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Report: Man United leading race to sign Emerson Hyndman

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Another U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team player may soon be making the move to a storied English Premier League side, if reports are to be believed.

According to HITC Sport, Manchester United is reportedly leading the race to sign 19-year-old American midfielder Emerson Hyndman. The report states that Tottenham, West Ham United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg have also shown interest in adding the Fulham midfielder, but the Red Devils are currently the frontrunners to land him.

“He looks to be on his way, we have been told of a number of clubs who want him and are offering big deals, but United look to be in the strongest position,” a source from Fulham allegedly told HITC.

Hyndman is eligible to leave Fulham on a free transfer this upcoming summer after club manager Slavisa Jokanovic insisted on not selling him during the winter transfer window. He has appeared in 10 games for the English Championship outfit during the 2015-16 season.

At the international level, Hyndman most recently appeared in CONCACAF Olympic qualification games for the U.S. U-23s, earning SBI Man of the Match honors on one occasion.

Recently, fellow U.S. U-23 player Matt Miazga left the New York Red Bulls to sign with Chelsea.

What do you think of this report? Would it be a good move for Hyndman to join Manchester United?Where should Hyndman sign?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I don’t care where he goes, he is just 19 and while he is very good, he does not seem ready to be a star for anyone just yet. I hope he goes somewhere where he can prosper and grow. That could be a whole host of teams, since there are various paths to success, of course, there a lot more paths to failure, but I don’t think the choice of team at 19 will be the major determining factor.

    So much depends on his character and talent. He has already shown he can live away from home and do well (not a small thing for a teenager), he can work for playing time and still make progress even if his efforts are not rewarded with tons of starts, which speaks well of his patience and resilience. He will get stronger and likely more skilled. The thing that is most likely still an open question is how well he will fare when the speed of play gets much faster, will he adapt to it, or will his head just spin? So far he has done well, but there is more to be done.

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  2. Very difficult to say for absolutely sure with a deep lying CM type like EH because there are so many subtleties necessary to play that position at a high level, but I’ve seen him about 10 times now and am a big believer. He does things to create space for himself that a lot of our senior nats don’t even do. It’s a position that relies on the player to think faster and more tactically than others and he seems to have that. His work rate and aggressiveness looks top notch too. So hard again to say that with surety by watching U20s matches where the speed of play isn’t super fast. I also worry about injuries as he seems a little on the small and frail side. I really like him, though. He plays like he’s one move ahead of everyone else. The matches I’ve seen with he and GZ together, EH looks like the better player.

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    • Very good description of Hyndman’s game. IMHO and from limited game time and highlights, Hyndman plays almost identically to Gundogan; strong enough on defense (as long as he’s partnered with a true DM) and dangerously unpredictable in the attack (I honestly don’t see where people get the deep-lying playmaker notion; he’s just as likely to drive forward to the goalline and deliver a low cross as he is to deliver a long-ball over the top).

      To be honest, with rumours about Gundogan’s imminent departure, and already having an immediate replacement with Sahin coming back, BVB will be looking for a more long-term solution to the #8 role.I could easily see BVB being interested in another American with loads of potential and energy to compliment their style.

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  3. How interesting would it be to see a Chinese Super League team approach Hyndman? Not saying it would be the best for his development but with all the recent headline grabbing signings, I wonder if they’re considering American players to raise their global profile as a league?

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  4. If Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham United, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg are interested in you (JUST INTERESTED IN YOU….even if you suck on tape…with your current team or in practice, whatever), regardless of the reason you are a technically good player

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    • Agree with the sentiment of your statement, that if these types of clubs are scouting you, its because they like something about your game. But disagree with the “technically” good player part. Jonathan Spector was not technically impressive, same as Altidore and Yedlin. Man United and Villareal were hoping to drill in some technique and tactics into Spector and Altidore respectively (Arguablly they failed in developing premier players, but successful enough for secondary leagues); and Tottenham, by way of loans, are hoping to teach Yedlin to defend (so far so good).

      However, this new emerging generation is being valued for their technique, vision, creativity, and Soccer IQ. These clubs are rolling the dice to see if they ever will PHYSICALLY be able to handle the elite level, not whether they actually CAN play at it. Lets be serious, have we ever had these kind of debates: Will Zelalem will ever be strong enough to play for Arsenal in the EPL?

      We are finally debating whether or not a prospect is “athletic” enough for an elite level; not whether or not they develop technically/tactically enough (like Yedlin) to play at that level.

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  5. For the academies…Jesus people are clueless, not every player bought is for the first team!! It’s called investing in the future of the club!!

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    • Indeed! ManU is notorious for buying young players with developmental upside, then selling them off at a profit. And not every player they bring into their development academy is first team material. Case in point, Kenny Cooper v. say a Cristiano Ronaldo who debuted with ManUs first team in a Premiership league match at AGE 16! He was positively electrifying in that performance. As a long time USMNT fan I dream and hope that players like Hyndman will pan out and become central midfield creative engines, ready to drive our boys to glory in future WCs. But he reality is that the top of the pyramid, even in the USMNT, is very narrow and few rise to that level. He has the potential, though.

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      • Jonathan Spector is a good case in point. He was originally a Man U product, they loaned him out to Charlton (then in the EPL) while Spector was only 18, Charlton bought him and then he went to West Ham for several years where he played regularly. When West Ham went down Spector went to Birmingham instead of staying with the Hammers. He has had a good, solid career and has helped the USMNT on several occasions.

  6. My favorite part of this story is that someone posted this link in the Miazga thread earlier today and then SBI just summarized the English story and posted the link a couple hours later.

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  7. You ever seen him play? He is a silky smooth midfielder, with good vision. Reads the field well, is a sure finisher, and deadly accurate shooter. Has decent pace, and is just starting to fill into his adult body. Could develop some more upper body strength, and improve his composure over time, when confronting high presses, and physical play. But he is best deployed centrally as a play-making holding midfielder. He has full USMNT potential in spades, and if the U23s can make it past Colombia in the 1 and 1 play off, he could star in this summer’s Olympic soccer tournament. At only 19 years of age the developmental upside is huge. Why wouldn’t ManU, Dortmund, Bayern, et al – be interested?

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  8. The guy has only seen the pitch 10 times in the Championship and we are supposed to believe Man U wants him? My neighbor just told me Madrid is going to sign him.

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    • That’s not so bad for a 19 year old, who has also captained his side in a U20 WC. I don’t think anyone thinks he’ll walk into the starting lineup. However it’s really not far off to think a big club wants him as a prospect.

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      • Wasn’t Hyndman the top scorer and assist leader on our U-20 side that beat Colombia and lost in the QF to Serbia in the U20 WC last year? He was probably our best player besides Steffen and perhaps CCV and Mizaga CB pair.

    • Yup absolutely correct. Never in the history of soccer has another club seen the potential of a player being ignored by their club. Smh…

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  9. It’s not being negative, most USNT fans want Hyndman to start games, and top clubs don’t give Americans very chances to play. Like Kirovski, Altidore with Villareal, Adu with Benifica, Green etc..

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    • Both Altidore and Adu got tick with the first teams of both Villareal and Benfica.

      Altidore actually scored in his 2nd or 3rd game and had an assist as well in his tenure with the “Yellow Submarine”.

      Adu also scored I believe 2 goals in cup and 2 in Ligue play. Then it fell apart after the managerial change. He couldn’t beat out Angel Di Maria and that is that. He’s been bouncing ever since until this last year.

      The idea that our guys don’t get a chance is just fiction. They may not get a lot of rope to hang themselves but they are given a little bit.

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    • Even the article says he’ll probably be loaned out once he is signed. Either way he wants out of Fulham and will being going somewhere in the summer.

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  10. I’m not sure why people are treating this news in such a negative manner. It’s like you all forget that he is a young player that hasn’t reached his full potential. Maybe some of these big clubs see him as someone who can develop into a starting role in a few years. He’s still 19 years old and has the plenty of time to turn into a solid player.

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    • Please…No… Your sensible and balanced comment free of hyperbole and riddled with appropriate optimism my scare some of the new kids away.

      Who wants to go back to SBI circa 2007?

      Not me

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  11. Damn! Fulham benchwarmer getting attention from top clubs.
    Hyndman should focus where get playing time and not too much on the big name/big money club.

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  12. HITC (Here Is The City) is a fast growing source of news and information on the web. Started in 2000, the site initially focussed on finance news and became a trusted source of information for that readership. In the past 2 years it has expanded its verticals to include Tech and Sport, experiencing rapid growth as those markets also come to recognise the brand

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    • Fulham’s been trying to re-sign him since last summer but he’s held out and refused. So they’ve been less willing to give a young player minutes, that’s probably going to walk in the summer. You have to wonder if there’s been a degree of “taping up” going on through his agent.

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    • He barely plays for them because there was simply a falling out between player and club. He’s a great player with a ton of potential but this is a lost year for Hyndman. I know we all loved Fulhamerica but this is all on Fulham. They should have sold him before the season started.

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    • Because he has skill and grit. He is young and hungry. He will likely grow into at minimum a SOLID SQUAD player AND if he doesn’t become an ITEM at United/Munchen or other club, he will be sold to at least recover his salary. Oh yeah, he will make that up in Jersey sells alone.

      So why wouldn’t they be interested in him? Just sounds like a good business

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  13. Hyndman must be setting Championship on fire this season with all those teams linining up to sign him. Too bad Fulham fans are probably not aware of Hyndman’s exploits.

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    • Typical US soccer fan inferiority complex. “A US player wanted by a top club? Impossible because we all know US players are terrible.”

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      • C’mon Slowleft, sometimes I agree with you but other times your “inferiority complex” line grows tiresome and is overused and out of place. We are talking about a player in Hyndman who does not get consistent playing time at Fulham. Sometimes he starts, sometimes he’s stuck on the bench. So it can be correctly assumed that Fulham don’t see him as one of their top players, if not he’d start every game. Fulham is in the Championship and in relegation trouble, so they aren’t a great team filled with great talent. That makes Hyndman’s lack of consistent playing time seem worst. So it makes perfect sense that people would be shocked or skeptical when all of a sudden there are reports that ManU, Munich, Tottenham, Dortmund, etc want him.

        I am not saying the reports are false or true, I have no idea. I am saying that the shock/skepticism is warranted.

      • @UclaBruinGreat- The Dortmund rumors have been around since at least the fall, when Hyndman first refused to re-sign with Fulham. He has been set on leaving for awhile.

      • He’s a 19 year old prospect. It’s not uncommon for young players to be brought along slowly. That doesn’t mean he isn’t as talented as players playing more than him. It could be for any number of reasons but this doubt shows the ignorance of the American fan when it comes to this stuff. I am very surprised but it really isn’t out of the realm of possibility at all for a teenage prospect playing well in the championship to receive interest from big clubs across Europe.

      • I don’t know if I buy the “if he’s not going to re-sign we won’t play him” idea, wouldn’t it make more business sense for Fulham to have played him more and sold him in the transfer window. They would at least recoup some of their investment.

      • I agree with UCLA Bruin’s point of view. However, there is this. Several years back Man U purchased Chris Smalling from Fulham, even though Smalling rarely played. Smalling was an English youth international, and Fulham was in the EPL at the time, but still I didn’t think Smalling looked that good when he did play for Fulham. Since then Smnalling has become a regular player for Man U. I think in that case, and perhaps this one, too, they were/are buying potential based on what they see in international play, if the reports are accurate that is.

      • @Johnnyrazor. When Zakaria Bakkali wouldnt resign with PSV they completely froze him out of first team and he didnt play at all (only with Jong PSV) until moving to Valencia. So it does happen

      • For every successful story like Smalling’s, we have 10 more where the player never gets past the u21 team, or never makes the game day squad, or s loaned out, over and over. Mourinho is on the horizon too, and has a clear record of not “blooding” young players in League games. He would be better off gong to Tottenham or Dortmund who have coaches known for putting in young players

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