After playing this past season on loan, Brooks Lennon is reportedly set for a permanent move to Real Salt Lake.
Goal USA is reporting that Lennon is set to sign a new deal with Real Salt Lake after spending 2017 on loan with the club from Liverpool. Lennon’s contract with the Premier League club is set to expire this summer, although the report states it remains unclear if RSL will need to pay a transfer fee for the winger.
The 20-year-old winger finished the season with three goals and four assists and was a key part of the youth movement that guided RSL towards the postseason. In the end, the club fell short, but with pieces like Lennon, Danny Acosta and Justen Glad in place, the club is hoping to make a bigger push in 2018.
Internationally, Lennon featured for the U.S. at the U-20 World Cup this past summer.
Another young American returns from the reserves of a European club to fade into MLS oblivion.
That is how it usually turns out… sad stuff.
I saw him at the U-20 WC. In the game I attended, he was a force to be reckoned with. He battled well and even with the US down to 10 men, he imposed himself on the game. He did not look like the kind of player who would excel in tight spaces in the middle, but on the wing where his speed and physicality could pay dividends, he prospered. He would benefit from having a few more moves to get around defenders, but his speed should help in that regard since defenders cannot get too tight on him and he seemed to have the strength needed to battle through if the defense tried to manhandle him.
MLS will give him an opportunity to play more games and that should help him make progress. If he can show the ability to beat defenders 1v1 on the wing and make crosses to teammates he will get the interest of other teams,if not..
So he is Sal Zizzo 2.0?
He looked to me like he is much better in the attack than Zizzo already. He did help out defensively, but he was mostly playing as a wide forward.
Too bad. Another young career to stall out in the mediocre ambitionless league that is MLS.
I like the kid but watching him play at the u20 wc I thought it was clear he was not as polished as some other players he was against. He is fast and works the wing pretty well but doesn’t bring awhole lot else. He probably realized his best shot at playing was in the MLS and like people say Europe isn’t right for everyone but atleast he tried. So props to him but just another good American youth who is average at best when compared to the better nations and leagues out there.
He is a serviceable winger, but probably closer to Arriola than Pulisic at this point in his career. I’m guessing he would just prefer to play in the U.S. rather than bouncing around in the championship or Scandinavian leagues.
Hope he wants to return to Europe at some point.
My guess is that regardless of your wishes, he is going to be a lot more thoughtful next time around and not just going to “Europe” to go to Europe. He will analyze specific situation, his outlook on playing time etc. and only go if it actually makes sense
i.e. do what everyone is supposed to do to begin with as opposed to blindly accepting as long as the “Europe” label is on it, which is what a lot of US fans think all our players should do (not saying you are one of them)
Sorry but if any American has a chance to play at Liverpool in their academy system they should go, 100% of the time. You are correct though if the situation going forward has been made clear that he won’t see time with the full squad anytime soon he should move on. I can’t think of too many Americans that have made moves to a major league from MLS (Brown and Miazga and neither have really played in the big league yet) in quite awhile so if that’s your goal you have to get into an academy and try to work in. There is nothing wrong with the Sebastian Lletget program spend age 18-23 in Europe and if you don’t make a full roster you come back to MLS. If not for that injury he’s probably a regular for the USMNT.