Sebastian Soto’s current contract with German 2. Bundesliga side Hannover is set to expire this summer, but the young forward has reportedly already found himself a new club.
After being previously linked with fellow German side Freiburg as well as clubs from MLS, Soto looks to be taking his talents to England. Soto has passed a medical and signed a contract with Norwich City, according to German outlet Bild. He will officially join the club once his Hannover contract expires in June.
Hannover will receive roughly $200,000 from Norwich City to start until a full transfer free is decided.
The 19-year-old’s new deal with the Canaries will run until June 2023, however due to not having an England work permit he will likely head back out on an immediate loan elsewhere. Soto’s agent Rob Moore has been in discussions with teams from Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, according to the report.
Soto made the move to Germany from Real Salt Lake’s Academy in July 2018 and quickly moved up the ranks. Beginning with Hannover’s Under-19 side, Soto exploded for 17 goals and six assists in 24 matches, earning him promotion to the Under-23 side in the same season.
However, Soto failed to find the back of the net in eight combined appearances between Hannover’s first and second teams, which included a trio of Bundesliga cameos in 2019.
A current U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team product, Soto scored four goals in five appearances in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, helping the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team to a third-consecutive quarterfinals appearance.
He’s also scored once in two appearances for the Under-23 team and was expected to be included in Jason Kreis’ Olympic Qualifying roster prior to the postponement of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The USMNT was slated to play both Wales and the Netherlands in a pair of March friendlies earlier this year, an opportunity for head coach Gregg Berhalter to see the young talent for the first time. However, the friendlies were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and were not rescheduled.
Soto’s move to England would be the latest since Christian Pulisic’s move from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund to EPL giants Chelsea.