Jonathan Klinsmann’s time in Switzerland has been a disappointment to say the least, but the American goalkeeper is reportedly on the move.
Klinsmann is set to sign with the L.A. Galaxy on a three-year deal, The Athletic reported Wednesday. Klinsmann is the son of former U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
The 23-year-old made the move to St. Gallen in 2019, but failed to make a single appearance in league play. After playing one collegiate season at the University of California, Klinsmann made the move abroad to Hertha Berlin, where he totaled 24 appearances for the Under-23 team.
Klinsmann excelled with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team from 2015-17′, totaling 21 appearances. He helped the Americans win the Concacaf U-20 Championship in 2017 while also winning the Golden Glove and being named to the tournament’s Best XI.
David Bingham currently occupies the No. 1 job in Carson, Cali. after appearing in five matches this season.
Minnesota United starting goalkeeper Miller out for season
Minnesota United will not be able to call on Tyler Miller for the rest of the season.
Miller underwent successful hip surgery on Wednesday, but has been ruled out for the rest of the 2020 MLS season. The Loons return to league play this week after finishing as a semifinalist in the MLS is Back Tournament.
The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with LAFC in Jan. 2020 and has made five appearances for the Loons this season, posting one shutout. Miller has posted 21 shutouts in 71 career MLS matches, also appearing in three games for the Seattle Sounders from 2016-17′.
With Miller out for the remainder of the season, Minnesota United recalled Dayne St. Clair from his loan spell with USL side San Antonio FC.
Fire sign Herbers to contract extension
The Chicago Fire have rewarded veteran midfielder Fabian Herbers with a lengthy contract extension.
Herbers new deal will run through the 2023 MLS season, with an option for 2024. He joined the club from the Philadelphia Union in Dec. 2018 and since has become a regular contributor for the club.
“Fabian is a talented player who always works very hard for the team,” Chicago Fire FC sporting director Georg Heitz in a statement said. “His work rate, professional attitude and strong mentality are many of the traits that we look for in a player. He has fully earned this new contract, and we look forward to seeing his contributions to the team in 2020 and beyond.”
In two seasons with Chicago, Herbers has scored three goals and registered one assist in 22 appearances. He’s appeared in all five of the Fire’s matches this season so far.
Herbers is a former No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by the Union. In three seasons with Philadelphia, Herbers made 53 regular season appearances from 2016-18′, tallying four goals and nine assists.
Herbers and the Fire will continue regular season play this week against the Columbus Crew.
FC Dallas adds goalkeeper Megiolaro on loan
FC Dallas has added goalkeeper help for the remainder of the season following Jesse Gonzalez’s exit.
Phelipe Megiolaro joined the Western Conference club on loan from Brazilian first-division side Grêmio on Tuesday. Megiolaro will occupy an international roster spot on FC Dallas’ roster and the club also has an option to purchase the goalkeeper after the current season.
The 21-year-old came through the youth system at Gremio and also spent time in both Campinas and Ponte Preta’s youth systems. Megiolaro signed his professional contract with Gremio in Dec. 2018, but only has two appearances to his name since.
Born in Campinas, Megiolaro has made 13 combined appearances for the Brazilian Under-20 and Under-23 Men’s National Teams. He was also named to the bench twice for Brazil’s senior team, however did not feature.
FC Dallas faces the Houston Dynamo on Friday in the club’s third league match since March.
Galaxy acquire winger Gonzalez on loan
The L.A. Galaxy added needed offensive help with a loan acquisition on Wednesday.
Yony Gonzalez has joined the Western Conference club on loan from Portuguese side Benfica. The Galaxy used Targeted Allocation Money to acquire Gonzalez, whom will occupy an international roster spot for the 2020 season.
“Yony is a dynamic playmaker who we believe can strengthen our attack this year,” said LA Galaxy Manager Dennis te Kloese. “He possesses a diverse skillset and will be an important addition to our roster. We look forward to welcoming Yony to Los Angeles and his contributions to our club this year.”
Gonzalez, 26, began his career in his native Colombia with Envigado FC. He’s also played with Atletico Junior and Fluminense, totaling 26 goals in 170 combined appearances between all three clubs. He signed with Benfica earlier in 2020, but has to debut for the first team.
He will look to give Guillermo Barros Schelotto’s side help in attack after a poor showing at the MLS is Back Tournament.
Union sign Aaronson’s brother Paxten to Homegrown contract
For the second time this week, the Philadelphia Union have made a Homegrown signing.
The Eastern Conference side announced the signing of Paxten Aaronson on Wednesday, making him the 15th Homegrown signing in club history. Aaronson is the brother of current Union midfielder Brenden Aaronson and will remain with Union II for the rest of the 2020 USL season.
“At 16-years-old, Paxten already knows how to create opportunities for himself and his teammates on the pitch,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said. “He has impressed our technical staff with his ability to play a final ball and he’s an intelligent player and a hard worker who gives everything for this club. Paxten exemplifies our commitment to developing academy players and we look forward to welcoming him to the team.”
Aaronson played five seasons for the Union academy, scoring 15 goals in that time. The 16-year-old has made four appearances with Union II this season, logging 181 minutes so far. He joins Union II teammate Jack McGlynn as the newest Homegrown signing this week.
Feels like he’s pretty close to throwing in the towel on professional soccer with this move. Which is fine. It’s not for everyone, and he has had a good education. Maybe he moves back up the food chain, but more likely he’s just moving home to pick up a few paychecks while he prepares his grad school apps. Why not?
My point was there are 20+ other MLS teams he could sign, including some replacing starters today, expansion this season, expansion next season, and he signs at a local team with a penchant for just buying starting keeping. He could also probably sign anywhere in Europe, just click it down a notch on quality. I do kind of feel like unless he lucks into starting this eventually dwindles into USL and retirement, etc. as you suggest.
Set yourself up for success.
With his very limited record in Europe, he couldn’t necessarily have gotten a job starting in MLS, could he? At least this way he can live at or near home, as you say, though I’m not sure he’s ready for grad school if he didn’t stay at Cal long enough to get a degree. Maybe he’ll try to finish some undergrad coursework online, if he’s not too much of a partier.
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I like Tab Ramos and think he’s probably a good coach for young players, but Houston is a very hot place. I could imagine it might be hard to attract guys to play there, or anywhere in Texas, as long as the outdoor season continues to go through June, July, and August. Anyway, they already seem to have two American backup keepers, one with some British experience.
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It just seems to be a hard position to gain playing time for. Maybe he’s making mental notes and will emerge as a good coach like Nuno Espírito Santo. Or not, and do something else entirely, where having a famous last name doesn’t draw so much scrutiny. Also okay.
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“Club with the most MLS cups,” though, I don’t know. They have certainly seemed rudderless in recent years. But the upside of that could be that they become less inclined than they used to be to rely on the checkbook, so who knows, maybe they’ll eventually get some younger players onto the field.
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Just going to point out that the same article showing Klinsmann Kid signing up to be the backup in his home town — on what is the worst non-expansion team in the league to boot — has 2 other teams adding loan or USL keepers due to emergencies. Luck is not favoring his choices.
In the short term you could look at it like that or you could look at it as he signed with the club with the most MLS Cups who will eventually figure it out.
Brian Perk, a prior U20 starting keeper, played the same waiting game for about half a decade there with no success, before breaking an ankle. When they had an opening they just bought Penedo instead. You look at Perk’s MLS and USL stats and when he did play he had a GAA barely over 1 and about 1/3 shutouts. Houston, to me, eventually gives the backup a chance. LAG, to me, either trades or gets out the checkbook.