Two more U.S. Youth Men’s National Team players are joining the large contingent of Americans plying their trades at German Bundesliga clubs.
Midfielder Bryang Kayo and left back Kobe Hernandez-Foster signed contracts with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on Monday. The pair are the latest American players to make the move to Germany in hopes of developing overseas.
Kayo joined D.C. United’s Academy in 2017 and did make three appearances for Loudoun United, the Black and Red’s USL affiliate. He left the club in 2019 and joined fellow USL side Orange County SC, but did not make his debut for the club. Kayo will turn 18 on June 27, which will make him age eligible to sign a professional contract outside the United States.
The Maryland native is expected to begin with Wolfsburg’s Under-23 team in the 2020-21 season. Kayo made eight appearances for the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team, scoring one goal.
Hernandez-Foster, 18, is slated to start with Wolfsburg’s Under-19 team. A former L.A. Galaxy Academy product, Hernandez-Foster made three appearances for USL affiliate Galaxy II between 2018-20′ before deciding to move to Germany.
Hernandez-Foster scored three goals in 23 career appearances for the U.S. U-17’s, appearing at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup. He’s eligible for the Under-20 team, but has yet to receive a call-up.
The pair of players join fellow American players John Brooks, Ulysses Llanez, and Michael Edwards at Wolfsburg. Llanez impressed with Wolfsburg’s U-19 team, earning a call-up to the first team, though he has yet to make his first-team debut.
Edwards, who turns 20 in November, made 11 appearances this season for Wolfsburg’s Under-19 team.
I watched both players in U17 Concacaf tourney last year, w/ Gio & Busio. True, the team had a poor WC, but looks like the players want an opportunity to develop. The road to Wolfsburg isn’t easy, but both players could be in diff league, this time next year. We’ll see!! 15years ago, American players were missing futbol development @ 16-18 years of age. Safe to say, “That time is over!” I look forward to SBI keeping me updated on both of them!
I don’t like this move by these young ones. I don’t think they did their homework.
I guess signing with Wolfsburg means we don’t have to worry about these guys playing first team anytime soon. It’s going to actual be very disappointing if all four US players spend next season with Wolfsburg II or the U19s in Kobe’s case.
I have a hunch John Brooks will turn out for the first team.
Sorry four young players: Llanez, Edwards, Kayo, and Hernandez-Foster, obviously Brooks is a regular. Wolfsburg does not play young players. Last season 21year olds 3 players played a total of 18 matches. Narmouch and Horn combined for 81 minutes over 6 of those and Nmecha was the only that saw significant minutes and they loaned him out in Jan. 20 year olds made the roster twice making one 8 minute appearance. 19 year olds made the bench three times never making the field. They don’t play young players. 357 total minutes for players 21 and under in all competitions. For comparison Dortmund had 5 players 21 or under that played 400 more individually making a combined 170 appearances by all 21 and under. Schalke used 7 players 21 and under for more than 400 minutes a piece, 150 combined appearances.
I think with a full preseason to integrate himself Llanez should have opportunities with the 1st team. I expect he’ll get some DFB Polka matches, and if he performs well he’ll get get some appearances off the bench.
See my above post Glasner does not play young players. I was wrong about Nmecha, Man. City recalled him because he wasn’t playing. Glasner didn’t believe he was ready despite having made 44 appearances for Preston the year before in the Championship. Remember how they let Uly stay in the US for month in January, no plans to play their youth players. 2018-19 was a little better but not much for youth at Wolfsburg 70 appearances for players 21 and under but those were almost all subs for minimal minutes. John Yeboah, German U20 LW, scored 21 goals for their U19s in 2018/19, 4g in 5 matches for U23s before being loaned to VVVenlo in Holland. Brekalo is the returner and then Yeboah is getting the next shot, Victor plays on both sides, Uly isn’t getting a look. They are three deep on the right as well. He needs a loan.
While that may be true, a lot of MLS teams don’t play youngsters either. Only in the last year or so have we seen some youngsters like Pomykal, Aronson, etc., get MLS playing time. Erik Palmer-Brown, for example, rarely saw the field at Sporting KC and now he’s starting in the Austrian Bundesliga. Llanez was a Galaxy youth player and he left because there seemed to be no future there. The Galaxy have had a lot of academy players leave in order to get opportunity. In the case of these youngsters, they weren’t even getting much time in the USL. So, how is it bad for them to go to Germany? They will probably be exposed to better competition and get paid more. And even if they don’t play with Wolfsburg, in a year or two maybe they will be loaned out to a Bundesliga 2 team, while still young. If they stayed in the US the alternative might be sitting on the bench of an MLS team, getting the league minimum.
Definitely excited they are making their move to Europe just not for their going to Wolfsburg. I just fear their going to keep Uly on the roster where he’ll get 25 or 30 dresses did not play and has 5 appearances for 30 minutes and that’s his whole season. I don’t see a year in 4th Division (U23 League) as advancing him much.
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When are your Galaxy going to invest in their backline, their defending has been terrible for what feels like forever? Dunbar had a positive debut. Thought up a man would have been a perfect time for Efra but maybe they were afraid to put him up against Chara.