photo by Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — DeAndre Yedlin will play for Tottenham in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game. Whether or not he does so in the upcoming Premiership season has yet to be determined.
Yedlin is entering his first full season with Spurs after making the move from the Seattle Sounders last winter. Questions and speculation persist about whether he will go on loan, or stay with Tottenham and battle for playing time at right back, where the team has strong options.
The speedy fullback was limited to just a single appearance of 11 minutes during his first five months with Tottenham, and his role for the upcoming season is unclear with Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier on the roster.
There have been rumors in recent weeks about Yedlin potentially going out on loan in order to have a better shot at earning minutes, but the 22-year-old U.S. Men’s National Team player is uncertain as to what the future will hold.
“I’m not sure about the plan ahead for next season,” said Yedlin ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with the MLS All-Stars. “I’m still waiting on that, but right now, just focused on this game and the rest of preseason.”
Yedlin may not stick around with the club this season, but by most accounts is improving despite not playing regularly. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has previously spoken positively of Yedlin and his future with the club, and the youngster’s teammates have been just as impressed as their head coach.
“He’s a really good lad, really nice guy to be around,” Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen said. “Of course, he’s still young and he can still develop. Of course, he’s done really well, taken small steps, but he’s going in the right direction.”
Yedlin just arrived earlier this week for Tottenham’s preseason camp. He spent the past month with the U.S. at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, playing in five games and also in a friendly just before the regional tournament began.
U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has continuously called up Yedlin despite his recent lack of playing time at the club level, but the need for consistent minutes is evident with important games coming up. The Americans will play a 2017 Confederations Cup playoff game on Oct. 9 and will start World Cup qualifying a month later.
“It’s tough,” said Yedlin of trying to break into Tottenham’s lineup. “With Seattle, I had to prove my spot as well. That was no different. This process has taken a little bit longer, and I expect to battle. It’s another level up. I’m working hard every day and just trying to improve.”
Yedlin will have a chance to showcase himself and make a statement to Pochettino on Wednesday night. Spurs will take on the MLS All-Stars at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and Yedlin is eager to play against many of his U.S. teammates and former MLS peers.
“All the fans are excited to see. All the players are excited to play,” said Yedlin. “Everybody is excited, everybody is prepared, and just hopefully come out and give a good game tomorrow.”
The coach from his comments gives Yedlin only a very slim chance to stay up.
La motoleta Lennon!!
He is special for USMNT when he comes in he makes things happen. I’d like to see a loan to a Spanish, German, or Dutxh team that will give him game time. Tottenham is under too.much pressure to be in top.4 mix.
“Unsure if he will stay with Tottenham”
or
“Unsure whether he will stay with Tottenham or not”
but never
“Unsure whether he will stay with Tottenham”
I never understood the hype around this guy. He’s and average player that is over rated.
he’s a young player who surprised people (in a good way) at the world cup, and fans love to get excited about the “next big thing”. what’s so hard to understand? keep watching soccer–or, you know, sports in general–and you’ll see it’s not so unusual.
I’m going to save Yedlin from the suspense…he’s not going to be playing for Tottenham this year.
I love reading the comments on stories like these. A chance for the posters to puff up their chests and pass the final judgement as the expert.
They have to do so in terms used before. “Technically lacking”, all sorts of lacking actually, is a favorite.
And they must do so in a way that puts US soccer in its place, which of course is below the poster’s and “his team’s” status.
A guy who played a bunch in the last World Cup for a very good US team, is low level Champions league player of course. Not even close to good enough for the vastly superior poster’s team/league.
Keep up the fight while keeping me entertained.
Playing in the World Cup is one thing. It is 7 games at most if you make the final
Playing for a team like Spurs, where a regular player might make 40-50 appearances across all competitions over the course of the season, is a different bag of shells.
History is full of players who were signed by various clubs after great performances at the World Cup or the Euros, who then went on to be enormous busts for their club.
World Cup success guarantees you nothing at the club level. It’s a different game.
DeAndre hasn’t yet had a chance to make his case so why don’t you just respect his effort and let him do that?
Championship move for you sir!!!
can’t make up my mind on yedlin in tottenham, until I hear from the groundskeeper. I think we need to interview him and write yet another article to figure things out…..
How many bottom half Premier league or Championship sides really use attacking fullbacks? I see more converted center backs playing the position then anything else. Go to Holland or France where sides are willing to take more chances with an open game.
I think he’ll have a couple of seasons out on loan, in the Championship and possibly a lower end of the table Premier League club, then will be sold before making the grade. By the way, it’s great reading your thoughts and insights on soccer. It’s like listening to British women talk about the game…
I love listening to Tottenham fans because they are delusional in terms of how good their team really is and how offensive their nickname is to Jewish people
How little you know. Spurs have a massive Jewish fan base, and our proud that non Jewish fans (the majority) are happy to take on that nickname
You do not know how little or much I know. I lived in London and I know that Tottenham started in a Jewish neighborhood, but overwhelming majority of fans are not jewish. Yes, they initially appropriated the insult because they were seen as a Jewish club, it is still an insult and most knuckleheads who sing don’t really comprehend the history or gravity of the insult (even now). Ignorance is not a defense.
Paul,
You might want to read this:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/football-why-tottenham-and-ajax-fans-have-a-jewish-identity-a-926095.html
According to Andy of Atlanta, JK, who is still a beloved icon at Spurs, is “xenophobic”(?) and that is why he does not pick Feilhaber who is Jewish. Interestingly, Beckerman is Jewish and DeAndre’s mother is Jewish , which as you may know , makes him Jewish to Israel. I wonder if they think JK is anti semitic.. Or maybe he’s just “xenophobic”.
This also accounts for Lichaj’s exclusion, his sin being his Polish heritage which at one time made him a dual national eligible to play for Poland.despite being born in Illinois, which is , I think, in the USA.
I wonder what Podolski and Klose, both born in Poland but having chosen Germany as their country, would say about that.
Wow this dude loves throwing around the word xenophobic.
slowleftarm,
Andy does love to throw that word around, doesn’t he?
Unfortunately, he doesn’t know what it means.
so half the comment is denigrating the commenters here; the other half is just echoing exactly what commenters here have been saying for a year now. comedy gold.
He should go on loan but to a mid to bottom tier championship team. A team where he would be considered a first team player.
Your pathetic hate/ignorance is getting old. He is definitely good enough for a team at the top of the Championship. That is a level where he would have to fight for a position, but probably stand a very good chance to get a position. However, if it makes you feel to slam a 21 yr kid at he beginning of his career because your life is miserable, you’re a joke at work and your personal life is empty…then go ahead.
I can say without a doubt they do NOT want to send him to a championship side. They want to send him to a club where they will both develop him as a player in training and give him minutes.
They dont train much at all in the championship. It is all about GAMES. they play a ton of matches in that league and barely train.
It’s not slamming the kid, its being realistic. He is a very average plate with good speed but little else.
Go on loan, DeAndre. Preferable to a top team in the Championship. You’ll be lucky to make the bench most weeks at Spurs.
The team that gets him on loan will have little incentive to play him unless he is unquestionably better than everyone else he is competing with. He is fighting an uphill battle for playing time wherever he goes this season.
I’m sure Pochettino and his agent can find a good spot for him. I doubt this is a Julian Green situation where a team will bury him on the bench. Hamburg was in flux last season and odds are that Yedlin’s situation will hardly be that extreme.
Nothing wrong with fighting for playing time as it’s part of being a professional in Europe. Nothing gets handed to you at this level but he has virtually no chance at playing time with Spurs unless there’s an injury so I expect him to leave for the season. While most defenders don’t get substituted, Yedlin has as good a chance as any to become a sub option due to his speed and that he can play in wing too. Hopefully that keeps him on at least the bench for wherever he goes.
Yep. I agree that competition is a good thing for Yedlin at this point in his career. Just pointing out that loans are very tricky, even if it seems like a great fit at first. Also agree that he is too far down the depth chart at Spurs currently and that a loan is probably best option, but far from fail-proof.
yedlin will come good ,if he is intelligent and marries speed with outstanding passin,dribbling he will push out kyle. i have not seen him yet but for fans and him patience is a must.i was impressed by him in world cup. it is between him and bale who is our fastest ever! In my opinion it might be Yedlin but Gareth could do all sorts of tricks ,there again Yedlin tackles are well timed
It is worth remembering that Bale stared out as a left back at Southampton and when he first moved to Spurs.
It took him a while to mature into the Bale we see now. If he were an American SBI fans would have written him off long ago.
Yedlin is not Bale but I see no reason why he can’t improve over the next season or two. The way SBI fans are you’d think Yedlin should beg to come back to MLS.
+1 great Bale reference.
DeAndre saw very quick success with Seattle and the USMNT. At his current age, I think it is good for him to hit a small roadblock and find himself in this situation. He’s already a tough kid, but this will surely make him tougher. He’s got the work ethic, talent, and attitude to be as big as he wants to be.
I was really disappointed that Yedlin didn’t get playing time last year, but even though he didn’t, his ball skills improved dramatically. At Seattle, he simply used speed and physicality at RB; his dribbling and passing were really lacking. But watching him play in the midfield for the national team, he’s gotten better despite siting on the bench. If he does go on loan, I’m hoping it will be to a team that considers him more of a winger than a fullback.
I appreciate you identifying he has no skills in ball handling and passing because most people are too ignorant and dumb to admit he has tons of negatives to his game. They just see a young, fit guy from the MLS who moved to a PL side.
I’ll eat my hat if he ever becomes a PL starter at tottenham because he has little skill. He’s just a kid who’s decently fast and looks good in a fitted uni
I appreciate you illustrating in almost comic style the self-loathing so common to American soccer fans.
Don’t be so hard on Tottenh.
He really appreciated the part of the post where the guy was negative on a national team player.
Like Tottenh said, we are to ignorant to be at his level of genius.
I mean, I know more about American soccer than all of you, so yeah i agree with your statement, the only issue is that you were trying to be sarcastic.
You know less than Jon Snow does
spurs fans are truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Hold on guys, this tottenham fellow sounds like he knows a lot. I mean he says he does so it must be true. Plus he apparently watches soccer FROM EUROPE!!!!!!!! which none of us plebs do. He is so sophisticated. Wow.
i used to bash him as well, or at least claim that he was not ready to be USMNT contributor but I was really impressed by his play this summer.
in terms of a 90 min starter on defense or on the wing he has a lot to learn about positioning, defending and ball control but his attacking instincts and physical abilities are PL quality.
really hope he gets a 2nd Division year but I really do believe that he could be a good player for Spurs. more likely at RM imo.
He should be an outside back. He is physically gifted, not so much technically. Although he has improved, he is best suited with shutting down attacking players and making a simple pass.
Your hat is safe because we know that players never improve their skill level. Guess what? You can teach ball skills and they can be learned, Speed you are pretty much born with.
Yeah, and he has tons of it. He has consistently improved each year, including last year on the bench, so I see no reason why he can’t be very good on the right side, wherever that is.
Yup. You know who started out as a speedy but unskilled young right back? The guy who starts there now for Spurs. He learned and got better.
Joamiq,
Walker was bought by Spurs in 2009.
He then got loaned out to three different clubs in a row before coming back in 2011 and winning the RB job on a more or less permanent basis.
It’s a good thing for him he wasn’t an American or SBI fans would have written him off early.
He is certainly more than “decently fast,”….the kid has killer speed. That said, he has a low soccer IQ and his ball skills are lacking.
Oh come on man, this guy isn’t faster than some of the speediest players in the world. You fanboys just notice one thing and grab a hold of it for dear life in hopes that it will be all he needs to become a great defender. Grow the hell up you idiotic, uneducated “fans”. He’s a young kid with very little skill as a player who can outrun MLS players that have 37 year olds on the team.
Calm down, Pointless. It’ll be okay
The kid is lacking some positional awareness for the international level at RB/RWB/RW, but that can come with play time and coaching. He needs to play at the highest level where he can be a regular player in system that keeps the ball moving on the ground. I would much rather see top of the Championship than bottom of the premier team that bunkers down. The best would be a mid-table dynamic passing team (Swansea, Everton etc), but he is not that good yet.
However, his speed is not something to doubt. What???? Speed is overrated, but he is among the fastest players in the league. I still have friends or family who live in Germany, Belgium, France and England and those who saw during the world cup mentioned how fast they thought he was. His EPL scouting report mentions his speed. Eden Hazard is considered among the fastest in the EPL, and he could not get by Yedlin.
Pointless,
Yedlin’s speed first drew the Spur’s attention at the World Cup not in MLS.
That scout got fired in March 2015…so maybe signing a guy because he looked fast wasn’t the best move.
They haven’t fired Yedlin yet have they?
We get it bro. Yedlin is an American and therefore sucks. However, your team has Kyle Walker at RB and in case you haven’t noticed he really sucks.
Aaron Lennon got by there for a long time, on pretty much nothing more then speed. So who knows.
@ Tottenhammered, I wonder what kind of skills and speed you have. Maybe good skill at BS’ing?
I played NAIA soccer at Cal State San Marcos. So not any division, but I am better than you. So that was an easy argument to win
So you played glorified intramural soccer at a place where they could probably barely get enough guys together to form a team. You are an amazing person.