Youth Yanks Abroad (1997s or later)

Opportunities for Olosunde................

He’s also received interest from several English Championship and League One sides on a loan deal.https://t.co/k18JA55Hh6

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) July 3, 2018

 

If he can go to the championship, he should do that. I'm sure Yedlin will have that conversation with him.

 

in big three scouting parlance in the US, I'd characterize them as prospects like so:

Novakovich: Moderately high floor, low ceiling.

Wright: Low Floor, very high ceiling.

I think Novakovich is a lock for a professional career, barring major injury. There's always going to be a place for guys like him who figure out how to score in lower level leagues and use their assets as he has done. But his ceiling is limited. He will never be a superstar and there's probably a 97% chance he won't ever be a star, or say, starting forward for a top 5-10 team in a major league. But, he'll have a career w/a low table 1st division side, and may be able to fight his way up to a mid table side where he gets some run as a starter. The lowest his floor is to me is as a 2nd division starting forward. That's a good career, but not a great ceiling.

If Wright figured it out, put it all together, he could become an actual superstar, it could happen. There's a reason there was so much hullabaloo about him four years ago. There's also the distinct possibility that coaches for whatever reason repeatedly sour on him. Don't know if he's a subpar practice player or what, but he's now gone through multiple coaches who had concerns with him. When that happens, for me, w/a player with his upside, I translate that into high ceiling, low floor.

Praying it works out, because if he could put it all together at some point he'd be a spectacular weapon for a side lacking in legit talent at the forward position, especially in terms of young potentially elite depth. We've got loads of options in the midfield and on the defensive end but for whatever reason, we are really, really lacking in terms of top end talent at Forward and Goalie.

Fingers crossed.

 

It's analogy. Not like for like. My understanding of his use of Shea as an example is that Shea is a guy who had a potentially high ceiling in the view of many, and was even sold off, but he played and in his case, behaved his way out of any chance of turning into something special, so he settled for an "MLS LIFER, USMNT non-entity," Career.

Wright isn't there yet, but right now, his career has stalled a bit, and could go the same way of Shea's, falling off completely until he comes home for a locked in MLS lifer contract, and sub-USMNT level career. He still has multiple years to develop and turn into something approximating what we hoped might be possible. There's still time. But there is no denying that the storylines we would have all been wishing for a year ago at this time, did not play out, instead it was just a few steps away from worst case scenario (career ending or decimating injury like with Renken as compared to this scenario which is: loaned out, gets very few minutes, and doesn't show well in minutes, and it sounds like doesn't impress in training either). As such, we're chastened and worried. He doesn't play Shea's position, but if Shea's story is:

Stage 1: Bright Prospect
Stage 2: Bright Prospect Does well
Stage 3: Bright Prospect goes to Europe
Stage 4: Bright prospect looks fine in Europe initially
Stage 5: Bright Prospect goes sideways
Stage 6: Bright Prospect goes to hell and a hand basket
Stage 7: Bright prospect hangs head and goes back home
Stage 8: Bright prospect becomes MLS Lifer at best

then it feels like Wright is in-between Stage Four and Stage 5, and needs to switch off this prospect route asap.

He's still got time, but 2017-2018 season was a lost year in every way other than that it might have forced a shock into Wright's system he needed to rededicate himself to living up to and beyond his perceived potential. I believe he can do it. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly worried that it won't.

 

I know you've argued against Wright many times before, so I don't even know why I'm bothering to respond, but no, they have very little in common as footballers.

There's a reason the name Shea was used instead of Gyau or Gil or someone like that who've all had disappointing careers. The comparisons come from their height (around 6'4), their pace, the fact that they are relatively skilled for players of that height, might also be that they were relatively well regarded in US youth teams at a young age and aren't just athletes like Koroma or Kirk. Actually, Wright has progressed from being compared from Koroma or Kirk at the 2015 U-17 by people who saw a couple of bad games, and stereotyped him instantly to similarly lazy comparisons to a more talented player (because these people now have to admit that he's skilled).

He had an unsuccessful loan. You are making this into something its not. I doubt you watched the games, and could even comment on his performances, so unless you want to discuss those performances, we can leave the loan spell at that. Take a look at our NT. There are maybe a handful or two of players who had more successful footballing careers at Wright's age than he has so far had. That doesn't mean he'll be one of our best NT players. Whether that happens is to be determined, but it just proves that not every player instantly has a very successful club situation. Most do not, especially American players.

What he has shown is high-level talent, good end-production every level he's played at until a small sample size last season, and the ability to be highly rated throughout his career. Schalke has a great track record of their youth products. They brought him in (well before they brought in other Americans) and they eventually signed him to a first team contract. Schalke didn't even sign Taitague to a first team contract who many on this website insist was going to play for the first team this season. And thats not a slight to Taitague who I think is one of the more talented players in his age group.

There's an incredibly high bar to make it out of the academy and straight into Schalke's first team. Its one thing to not be impactful at all as an academy product. I wouldn't begin to suggest Lederman being at Barcelona or Hawkins at Bayern means they have a very good chance to be NT level players. They made up the numbers there. Wright didn't, Taitague didn't. If they were progressing at DC or LA, they wouldn't be written off by people like you. But since they didn't make it at a Champions League club straight from the academy? That seems silly to me. It follows logically that a powerhouse club is not going to give a chance to a player they loaned out who wasn't successful on loan. Often times, they don't even give the player a chance if the loan was successful. Thats not an issue. In fact, I said he should've left permanently right when they decided he was going to be loaned out. He can make his mark at another club.

 

'98 YNT pool player Adam Ozeri has resurfaced with Ferro Carril Oeste in the Argentinean second division. He's with their first team in preseason.

#Fútbol ⚽👉 Los jugadores Fernando Miranda, Nahuel Maidana, Adam Ozeri, Lionel Segovia y Lautaro Gordillo, surgidos de las inferiores de #Ferro, formarán parte de una pretemporada con el plantel profesional por primera vez.

¡Felicitaciones! 🚂

— Ferro Carril Oeste (@FerroOficial) June 23, 2018

 

Wright's only game I watched after he went to euro is a FC Schalke 04 pre-season game in China. In that game, he was subbed in at half but then subbed out in only maybe 20 minutes. I don't know if the coach was not happy on his play, but I and my friend thought his performance in that game was really disappointing. His movement off the ball is very limited and when he got the ball he is so slow to make decisions which killed the team's transition play. Don't know if he made progress on his game reading, which I thought could determine if he can be a legit player.

 

I know it's easy to rag on some of these players who don't live up to our expectations, but sometimes I think we forget what some of these guys have done.

I mean, if Haji Wright or almost any on the YNT kids we're talking about ends up being an MLS Best XI player, getting over 30 caps and scoring the winning goal in a Gold Cup final, we'll all be thrilled.

That's what Brek Shea has done. Yes. he's a goofball who has squandered a lot of chances and barely scratched the surface of his potential and I don't want that for any of our current prospects.

Yeah, we want and expect the next generations to be better than the previous ones and for it to become harder to make an impact with the national team as the competition level increases. But we also need to remember how hard it is to actually break through and appreciate more what guys like Brek have done.

So if all Haji Wright does is have a Brek Shea level career, I can live with that. But right now, he is a ways away from being there.

 

He lead the team in goals during the preseason. Actually, I thought he had a better preseason than McKennie. I watched every minute both played that preseason.

But you are right, the coach was not happy with his play in that game. The coach said the reason he was subbed out was that he thought he heard a whistle, and momentarily stopped play because of it when it was just something from the crowd. Therefore, he subbed him out because of a "loss of concentration" or something to that effect. The coach downplayed the incident, but he was sent on loan immediately after that. It was clear he didn't like Wright for some reason. His performances didn't seem to matter. Its really no surprise that he's not getting a chance this season.

 

14 year old (either an '03 or '04) has moved to Feyenoord.

Feyenoord heeft na James Dunning nog een Amerikaan gecontracteerd. De 14-jarige aanvaller Levi Skyum, die een Deense vader en Amerikaanse moeder heeft, komt over van Turf City FC uit Singapore. Bij die club werkte international development coach Luka Lalic in het verleden.

— Varkenoord Watch (@VarkenoordWatch) July 4, 2018

 

why does this poster think they're the only ones that watch soccer games?

 

Feyenoord has contracted an American after James Dunning. The 14-year-old striker Levi Skyum, who has a Danish father and American mother, comes from Singapore's Turf City FC. At that club international development coach Luka Lalic worked in the past.
Blonde headed kid # 10.

 

'03 @SurfSoccerClub & US U14 left-back Alec Kenison is heading to Middlesbrough FC. Kenison is one of the top players in the 2003 age group. #usynt

— Joey (@USAprospects) July 6, 2018

 

Don't know how reliable this is. Thought I might share though

🚨Update on Nick Taitague, an inside source has told me Nick is currently with the u23s to rehab the hamstring injury he suffered at the end of last season. Once healthy, he will be with Schalke’s 1st team this preseason, if he impresses then he’ll stay, if not he’ll go on loan pic.twitter.com/QKxQrD0HKa

— Bundimericans (@bundimericans) July 6, 2018

 

A career with a low division side is Bobby Wood level. A solid mid table career is Brian McBride level. Those are pretty high bars to meet.

 

High bars for our past, good places to have a respectable career, but players that reach that level won’t help us improve at the NT level

 

Yeah right now we can’t even produce that

 

Time sure does change our perceptions.

Four years ago, if we said Ben Lederman will have a career equal to Chris Armas, most of us would have been really disappointed.

Today, if Ben Lederman has a career like Chris Armas, we'll be thrilled.

Man, I sure hope Gedion Zelalem can get his career up to the Mix Diskerud level! Because that'd be a hell of a lot better than where he is now.

 

Yeah I mean on the international stage we have pretty much one player that could make most teams, at least as a bench player. I'd venture Pulisic makes this Croatian team that might make the final, but probably not start.

Outside of him we are just hoping for squad players at low level first league teams. Weston McKennie is a superstar US prospect, but by international standards he's like a 6th round draft pick. Some potential maybe, but nobody is outside of Americans is getting excited by him.

Sure we can all hope to produce elite level prospects on a mass scale but reality shows we aren't even close.

 

But it will get us back to where we were 8-10 years ago. That would be a huge achievement. We are sitting on our ass now. Need to relearn to walk before starting to run.

 

If this was posted earlier, I missed it. Seems could-be, would-be #USYNT midfielder is going on loan from Bayern Munich to Nurnberg.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-t...n-to-nurnberg-and-sign-alex-timossi-andersson

 

I wonder if we still think he'll switch to our side before the u-20 world cup like it says in the article. Or was that just something said by Tab as damage control after losing Gonzalez to Mexico?

 

He can't. Provisionally cap-tied at a qualifying tournament for the U-20 WC.

Same rule that didn't allow Green to play at the 2015 U-20 WC.

 

Kevin Silva is on trial at Heart of Midlothian.

1014226778808836096 is not a valid tweet id

 

Hmmm....

He had left UCLA for Rutgers, which is closer to home. I wonder if this means he is having second thoughts.

Also, I haven't kept up with all the rule changes, but I seem to recall that once you become an NCAA student athlete, playing in games with pros is verboten per NCAA rules. It's why kids can play games with USL clubs before they get to college but not while they are "student athletes," even in the offseason.