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Wooten to sign deal with Kaiserslautern

Wooten (Getty Images)

Add Andrew Wooten to the list of young U.S. internationals who will have their club futures secured for the next few years.

Wooten, a German-American forward who was part of the U.S. Under-23 player pool leading up to Olympic qualifying, will sign his first professional contract, a three-year-deal, with FC Kaiserslautern this week, according to reports out of Germany.

After scoring 20 goals for the Kaiserslautern reserve team this season, the 22-year-old Wooten has become a fixture on the matchday roster for the first team in recent weeks, scoring his first-career Bundesliga goal against Hertha Berlin on April 21. Kaiserslautern will be relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after this weekend's season finale against Hannover 96, meaning that changes are in order for the club. Wooten, however, figures to be a big part of the organization's plans going forward in its quest to return to the top flight. 

Wooten joins Josh Gatt, Joe Gyau and Timmy Chandler as young U.S. talents who have recently signed contracts through 2015, with Gatt doing so at Molde, Gyau staying at Hoffenheim and Chandler extending his time at FC Nurnberg. 

What do you think of this development?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Bundesliga 2 is a huge step up from Regionalliga where Wooten has played much of his career, I don’t think he needs to peace out in a year

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  2. He didn’t disappear during the WC. He had an awesome knock down assist to MB for the USA’s biggest goal of the tournament. In addition, he played generally decent hold up play as a 20 year-old. The nuances of hold up play are always greatly under appreciated, and Jozy has improved immensely the last year in this area. Boyd is a nice prospect, but he’s hugely raw and has a long, long way to catch up to Jozy. Not to say he can’t be better eventually, but to me, your assessment represents the classic case of the phenomenon where the backup quarterback is always the favorite player on the team. Boyd is vastly unproven, while Jozy, warts and all, is already a proven Europa League quality hold up player and striker at the tender age of 22.

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  3. What’s amazing about this comment is the very idea of Teal Bunbury being mentioned in that group is laughable… but he was a big part of Caleb “if you came from Akron you don’t have to play in MLS to play for my U-23 team” Porter’s camps and qualifying team…

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  4. Kaiserslautern is a small city, but a huge club with a lot of tradition.

    Lots of great players have come from the German second league.

    But it is a gamble. Hopefully he just does it one year and either gains promotion with K-lautern or he gets signed by a 1st league club.

    As far as our forward pool, right now Jozy is the man to beat.

    Agudelo is too inconsistent.

    Boyd is an interesting player. Will be fun to watch him progress.

    I can see him in England.

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  5. He is a local boy and was in the youth system before leaving for a year and coming back for the reserve side. As long as Kaiserslautern gave him a chance he was going to stay with them. This is the best option for both Wooten and the club.

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  6. I have been most impressed with Wooten’s hold up play. He has a lot of strength and he has some speed as well.

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  7. I really felt he could have got an offer from a Bundesliga team i.e. Hoffenheim or Frieberg or Nurnberg, but I understand staying with Kaiserslautern. He should be a force in Bundesliga 2 next year while still developing his game, and will probably start to catch the eye of Klinsmann if he hasn’t already. Hopefully Kaiserslautern gain promotion to the Bundesliga at the end of next season.

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  8. Boyd has the highest potential of the lot because he’s a big dude with some touch and finishing. The latter two could push him past Jozy, who can be sloppy and wasteful. I always preferred a healthy Davies to Jozy, and I think the fact Dempsey and even Donovan get a fair amount of F PT conveys the weakness of the spot.

    Jozy has demonstrated usefulness in second-tier CONCACAF play and against softer first-tier defenses that let him play. The question on him overall is if he can get fitter and sharper. People forget he disappeared for the World Cup.

    Agudelo has not yet shown me he can play starting F in a non-youth/Camp Cupcake situation. However, both he and Shea possess elusiveness and the ability to cross and finish where they might be worth considering as wing players/subs, or as Gomez-type supersubs late. Either that or Agudelo needs to develop 90 minute motoring because he’s like a Young Dempsey-type that shows you something but then can degrade into dancing on the ball and disappearing. Dempsey seemed to work on fitness, finishing, and runs off the ball and it’s paid off…

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  9. Uhm except by 2018 you also have Salgado, Bijev, Garcia, Top, Keisewetter, Oliver, and Jann George in the mix. By 2018 The U.S. will have legitimate stars at FWD and Striker. My predicted 2014 Striker/FWDS: Dempsey, Altidore, Wooten, Boyd, Pontius

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  10. Boyd is a decent striker for Dortmund ‘s reserve team. Wooten scored in bundesliga and may be a starter in 2 bundesliga

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  11. Impossible to say for sure, but due to age and current stage of development, Wooten would have to be at the bottom. I would put Jozy at the top since he’s the only one who has proven that he can consistently crease the back of the net at a high level. Agudelo and Boyd are both insanely young and it’s tough to project exactly how 19-20 year olds will develop over the next couple years. Typically, the big players like Boyd are slower to reach their peak as they are generally thrown into target/ hold up roles which are very technical and require a very broad skill base as well as a great deal of awareness re: the nuance of the game as a whole. Boyd and Juan will play different roles, so it will be tough to compare, but since Juan is a speed guy, he will likely develop quicker but Boyd may have the longer career.

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  12. 3 years from now:

    1.) Altidore (Plays for a CL team)

    2.) Boyd (has been loaned out to a lower Bundesliga side and is playing consitently for Dortmund)

    3.) Wooten (has got a ton of playing time in the 2. Bundesliga and has helped Kaiserslautern regain promotion)

    4.) Agudelo (let the hype go to his head – finally found consistent playing time but made the jump to Europe too early and is riding pine somewhere)

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  13. Don’t forget that Timmy, Gatt, and Wooten didn’t take part, and Gyau was only off the bench. Really sad what could have been. Hope it doesn’t become a trend ala England

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