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BREAKING- Farrell, Zimmerman among players to sign Generation adidas deals

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

Louisville centerback Andrew Farrell and Furman centerback Walker Zimmerman are among the players to have signed Generation adidas deals, sources have confirmed to SBI on Thursday.

Sourcestell SBI that Texas-based youth striker Kekuta Manneh and VCU forward Jason Johnson have joined Farrell and Zimmerman as players who have agreeed to contracts and will take part in the MLS Draft.

Still yet to sign are North Carolina midfielder Mikey Lopez, Central Florida forward Deshorn Brown and Maryland forward Patrick Mullins, who have all been presented with offers.

Farrell is projected to the be the No. 1 player in the draft, though it is unclear who will have the top pick. Toronto FC currently has the No. 1 pick but could wind up trading the pick if they succeed in landing Gale Agbossoumonde in a weighted lottery today.

The latest development on the Generation adidas front is that the league looks prepared to offer smaller deals to some other players who were on the fringes of the Generation adidas conversation. Indiana forward Eriq Zavaleta and UConn goalkeeper Andre Blake are back in the conversation and could wind up signing with MLS. Mullins has already received an offer from MLS but has yet to make a decision on it.

On the senior front, MLS has also reached deals with three senior players on contracts. John Stertzer, Dillon Powers and Carlos Alvarez have completed deals with MLS, sources have told SBI.

What do you think of these developments? Which Generation adidas player are you most excited to see in the draft?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I hope the Revs select Zimmerman in the draft. He has the potential, with his size, to be an impact Centerback which the Revs desperately need. If they can pair him with Homegrown Player Scott Caldwell then their draft would have to be rated as successful (Caldwell probably would have been a top-10 draft pick).

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  2. What do these contracts look like? Are they still a financial joke? I assume NO, because more and more players are signing on with MLS, even though some markets oversees are more receptive to young American players.

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  3. My guess LA tries to jump up in the draft to get Zimmerman. With Gonzo set to leave at the end of his contract in 2013; Walker Zimmerman will be a perfect replacement for him.

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    • I don’t know if LA has the pieces to pull it off. Unless they try trade several picks from not only this year, but from future drafts as well.

      Toronto FC might be willing to give up one of their top two spots for a draft package, but Chivas has never taken the draft seriously, so they may not want a bunch of later round picks if they see no value in them.

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  4. 6’3″ CB Walker Zimmerman. Perfect size to be a dominate CB in the league. I’d take him all day at the #1 spot over a CB that’s listed at 5’11” who they think could quite possibly maybe would make a better DM in Andrew Farrell.

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    • Farrell is rated first because he is the deemed the most ready to contribute now. Now that TFC has acquired other options through the Re-entry Draft and weighted lottery, how they view picks 1 & 3 is also apt to change. Basically the difference between Farrell and Zimmerman boils down to whether a team can afford to be patient. Different teams will view this balance through the prism of their respective situations.

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    • Farrell could be a great Right Back from what Ives has mentioned? And he does seem to have the speed and agility for it, good on his feet, could he handle the wing play?

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  5. Man MLS is landing more and more talented young players. As well as pursuing talented players from abroad. I like it, I like it a lot.

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    • In the past week or two, MLS has added:

      Wil Trapp, Mobi Fehr, Gyasi Zardes, Gale Agbossoumonde, Andrew Farrell, Walker Zimmerman, Kekutah Manneh, J.J. Johnson, Bradlee Baladez, Oscar Sorto, Amando Moreno and Santiago Castano to its ranks. More are on the way.

      Make no mistake about it. This is pure awesomeness.

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      • Get Sebastien Ibeagha in that mix (pipedream), and we’ve got the best influx of young talent this league has ever had in one offseason.

      • I understand the education is hard to turn down…I’d still like to see Ibeagha sign MLS. You think this means he’d rather test Euro waters after his senior than go MLS after junior?

      • I think it has to do with his parents who I believe are Nigerian and live in Houston. He’s an academy product for the Dynamo anyway so he’s not going in the draft. They want him but it would take some ridiculous money to leave school… Parents wanted him in college tho and probably want him to finish

      • These are some of the most talented American prospects, many of whom had opportunities elsewhere, that decided to sign with MLS. That’s a great sign for this league.

      • Lol how many soccer players aren’t “no names” before they turn professional? I guess Freddy Adu…
        You do realize that at one point you would have said the same thing about Dempsey, Bradley, Howard, Altidore….

  6. Would TFC be forced to surrender the #1 pick for the Agbossoumonde weighted lottery? If not, why would they give up the top choice?

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    • No,

      It’s just that with Califf and O’Dea starting, and Henry & now Boss (assuming they win the weighted lottery), TFC has no real space for another CB.

      Better value would be shopping the #1 overall (ie. Farrell) for pieces that they need (ie. MF).

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    • To get value out of it. I think it’s trying to say they would get more out of trading it, and Boss would essentially be their No. 1 pick.

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      • Right on.

        If that was the reasoning, my only question: Is Gale’s value/ability equal to a #1 pick? That’s where my confusion lies, I suppose. I’m not so sure, personally.

      • well, they would still be getting something of decent value for the #1 pick, so you would have to throw that in on gale side of the equation.

        gale + (trade value) = #1 pick

        does that look right? maybe i’m doing this wrong…

    • Simply because they’d have a log jam at CB and those seem to be the most highly rated prospects in the draft.

      They’ve committed to Calif and O’Dea as starters. While neither of those are really great in my opinion, you’d only replace them with similarly experienced guys as opposed to rookies. If they brought in Agbossoumonde, they’d have him and Doniel Henry – who’s only 19, is already a physical force and has three years pro experience – to be developed. A third CB of a similar pedigree and one of the three would go to waste because you can’t develop all of them at the same time.

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