Another American talent is set to test their abilities overseas after making the move official on Friday.
English Championship side Swansea City announced the loan signing of Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris. The 26 year-old will be with the club for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, with an option to make the move permanent in the summer.
đ Our new number 1ď¸âŁ1ď¸âŁ@JmoSmooth13 pic.twitter.com/rKxetu1lLW
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) January 22, 2021
“Jordan is a high-level player, an international who has played on the highest stage and been successful in the MLS,” Swansea Head Coach Steve Cooper said. “He has big ambitions to play in Europe and he had a lot of offers, so to think that we have got him is a really good thing.”
Swansea City is currently pushing for promotion back to the Premier League following a two-year absence. A little over halfway through the season, they sit second in the English second-tier standings.
“At the end of the day, this move is all about Jordan and what he wants from his career,” Sounders General Manager Garth Lagerwey said in a release. “Our club and city are behind him as he embarks on the next phase of his journey, and should he return to Seattle at the end of this loan, we know he will be stronger for the experience.â
The former Stanford University forward considered beginning his professional career in Europe with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in 2016, opting to sign MLS’s highest-ever Homegrown Player contract with the Seattle Sounders instead.
Morris made the most of his time in Seattle, scoring 35 goals in 105 appearances, becoming a USMNT regular, and winning a pair of MLS Cups.
While Morris is unlikely to appear in Swansea’s FA Cup fourth-round match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, he could make his club debut next week against third-place Brentford on Wednesday.
Itâs a championship loan, not EPL. Soccer sideways move for more money. He already statrts for NT so this has nothing to do with that, if anything it risks it. This might be baby steps into Europe but if he was truly looking to challenge himself, he would have stepped up higher in level. This is a foothold and showcase, maybe he stays, maybe he picks a tougher new home in 6 months. But Seattle isnât Nashville or Houston, itâs a top 2 team that spends money, they donât suck and Swansea is probably closer to lateral than many would admit. This is actually he has to balance ambition against overreaching, ending up sitting, and then jeopardizing his NT starter role.
The English Championship is not a “sideways” move from MLS, dude. Be serious. You clearly don’t watch the league.
From Jordanâs thank you to the fans and organization it doesnât sound like heâs planning on being back in June.
Morris is a good player who’s accomplished just about everything possible in MLS. He’s shown he’s capable of playing a physical style, and has proven he’s got the speed to beat people around the corner. He has improved on his earlier weaknesses (left foot, 1st touch, etc…), to the point MLS isn’t much of a challenge for him.
Therefore, it’s a good thing that he’s finally open to testing/challenge himself in a more competitive environment…where he’ll have to show more than physical ability. He’ll have a chance to prove that his tactical understanding and technical ability is sufficient that he can adapt his in game play and take advantage of what his opponents weaknesses are. That he can stay engaged and relevant in a game where speed or strength aren’t getting the job done.
Best of luck to him.
The inference as always is he wasnât testing his abilities in MLS
Of course….the constant putting down of soccer here will never stop
quit whining about the reasonable takes on of soccer in the US. Saying that MLS is a lower level of competition than a place like the English Championship isn’t hate. It would be crazy to expect a league as young as MLS to be up there yet, and frankly what it has accomplished as a league in such a short span is pretty remarkable. It will grow and potentially be a truly elite league someday but stating that it isn’t there yet and that if our players want to be the best they can be then they need to test themselves abroad isn’t a slight to US soccer or to the MLS. It’s merely stating a fact.
Of course he has been testing his ability and improved his game in MLS. And of course the greatest opportunity to maximize his growth is with ever increasing, manageable challenges. Europe is where the game is played at it’s highest level and is ripe with challenge. Players and leagues progress when they are brutally honest with themselves regarding where they are at and where and how they can get better. And… are willing to take the risks necessary to do so. It’s not a cliche- it is a law that growth lies outside ones comfort zone. Not ever guarantees but- this situation seems a very reasonable risk for the opportunity to inject himself into a starting role in a promotion battle and then the best league in the world.
Really hope Jordan has a good run over there. I’m really glad he went over there cause he is one of MLS best wingers
Good luck son! Have fun and tear it up. Prove your detractors wrong.
???
Is anyone saying he can’t compete at that level? There’s a difference between that and that he hasn’t shown it yet.
He didnt do himself any favors, he would be on a division 1 team if he would have made the leap, instead of being homesick.
Yes but he could just as easily have failed at Bremen as other talented Americans did, and be back in MLS. He certainly wasnât good enough 5 years ago to say he was a lock to progress past Bremenâs U23s. On his Olympic qualifying teams you had Steffen who came back to MLS, Hyndman who came back to MLS, Kiesewetter who had to drop all the way to USL, Mario Rodriguez who went Germany with Mochengladbach and isnât even in football anymore. We look at Reyna, Pulisic, Sargent, and McKennie and think it was a no brained. In that time there were not many start your pro career in Europe success stories for Morris to look to. In Dec. of 2015 how many Americans successfully started their pro careers in Europe?