By FRANCO PANIZO
It is all systems go for DeAndre Yedlin’s move to Tottenham.
Yedlin has been granted a work permit ahead of his transfer to Spurs next month and will be available for selection upon his arrival, according to a report from the Mirror. The Seattle Sounders defender had recently been attempting to obtain a Latvian passport through his grandmother in fear of having a work permit rejected, but no longer needs it to play for Tottenham.
Yedlin, 21, signed a pre-contract with the Premiership club in August after impressing at the World Cup with the U.S. Men’s National Team. He has been a regular in Jurgen Klinsmann’s rosters since making his international debut back in January, and has accumulated 10 caps.
The speedy right back, who signed a Homegrown Player deal with the Sounders last year, has been successful on the club level, too. Yedlin has started 55 of the 56 regular season matches he’s played in during the past two years, been named an MLS All-Star twice, and helped Seattle win the 2014 U.S. Open Cup and Supporters’ Shield.
He has scored one goal and assisted on six others for the Sounders during that stretch.
While it seems unlikely given that he is in his offseason, Yedlin could make his Tottenham debut as soon as Jan. 1 when the club hosts league-leaders Chelsea.
Tottenham currently sit in seventh place in the Premiership table.
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What do you think of Yedlin being given the green light on his work permit? Think he will contribute this season to the club’s cause? What kind of unique haircut should he rock to introduce himself to the Spurs’ fanbase?
Share your thoughts below.
I’m generally happy for the kids and excited for my Saturday morning. Tottenham seems to be on the television all the time. I do wonder how the Seattle Sounders are going to replace him? Do they have anybody in the pipeline right now who could fill in for Yedlin?
Also, I can’t wait to hear Arlo White say Deandre’s name and pontificate about the qualities of The MLS in the middle of a Saturday BPL match.
good for him, i hope he can get some serious time once he is integrated into the team.
They play Chelsea January 1, maybe have another round against Eden Hazard
I bet he’s searching google right now for the right barber…
I highly doubt he’ll be seeing any time in midfield – the team’s midfield is packed as it is and he’s not playing over the likes of Lamela and Townsend. He’ll probably have a shot to show in training that he deserves to be Kyle Walker’s top backup – Kyle Naughton has not been very good this year – and that would be great for him. If he spends this season just learning from Walker, getting a cup runout here or there, and making a cameo or two in the PL, that’ll be time well spent. If he shows the team enough, then they might loan him out next season somewhere where he’ll get starts – ideally a lower Premiership side, but even a decent Championship side would work – and then if THAT goes well and a bigger club comes after Walker (fairly likely if he continues to play well), they may consider selling him and integrating Yedlin into the first team. That’s probably the ideal realistic career path for him. Of course it’s entirely possible that he blows us away the first chance he gets. He is ideal for Pochettino’s high pressure system, which is a good thing. He’s basically the exact same player Walker was a few years ago.
i agree, i think i was just suggesting the RM thing because it’s in the realm of possibility, even if it was just a late sub in a cup match or something, he could potentially make an app there. but yes, the rest i agree with. just don’t underestimate his ability to play all 3 positions on the right side–even if he’ll play 90% of the time at RB
you have to be a fool to think Yedlin wont be fighting for a starting spot or starting the first year. top 8 EPL teams dont buy 21 year old projects. Also yedlin is supremely talented already not as raw as people make him out to be
You can’t just make a declaration like that without thinking about their current squad. And Yedlin has a LOT to work on. But there would be nothing wrong with him spending a year or two on loan before breaking into the first team. That’s how Spurs have developed Harry Kane, Andros Townsend, Kyle Naughton, Danny Rose… even Erik Lamela didn’t step in as a starter right away (he’s still not an automatic starter, actually) despite being way more proven at higher levels than Yedlin.
Exactly. Shawn represents the irrational american soccer fan; expecting every player to have immediate results, even at a young age (Not every player is LeBron…). Soccer in Europe is closer to Baseball’s farming system.
I guess my main point was simply that yes Yedlin is talented but as fans we should understand the relative expectations to be had. Thus, spending half a year training with the club and making a few appearances, followed by a successful loan elsewhere, then to come back as a starter, would be good result rather than a failure. We can’t force illogical standards upon players.
Most likely he will be a rotational player unless someone goes down with an injury again. If he really WOWs the manager then PERHAPS he may get a run at RM but most likely he’s the young back-up to Walker at RB and will be given time to develop and adjust to europe. Should he show good form in his few appearances he may become a starter by the next season but that’s really best case scenario. I foresee <5 league apps the rest of this season, add a couple cup apps and see how he does, then a decision will be made in the summer: loan him or move another player out to make Yedlin the starter.
All in all i just hope he continues to develop. Even being a back up on a top tier team in the EPL is a good feat for a 21 year old….. i hope people don't judge his every game like another american in the EPL………..
Let’s be realistic here. He won’t see the field for Tottenham any time soon. He’ll probably be loaned to a team fighting relegation, maybe even to the championship, and if he does well there he’ll be given a chance in a cup game or so. That’s best case scenario.
21 year old American players don’t play in the EPL.
Jozy got time with Hull……
Hull is not Spurs in terms of quality, depth, budget, etc.
The kid’s speed can’t be denied. He will be one of the fastest players in the EPL from day one. The Yids would be would be wise to work him into the lineup as soon as Jan. 1.
Is that an opinion of do you have something to support it? Because Yedlin’s a fast American player does not necessarily make him a fast BPL player.
Well, there was that friendly match the Sounders played against that very Tottenham team…where he was doing pretty much what he wanted against the Spurs players, who couldn’t run with him. Or there was the World Cup, when the Portugese, Germans, and Belgians couldn’t run with him.
Or maybe it was that MLS All-Star Game…when he was rampaging around against Bayern Munich, creating havoc – they were dropping down and doubling him at one point, were obviously VERY aware of him every time he touched the ball…even a Bayern double-team didn’t negate him. Because they couldn’t run with him.
Nothing at all wrong with the athleticism in MLS. You can argue our technicality, but MLS is an EXTREMELY fast league.
We’ll see, he seems like a nice guy and I hope he does well but he won’t look so fast when he steps on a BPL field.
fast is fast. and Yedlin is really fast. so yes, he would be one of the fastest players in any league.
Did you really just refer to the Tottenham ownership as “the Yids”!?!?!?
And, the comment was not deleted.
Wow. You’re in need of some sensitivity training, my friend. (and apparently the SBI editors are, as well)
What’s a “Yid”?
It’s a derogatory epithet used to describe Jewish people. Tottenham fans use it to affectionately describe themselves Yids/Yid Army because they were traditionally known to have a lot of Jewish supporters. A long time ago, teams would insult Tottenham with that term, but the fans decided to take and own it.
Two big European football clubs (Ajax and Tottenham) have strong Jewish identities. Ajax used to be based in the largest Jewish neighborhood in Amsterdam (and Netherlands). The old Ajax stadium (De Meer Stadium) was in Eastern Amsterdam which was, traditionally, a Jewish neighborhood. Decades ago, the Northeast of London had a lot of Jewish immigrants, and thus, Tottenham had a lot of Jewish supporters since it is based there.
If what you are saying turns out to be true then why in the world would he be granted a WP? Or anyone else going forward.
He is another talent to add to their usual list, they bring people in they like, if you immediately impress they lump you with the first team, if you don’t they season you with loans or the reserves. If you don’t break through long enough they cut you loose or let someone buy you.
I think there can be some cynicism about grabbing players for merchandising reasons, but it’s basically a bet. Teams like this usually have a few young talents around with the idea x% turn out. I don’t think they ticket you for loan from day one, but I also think the system is set up to separate wheat from chaff, so you need to have a game that fits their style (Jozy’s problem) and you need to show up healthy and playing well. Otherwise they start knocking you down a notch and loaning you out and the impetus is on you to prove yourself.
Most teams loan players so the player can play at a higher level to encourage development. It’s rare a player is acquired and immediately loaned out but it’s possible Spurs have that plan for Yedlin. Maybe they will loan him to Hull and he can give Jozy the ‘service’ everyone here expects.
If he went to Hull, I don’t think he’d be able to give Jozy service, since Jozy is at Sunderland.
Wish you luck DY… Hope your advisors have expressed how important your work habits have to be… That you understand you have to work harder than the hardest working player that’s already there. I hope they explained to you the difference between confidence and arrogance and that you have to show up confident that you’re the best player on the squad but let your actions do ALL the talking. Your mouth should be quiet and your brain attentive to ALL things soccer… All those things have to consume your every thought and action. You are not taken seriously because you are an American. They’re going to test you on ever level and if you fail any of their tests it’s going to take A LONG time for you to regain that leverage…
I can’t think of any other reasons why so many of our boyz go there and are mediocre at best and generally don’t cut it…
Ability and maturity. There have been plenty of American success stories, players better than mediocre – McBride, Reyna, Cherundolo, Dempsey, Beasley, O’Brien, our goalies… they were/are all VERY good, and more importantly, established starters, for good teams.
Lately, it’s true, not so much. But if our NT captain and forward can only muster 3 goals in 50 appearances I think that comes down more to ability, or maturity on the biggest stage. I agree there is a bit of anti-american bias in european football (I live there and can attest), as you suggest, but if a player is really good enough, in the end, the coach and fans don’t care where you are from.
And before making any excuses for Jozy, what I’m saying is, in Europe, no one accepts that a player is not succeeding because he is playing in the wrong system, or poorly adapted to a league.. either he is good enough, or not. If he’s not he won’t play, as there are more good players than there are jobs there.
+1 good laugh
Gonna go out on a limb here and say black.
Funny!
So is mix between Latvia and what? Can anyone tell me?
father: Native American, African American, Dominican.
mother: Ashkenazi, Latvian, Russian.
Yedlin was fathered by The Village People?
That explains the hair and the eye liner.
DeAndre + Yedlin if you think about it.
King, interesting mix of race/ethnicity/nationality in there!
two races; African-American and Native American
one ethnicity: Ashkenazi
three nationalities: Dominican, Latvian, and Russian
That would actually be:
Race: Human
Ethnicity: AA, N.A., Jewish
Nationality: Dominican, Latvian, Russian, American
scientifically, that’s not true. human is a species (H. sapiens) and our Subspecies is “H. s. sapiens”. race is a classification of humans into large and distinct populations or groups.
Technically, African American is an ethnic group (a black man from Brazil and a black man from Nigeria are not African Americans). Race IS NOT a scientific term. It is a social concept. The concept of “Race” does not exist scientifically. It is simply a social construct.
In actuality, what is classified as a race changes and has changed a lot over the last century. Irish, Slavic etc used to referred to as different races.
Btw, I don’t speak as someone who is politically correct (I could care less). I speak as someone who has a biology background (undergrad and grad school) and law (grad school) background.
Ethnicity and nationality are social concepts and often overlap (and are sometimes the same thing).
yes, but i think you know that African American, in this case, is referring to a person who is black.
further, regarding the science comment, that was regarding HUMAN being a race. which it is not, and is, scientifically (e.g. biology), a type of species. i not once said race, ethnicity, religion, etc. is in any way scientific. so don’t twist it. that comment was specifically referring to what a human is and that race is simply a classification of humans, which is, by definition, a “social construct”.
and yes, i agree things are used interchangeably. but a race is different than an ethnicity and that is very important to remember. white people, as an example, are still white even when their ethnicity is different (i.e. Irish, Slavic, etc.).
and no, this is not a PC conversation. i COULDN’T care less 🙂 and i speak as someone who has an MBA and MSA. are education doesn’t mean we’re always right though.
as for your final comment. i agree and never suggested otherwise so i’m not even sure why you make that point. obviously nationality and ethnicity overlap…
I bet we will see him in the midfield. I have seen a lot of places talking about how slow the Tottenham offense looks. He def adds another gear speed wise.
I doubt he will show up in a 3 or 4 man (traditional) midfield but I do think he fits the Wing Back role well. The new fascination for 3 at the back may create opportunity for him, he’s well suited to that role.
Great news! Too bad Kyle Walker is back at full health before Yedlin could get there. Hopefully he’ll be able to find playing time the Europa League or cups.