a low-level pro prospect.

NYRB II: Curtis Ofori ('05) is still struggling with recognizing defensive danger. He fell asleep on a goal because he let his mark go by him after watching the ball. This happens way too often. It may be best that they send him down a level to the U-17's for the time being, bring him back into the reserves in a smaller role for the second half of the season, and then let him slowly transition into a starting role for the reserves as they move into Next Pro, which is a lower level where the competition should be easier. He's going to need a lot of time to develop, if he eventually does pan out. Sam Williams ('05) had his typical average performance in midfield without doing anything too good or bad. Illia Tyrkus ('05) scored a great goal and had a few other moments of danger, but aside from scoring a great goal didn't have one of his more dangerous games.

Loudoun: Theodore Ku-DiPietro ('02) completely dominated this game. He had a nice assist, he nearly had a highlight-reel assist, he had an incredible 70 yard run with the ball, and created so much danger. I don't get why he's not playing regularly for the first team. With all due respect to Griffin Yow, how does he get into the first team ahead of Ku-DiPietro? Makes no sense. Ignacio Alem ('06) made his debut in USL. He's a pretty good dribbler that is smooth on the ball with some acceleration. Reminds me a little of Beni Redzic. He didn't play much or have many touches, but didn't look out of place in limited minutes.

Kristian Fletcher ('05) also had his pro debut. He played the second half. He did well. I think about the level of play you'd expect out of a top-level '05. He had a few attempts on goal cutting in from the right side. One was very close to scoring, and another wasn't that far off. He did create a lot of danger, but there were also some errors. Not unusual, given his age, and that he's not a finished product. He was one of the better players on the field in the second half. Hopefully he an continue that in upcoming games.

 

In related news I can't see "Kristian Fletcher" without thinking of Fletcher Christian:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Christian

Perhaps he will play for the Pitcairn Island national team... the number of residents has been declining and heading towards zero, perhaps he could help repopulate it.

 

What a night for Nick Holliday.

✓ First professional clean sheet
✓ Two saves
✓ Three points#RootedInNC pic.twitter.com/o5YejcGt0f

— North Carolina FC 🏆 (@NorthCarolinaFC) May 22, 2022

Diego Luna pounces on the turnover to grab the lead! 😤#OCvELP | @eplocomotivefc pic.twitter.com/oEuU3LVCAC

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 22, 2022

 

Luna's stats for this season:

10 apps 4 goals 2 assists

 

ɴᴇᴡ ᴍᴇxɪᴄᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴜᴅ

First professional goal for Cristian Nava 😎#NMvPHX | @NewMexicoUTD pic.twitter.com/MkBOpvWc5m

— USL Championship (@USLChampionship) May 25, 2022

 

It looks like Milwaukee expects to announce a pro team soon, as part of news regarding a facility where Marquette's teams would also play.

Now, I know what you're wondering, and I've got the explanation regarding the name "Milwaukee" right here.

 

Corcoran made his debut for Birmingham tonight. Also, John Heaps IV is on the bench which is kind of rad.

 

Games from last week.

Las Vegas: Antonio Leone ('04) did very well as a RB in this game. While he doesn't have traditional attacking skills for a full-back, he was able to improvise, and help enough in the attack, while also doing a good job defensively. Christopher Jaime ('03) adds something in a forward position with his dribbling. I don't know that it's a lot, but of the three young attackers he's the least hyped up of the three by far, and I think he's probably actually the best prospect of the three.

I've now seen enough of Nathan Ordaz ('04) to say that I do not rate this player. No real loss if he plays for Mexico IMO, and doesn't belong on our U-20 roster. Could he improve or could I be wrong? Absolutely, but I don't see much in the way of real attacking talent. Christian Torres ('04) off the bench added a small spark offensively. This was one of his better games. I just don't know that he tangibly adds more than the occasional flash of nice dribbling and skill.

Atlanta II: Being a fan of Efrain Morales ('04) is a real litmus test. He's not very good right now, but there's so much potential in his game. If he could ever learn to not do stupid things and process the game a little quicker, he could be an absolute monster because he's like 6'4, athletic, and really good technically (composure on the ball and passing range). In this game, he took a stupid second yellow to put his team down to ten men. He was pressured a little on the ball, and then reached in after he lost it with a stupid challenge that was always going to be a card.

Luke Brennan ('05) did an admirable job filling in at LB, and then he shifted to RB later on. He's more of a natural attacker, and I've rarely seen him play fullback before (maybe only once or twice), but I think they probably like his versatility. I also like his versatility, but I think he's the type of player where he's a little out of his depth playing a regular role in USL this season. I don't think he's ready for that, and I think it's difficult that they ask him to play so many different positions, depending on the game. Andrew Sullins ('04) was subbed on late to play CF in his pro debut. I think this guy is a good prospect, but probably not someone they rate as on a HG path. Good size and mobility, can score some goals, and not bad technically either.

Loudoun: Not the most effective game for Theodore Ku-DiPietro ('02), but even in the games where he's not at his best he's so far above this level of play. I don't understand why he's playing in USL so often. Jackson Hopkins ('04) also was pretty good. He's missing the end-product a little. I think it's just about a lack of rhythm. I like the ideas he has and he shows good ability, but its very stop-start between where he's getting his minutes. One week it's Loudoun, the next it's DC. The roles are often different. I think it'd probably make the most sense to leave him a full season with Loudoun and let him really figure it out. I think he would, but if not, then give him a consistent role with DC. The inconsistency of his role doesn't help his production IMO.

Griffin Yow ('02) also was playing this game for Loudoun. He's another that I think would really benefit from a more consistent role. In USL, he's very effective. While he's not overly dynamic with his skills or athleticism, he gets himself in very good positions, has good soccer IQ, and enough technique. He's able to be a very effective USL player. I know that he's not rated as high as some of their other attackers, but I do think he'll be a good player for the first team eventually, even if there's not a big 5 leagues ceiling. Kristian Fletcher ('05) played his second game. He had a few flashes of nice play, but not his best game. The first game was better.

NYRB II: Illia Tykrus ('05) was better in this game than the prior one. He only got a little less than 30 minutes, but he had some good moments finding space right between the midfield and attack. He had a header that wasn't far off, and had a few nice moments combining in the half-spaces.

Louisville: Joshua Wynder ('05) had a nice bounce back game after struggling the week prior. Defensively, he was pretty good, and he showed some excellent long-passing that I hadn't seen to this level prior. I've mentioned many times before that he's an above-average passer. May even be a good passer, but he was spraying these long diagonals accurately in this game that I haven't seen from him previously. If he adds that consistently, his passing will be even better than I thought.

LA Galaxy II: Marcus Ferkranus ('03) struggled a little in the first game of the week. However, I'm not too discouraged. Some of his errors looked like being a little off with timing and positioning. While I'm not going to say that makes a bad performance a good performance, this is the type of stuff that happens often to young players when they aren't playing too often. The actual tools of the athleticism, size, passing ability, and reading of the game is good. It's the little things and sharpness that are missing. He's shown previously that he can be a good player, so I think what he needs most is more game time. Felipe Cobian ('04) was called for a harsh penalty in the second game of the week, but otherwise held up pretty well. I don't know that he's doing great or is a revelation, but he's holding his own IMO.

Jalen Neal ('03) replaced Ferkranus in the lineup in the second game of the week. The coach doesn't seem to ever let them play together. For some reason a 29 year old USL veteran that is worse than both of them is required to play every game. I don't know how this is going to work for the development of both players. Neal should be regularly with the first team. That he's not hurts Ferkranus minutes with them refusing to use the two of them in the same lineup. In this game, Neal had a very quiet game. He had a few nice plays and no real bad plays, but otherwise little impact, which for a CB is not a bad thing. He usually does play very well, but this was a game where he had less touches on the ball, and there weren't many moments where he had the chance to make good defensive plays.

 

I went through American Soccer Analysis' Goals Added Analytics to look at how the YNT-eligible Americans in USL are doing. I tried to keep the sample to about 200 or more minutes. I may have missed a few players, but these are how all the players rank. Positive numbers are good. Negative are bad. 0 is about league average. I listed their total score, and for the ones with scores I deemed sufficiently high or low in certain categories I also made note of that.

USL:

Diego Luna: 2.95 (By far the highest in the league for field players, gap between Luna and second is about gap between 2nd and 12th. 1st in dribbling, 4th in passing and shooting)
Cameron Dunbar: 1.34 (.63 dribbling, .56 receiving, .37 shooting, -.25 passing)
Tyler Freeman: 1.01 (.31 fouling, .26 passing)
Jacob Greene: .52 (.26 interrupting, .35 receiving, -.28 passing)
Cristian Nava: .50 (.39 dribbling)
Joshua Wynder .45 (.29 passing)
Jalen Neal .32 (.49 passing)
Isaiah Foster: .23 (.46 interrupting)
Julian Gaines: .22
Noah Cobb: .22 (.69 interrupting, -.29 passing)
Illia Tyrkus: .15
Christopher Jaime: .13
Marcus Ferkranus: .10
Jackson Conway: .06 (-.26 interrupting)
Ezra Widman: .05
Efrain Morales: .02 (.55 interrupting, -.28 passing. This is impossible.)
Mathieu Brick: .-.05
Jeremy Garay: -.13
Kristian Fletcher: -.14
Jonantan Villal: -.30
Brendan Lambe: -.33 (-.27 passing)
Nathan Ordaz: -.34
Luke Brennan: -.34 (.26 interrupting)
Jackson Hopkins: -.39
Kobi Henry: -.44
Emmanuel Johnson: -.65
Curtis Ofori: -.68
Alex Villanueva: -.81 (-.36 interrupting, -.35 passing)
Christian Torres: -.87 (-.41 dribbling)

Goalies:

Vicente Reyes: -.19

 

Sources: Real Salt Lake sign US youth int'l attacking midfielder Diego Luna from USL's El Paso Locomotive. Luna will be added via U22 Initiative. A number of European clubs tried to sign him but he chose RSL.

Luna, 18, had 13g/9a in 43 apps with El Pasohttps://t.co/Y99TGs0oiF pic.twitter.com/ROnH65aKIL

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 1, 2022

 

Is there any transfer fee to El Paso? There haven’t been many USL to MLS deals.

 

One of the main benefits of the U22 initiative is that the transfer fee doesn’t affect the cap hit. My guess is that there is a fee.

U22 makes the maximum cap hit from a players salary only 200k. I would be surprised if they’re paying him too much more than that, in which case it doesn’t make much sense to use one of the slots in the first place.

 

This is awesome. I haven't been following RSL, because of Ochoa but I'm going to follow them now.

 

They have a lot of good young American players. Very exciting club to follow.

 

Great move. Would've loved to see Jose Gallegos take a similar path a year or two ago, but the market for USL players has changed drastically since then (thanks, JoGo). Speaking of San Antonio, does anyone know how Fabrizio Bernal's been doing at Xavier?