By RYAN TOLMICH
In pursuit of some midfield depth, the LA Galaxy are reportedly set to acquire a young American midfielder to provide some additional firepower.
Goal USA reported Wednesday that the Galaxy are on the verge of acquiring 22-year-old midfielder Sebastian Lletget, who will join the club on a free transfer from West Ham. The Galaxy will send roughly $50,000 in allocation money to the New England Revolution, who previously put in a discovery claim on the midfielder, the report states.
The Galaxy have reportedly been negotiating with the San Francisco, Calif.-native for months. Lletget has been a part of the West Ham system for the past five years, making one senior appearance in an FA Cup match while also making the bench a handful of times for league contests.
Lletget would join fellow Premier League import Steven Gerrard as midseason acquisitions for the Galaxy, as the Liverpool midfielder will join the club at the conclusion of the Premier League campaign.
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What do you think of a potential Lletget signing? How would he fit in with the Galaxy? What impact would you expect the midfielder to make in both the short and long-term?
Share your thoughts below.
I actually think it’s great for both Llegtet and Packwood to come to MLS. If a player really isn’t getting playing time in a league that’s a true step up from MLS, (or at least on a path to do so, like perhaps Gyau before he got injured, etc.) I don’t think it’s harmful to play in MLS, versus playing in the Championship, Belgium, Norway, whatever.
Disappointed it didnt work out for him and Packwood. The Yanks Abroad team needs some reinforcements! they next gen appears to promissing
Good pick ups for LA & NE and good to teams scout and persue local players abroad and most of all make the allocation/discovery process a formality. Sending these players at random to the winner of a closed door ping pong raffle in not good for their development. I believe these two moves will be good the players involved – happy to see them in a place where they will get minutes.
your posts are usually reasonable and well thought out and maybe the issue I have is tangential to your main point, but I can’t let go your assertion that Keane, Gerrard, Lampard, Kaka, and Villa are all washed up before they get here. You can maybe make a point with Keane and Kaka (and I disagree for sure about Keane given his Galaxy and international play), but there is no way that is true about the others. Lampard is still supplying Man City with valuable minutes and Gerrard starts most of the time for Liverpool. I saw a Liverpool game a couple of months ago when he was probably the best player in the game. As for Villa, he scored 13 goals for Athletico Mzadrid only a year ago in leading them to the league title and he scored a goal in the last World Cup.
Gary Page,
It’s about consistency.
The guys you mentioned can still get it up for a game or a run of games (for example, the World Cup) but over a long, 50-60 game season?
Not anymore.
And for the money they make and given what their teams could replace them with ( younger, cheaper better) they get farmed out arguably before their time.
In a general sense, the big Euro teams need you at your best almost all the time.
That is not true in MLS.
agree Gary, well said
I for one have not issue with players like Lletget & Packwood (linked to NE Revs.) coming to MLS in order to find consistent 1st team minutes. Players of this age (22-24) who haven’t broken into the lineups for their European clubs Sr. team, at least as rotational players, can do a lot to improve the depth and quality of any MLS Team.
I like the concept of these kinds of transfers/gets than many of the washed up players that MLS use to target (Marquez). While they may never meet the high expectations/hopes we had for them as youth prospects within the USNT system….there is no reason to suggest that they couldn’t become quality MLS’ers like Zusi, Gonzalez, Besley, etc… and contribute to the USMNT in the future.
As the overall quality of MLS improves, so will the general quality of the USMNT. Both are linked. A prosperous national team will improve ratings of MLS, and as MLS ratings improve so does the quality of the contracts and product.
Lost in Space,
Keane and Gerrard were washed up when they signed for LA. Same with Kaka, Lampard and Villa.
While the rise of MLS can only be a good thing for the USMNT, the two organizations have different agendas. The two do not have identical interests.
The USSF wants to have the best USMNT teams as possible; doing as well as they can
in whatever tournaments they enter. As such they would like MLS to treat the USMNT players a certain way, keep them fit sharp and ready for the US and make them available when necessary.
MLS want to “advance their brand” and have the best teams possible, as long as it makes fiscal sense. While Americans make good sense from a marketing standpoint, so do Mexican and other foreign players. They certainly would not turn down Ronaldo and Messi if they wanted to come here would they? For the non DP’s I would think the principle would be “right player, right price” and “right player “ is not necessarily American. Our CONCACAF partners are providing many affordable options already this regard and I expect this will continue. MLS has no incentive to develop USMNT eligible
players over non eligible, all things being equal.
Do American outfield players dominate their MLS teams?
In the 2014 MLS All Star game on the 28 man roster there were three American outfield players who could be described as potentially dominant, Clint, Mikey and Landon.
Landon is gone, Clint is on the downside and Mikey is just about at his peak. Both Clint and Mikey for all practical purposes developed into the players they are in Europe, where the best training and the toughest completion still is. MLS might be that one day but not today or next year, certainly not in time for the 2018 World Cup.
So who are the guys who will replace those three? I see no obvious candidates.
One last point, the Premier League is arguably the best in the world. What exactly has it done for the England team who have won nothing in nearly 50 years and have always overpromised and under- delivered and looked pathetic while doing so?
GW,
If Keane was washed up then MLS is in trouble,….because he has been the best player in the league over the past three years. Robbie Keane has been nothing but a credit to the league. He scores goals, creates goals, stays fit, shows up and wins championships. What is the downside? If that is washed up,…? Your viewpoint on Keane is obviously tainted and not objective.
As to the others,…we’ll see. Give Gerrard and Lampard a chance.
We all know MLS is not EPL level,…but players like these, who were top players in the world game,…can certainly add value when they conduct themselves professionally and treat MLS with respect,…anti-Marquez approach. The only concern I have out of this group is Villa. He is giving off that “WTF did I get myself into” vibe. Rumors around that he is already skipping practices. Although I can’t blame him if playing pinball soccer at Yankee stadium is screaming “Mickey Mouse League!” at him.
BK,
Lost in Space said MLS was signing washed up players like Marquez.
Which is true in the sense the Marquez is done playing at the level he used to in Europe.
As is Keane and the others I mentioned.
Keane has arguably been LA’s best player the last couple of years but he is on the down side of his career. The only DP where you might say he is not yet at his peak is Giovinco.
And he is a symptom of the fact that we may soon start seeing younger, better DP’s.
Which means fewer jobs for American players.
washed up when signed? lol. not at their peaks makes sense of course but it’s case by case no matter your Tom Sawyer white washing
on Marquez he left his cojones south of the border and basically robbed the league of money while he was here. worst DP signing ever
Discovery claim. Dumbest thing ever. #onlyintheMLS.
What I want to know is when Lletget was put on the “discovery” list by the Revs. Apparently it was common knowledge that the Galaxy had been in negotiations with Lletget for months. They were also second in the allocation process. Then the MLS changes it’s rules and pigeonholes certain players onto a “private” discovery list that requires other teams to ante up 50K.
You would think the MLS would grandfather certain ongoing negotiations under the old rules instead of enriching some teams when the rules are changed.
I guess the MLS were looking less than transparent after the Klejstan deal, that pissed off The Galaxy and Bruce Arena and maybe what lead to this new process. Arena suffered a pretty good fine for criticizing the MLS on that one. It’s ironic that under the new rules, it appears that the MLS, under the new rules of allocation and “discovery” will get to ping the Galaxy another 50K.
But this time they get to keep the player.
The discovery list have been around since the begenning, the 50k standard buy out is new (Or at least newly disclosed). However, in the past he most likely would have been an allocation or more likely ain a random lottery.
This is great news. Good for Sebastian, good for Galaxy and good for MLS. The kid is 22. He has spent the past in one of the best youth programs in England and now he coming home to play for the best team in MLS, for the best American coach/manager and will be playing with Rob Keane and Steven Gerard. What’s not to like? I had read numerous reports that said/claimed Lljett was the most technically gifted player in the West Ham youth program but a little lacking as an athlete. There is so much pressure on EPL managers that one should not be surprised he didn’t get many chances in the past two years. Besides,…West Ham’s midfield is not too shabby.
Jurgen Klinsman’s views notwithstanding, MLS clubs should be encouraged to REPATRIATE as many American players as possible. I would rather watch an American player give it a go on my dime than some journeyman nobody from God knows where…..(see NYRB history).
Prediction — Bruce is going to get this kid sorted out and he will be a mainstay in the Galaxy in a short while. Great, great move by the Galaxy.
Unfortunately for Red Bull fans, this was move was on page 307 of Ali G’s 300 page plan.
Will Packwood to NE Revolution per Birmingham website.
The player is from within an hour’s drive of San Jose and apparently never thought about playing for the Earthquakes. Doyle really is a dope. He should have been on this last year when it became clear that the kid wasn’t going to make it at West ham.
Maybe Lletget doesn’t want to play at home.
That could be but San Jose has a way of missing out on clear oportunities. It seems like Doyle sits back and waits to contacted. It could also be that Lletget wants to play for a team that plays positively, will develop his talent and expects to win.
The Galaxy are like the Real Madrid of MLS. San Jose are like Getafe.
City to City, both the Los Angeles and San Jose areas are excellent places to live in.
You had me until you said Los Angeles and San Jose are excellent places to live in. 😉
If you head directly west from Stub Hub there are lots of nice places to live, especially if you’re young and even though they’re expensive, they’re not nearly as dear as San Jose/Santa Clara.
There’s some validity to your comparison which means that San Jose needs to put more effort into finding players that will make them overachieve. From what I’ve heard from very reliable sources, Doyle simply doesn’t scout much. Maybe this will change with Kinnear as coach because I’ve seen him at college matches actually paying attention.
The reality of MLS is that the gulf doesn’t need to be as great as the one between Real and Getafe because of the salary cap.
I fear that Lletget is a ball player and as such he doesn’t fit with San Jose.
Because lleget is probably good friends with tommy Thompson who told him that unless you’re a high 20’s low 30’s run of the mill soccer talent, you’re not going to get playing time.
Bingo. You’ve obviously watched San Jose.
He was in a tough spot at West Ham with a manager notorious for not bringing through youth players and also playing in a position held by Noble (the longest standing Hammer and “face of the franchise”) and Nolan (Allerdyce’s favorite who plays even when he shouldn’t). Those two also essentially alternate the captains arm band. Not a failure as much as a wrong team/wrong time situation.
Oh no! He might take away PT from the legend that is Baggio Husidic
That made me laugh! I’ll be glad to see less of him if Lletget pans out
Another European reject coming home. How exciting. Might as well go to MLS, since he couldn’t sniff the first team bench at West Ham.
That’s not a very intelligent rationale. Paul Pogba couldn’t break into an EPL lineup. Does that mean he’s a bad player and Serie A is a joke?
Pretty bad example as Manchester United have regretting selling Pogba since (when he was a teenager btw). And Lletget went home on a free transfer, unlike Pogba. If United had a chance to buy him again, they would pee their pants.
I’m pretty sure Juve got Pogba on a free.
While Euroman sounds like a clown, Pogba is not a good example.
Pogba comparison is misplaced. Lletget is not going to Juventus, like Pogba did. If the rumor is true, he will be going to an MLS team.
Plus they are the same age and Lletget can’t make the bench at West Ham while Pogba is one of the best, if not the best, midfielder in the world.
How soon can the kid play? Hopefully he comes with a chip on his shoulder
it’s amazing he is still only 22 given how long we have heard about him. hopefully he can revive his career.
I still owe him a Snickers bar…
failure? the kid’s 22 years old, good grief. playing for Arena and the Galaxy is a good thing too and he gets to come home to California. I give the guy a ton of credit going over there as a teenager, uprooting his life and crossing the pond. we’ll see what happens
Reported by WHUFCTV back in March: http://whufctv.com/blog/2015/03/01/exclusive-development-squad-player-signs-for-la-galaxy
Probably Goal’s “source” seeing as Llletget tweeted that he was going back to Cali today.
hmm, I don’t think so
Man… this just reminds me how dumb the discovery claim process is…
What exactly is it meant to do (in the minds of the league/owners)?
Seems like a random squatters rights process if you ask me.
I wouldn’t characterize it as a failure, but I see where you’re coming from. It’s a great move for him as a player because he’ll finally get to play regularly. And the more talent in MLS, the better for everyone supporting the league.
And the continued failures of the current US 20-25 year old generation continue.
This one hurts, as just a few years ago, I remember when him, Gyau and Renken were can’t miss prospects. Sure, he could end up being a fantastic player in MLS, but its crazy when you examine just how many players in this five year group have failed to reach expectations either due to injury or to other reasons. Only reason why I’m not super worried is that I think the next five year group (our current U-20s and below) have a great upside. But wow, going to make for some boring Saturday and Sunday mornings for the next few years.
Most young prospects don’t pan out. That’s just the way it is. Hate to burst your bubble but that’s going to probably be true of the current young guys too. West Ham are a decent Premier League side and it’s not easy to break into a team like that. Maybe Lletget will play well for LAG and then return to Europe.
+1 go look at any U-20 team of any country over 10-15 years ago, and you will find a bunch of good players but few national team players. Then you will see one guy who sat the bench the entire U-20 WC who is tearing it up on the national team
Name one US player who has returned to north america from Europe and was able to make an impact going back to Europe?
stuart holden
Brad Friedel is one. But times have changed though. Top American players didn’t play in MLS as recently as a few years ago.
Jozy altidore. Wait, that hasn’t happened yet, but I bet it will.
Donovan had a spectacular loan stint with Everton. Only reason it wasn’t made permanent was because MLS demanded too much for him.
Landon Donovan
Cory Gibbs (Injuries lessend that impact though).
You said bubble but
Also Gyau was breaking into the Dortmund first team before he got hurt. Hopefully he can regain his former level and continue that breakthrough.
They are just that: prospects
You know what’s pretty cool though… 10-15 years ago we only had enough prospects to count on a single hand. We’ve improved on that exponentially.
Dainja,
While I get all the angst, the reality is becoming a regular player, never mind a star, in one of the top European leagues is exceptionally hard to do. Most of those can’t miss prospects miss.
The vast majority of the players who try to do what Lletget tried to do will fail. I’m sure Sebastian is a really good player but it’s like that college All Star All American who suddenly finds that everyone else on his NFL team is just as talented as he is if not more so. Besides, he’s just 22 so calling him a failure is a little premature and overly harsh.
And when you judge those American generations you refer to just remember that there were never that many of them to begin with. That Under 20 generation you speak of? I’d be happy if one or two of them actually became a regular for the senior USMNT. You expect too much.
GW, totally true my man. I’m my own victim of the hype machine. We’re so starved for soccer stars, that wow – we get gassed up on a guy who is good enough to get signed to a youth academy. And i’m not making my above statement to disparage Sebastian himself…again, he could end up being awesome. its just stunning how many of the prospects from the current 20-25 age range have failed to turn out (was that Olympics qualifying failure THAT devastating??). Who knows why, but if you had told me four years ago, that NONE of these guys were to develop into at least one European major-league star, i would’ve called you crazy:
-Freddy Adu
-Josh Gatt
-Brek Shea
-Jozy Altidore
-Charles Renken
-Sebastian Lletget
-Will Packwood
-Tony Taylor
-Jared Jeffrey
-Omar Salgado (damn! Forgot about him)
Honestly, i could keep on going but my boss will fire me for spending so much time thinking about soccer. haha.
Or….. wait for it…. it can make for exciting Saturday and Sunday nights because you can actually watch these guys play in our country!
and afternoons too, don’t forget the fans on the west coast.
Why are all of you taking the “another failed USMNT player in Europe” discussion point, and not the “another potential good signing for the Galaxy” talking point?
Assuming he has talent (never actually seen him play), this is a good (and more importantly young) signing for the Galaxy. I don’t think Lletget was on the acquisition list, so the Galaxy still have a spot close to the top for the next USMNT star ready to come to MLS. Not to mention C. Ronaldo will eventually go from being a Galactico to a Galaxy and all is good in Los Angeles. As Charlie Sheen would say, “Winning!”
I was just responding to the opening poster but the answer to your question is that many American soccer fans have a painful insecurity complex about American players and.or MLS. This just feeds into it.
All things considered, it looks like a great pickup. He’s hardly costing them anything, has a lot of time to develop, and we’ve seen players at that level do well in MLS before. You figure that since he was able to make the West Ham bench a number of times, that he is English Championship level talent and that’s about equivalent to MLS. And they can use ahother midfielder..