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Two of the U.S. Under-17 national team's top prospects are inching closer to European moves, while a third is edging closer to an MLS deal.
Manchester City and Real Madrid have stepped up their bids for U.S. Under-17 midfielder Luis Gil, while Under-17 striker Jack McInerney is being courted by Hertha Berlin and Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, sources have told SBI.
While Gil and McInerney could be headed abroad, one American U-17 who could be close to staying home is forward John Agudelo, who has been offered a contract by the New York Red Bulls. As a product of the Red Bulls Academy, Agudelo is eligible to sign directly with the club rather than going through the MLS Draft.
One thing that remains unclear is how youth prospects like Gil and McInerney will navigate new FIFA rules recently put in place to restrict the movement of players under the age of 18 to clubs outside of their native countries. According to sources within U.S. Soccer, the new FIFA guidelines will be strictly enforced, making foreign moves by youth players very difficult.
Gil and McInerney could wind up staying in the United States as both players have been offered MLS contracts. If they signed, they would go through the 2010 MLS Draft.
What do you think of Gil and McInerney potentially heading to Europe? Like the idea of Agudelo signing with the Red Bulls? Hoping all three wind up in MLS?
Share your thoughts below.
Has anyone here thought about the idea of developing players in Brazil or Argentina, I hear a lot about Europe but those europeans sure do like them southamerican players.
would you rather be like most, or like the best?
you may have noticed that the best national teams share a common trait: their best players play and develop in europe’s top leagues.
Agreed Duran was the most impressive to me. Jerome had some flashed but had trouble finishing (well most the team did)
Oh, snark. How clever…
“what the us national team lacks most (and has always lacked) is a technically skilled, creative, world class attacking player. ”
You may have noticed that most national teams have the same problem
watch them get lost in the shuffle…
Not really. There are wayyyy to many factors that need to be taken into account. Landon Donovan will tell you about it.
yea….good advice! Thats just what Sal Zizzo did. Im sure things turned out great for him. OR NOT!!
Are you telling me that Jozy Altidore’s stint in MLS was detrimental??? Why is Kenny Cooper is where he is? Did MLS also ruin his growth? What about Dempsey? Donovan? Howard? Guzan? McBride? Howard? Bocanegra? Holden? pleaseeeee
MLS has helped them all grow as a player. What makes you think these guys wont benefit?
Nice job Sarah… I got their wallets while they was runnin they mouths
what the us national team lacks most (and has always lacked) is a technically skilled, creative, world class attacking player. who is their best player at the moment? dempsey? donovan? it’s up for debate, but the answer is largely irrelevant. I like both players, but even their biggest fans would have to admit neither is a world class player. very good, yes. but world class, no. one contributes to a mid-level premiership side, the other is a big fish in the small pond of mls, and has never been able to break through and earn solid playing time or make a name for himself in his excursions to the bundesliga.
now think of the world’s best players. who springs to mind? messi? cristiano ronaldo? both were educated in two of the top european youth academies, messi at barca, ronaldo at sporting. ronaldo’s talents continued to blossom after moving to man u at 18, of course.
this is not to say that every player that makes it into a european academy is destined for greatness, obviously not. but i think it is true that the united states and mls lacks the sort of youth development programs to rival the academies of those great european clubs. if a player truly wants to be great, truly dreams of being world class, then he should absolutely take any opportunity he can to train at the academy of a club like arsenal, city or madrid.
i’m very curious to know how this new fifa rule will complicate matters. are there exceptions? loopholes? if it is essentially preventing any u.s. youngsters from going to europe until they are 18, then that might be a huge obstacle to their development. and by extension it would be a huge hindrance to the future chances of the usmnt. if that is the case, it would be a shame.
Johann Smith never had a chance in the US. I don’t believe he was invited to the MLS draft, so if he didn’t go to Bolton, he never would have made it to MLS. While I hate to compare him to Anton Peterlin, he’s in a similar situation.
Great news for two, not so sure about the lad going to NYRB. Will Sunil and Rongen drop them from future youth squads if they train in Europe?
I believe that Jim asked us to name players who started young in MLS and became USMNT regulars so here are just a few that comes to mind and many of you may know others. Michael Bradley.Josy Altidore,Tim Howard, Brad Freidel, Brad Guzan.C. Bocanegra, Eddie Pope. E. Wyanalda, M. Beasley, J. Max Moore for beginers.I have left out Landon Donavan because he went to Europe and never made it there but sure has as a member of the LA Galaxy. With a little thought I am sure I can also list players who were on youth national teams that went to Europe to develop rather than the MLS and were never heard from again. It is not easy for an American youth to go to a different culture , learn a new language and also make it as a regular USMNT player.
Thank you. Haven’t any of you ever seen an amazing college football player at age 22 not even get selected to the NFL. Heck a couple years back there was a heisman winner. Things don’t pan out the way we think. we’re all still waiting to see if Messi can be a world cup star for peets sake. It is a great thing that we get more kids into the academies. The more we get in there the better chance we have of finding great players
The expression that best sums up this entire thread is “case by case basis”.
The jury is still out on Robbie Findlay who seems to be doing okay.
Rogers spent a season at Heerenveen, did not make one league apperance for them and then came back to Columbus.
I believe it’s possible Adu would have turned out the way he is now regardless of where he went. I think if he went to Europe he would have been found out sooner and not made as much money as he has to date so you could say the MLS did him a financial favor. On the other hand, in Europe he might have been able to become a passable pro player with realistic expectations instead of having to carry the over hyped burden of being the saviour of US football.
Every kid is different.
question to anyone who might know,
what if a european team set up essentially, a business front, ie) a training academy, soccer camp and then just signed all the US talent they were interested in?
findley needs a call up.. may just open a few eyes if he makes it into a game in SA
I would love to see these youngin’s shine in MLS. But, even with the crop of talent MLS has produced, how many careers has it delayed or killed? Even if nothing came of Gil at City or Real I’d bet just being in those training camps and reserve matches would serve his talents better than MLS.
I love MLS but let’s not kid ourselves. There’s a reason (not just money) that any player will jump away from MLS if the chance arises.