The European transfer window deadline came and went on Tuesday and a flurry of moves involving Americans grabbed the headlines.
A half-dozen U.S. men’s national team players and prospects completed moves, though not every player that had been linked to a potential summer move wound up making one. Weston McKennie wound up staying at Juventus, DeAndre Yedlin is staying at Galatasaray and Reggie Cannon did not leave Boavista.
The Cannon situation was one of the more high-profile ones given the widely-known fact the USMNT fullback wanted to make a move. Sources tell SBI that Cannon came very close to a loan move English League Championship side Fulham FC, but Fulham and Boavista were unable to finalize the necessary paperwork in time to get the deal done.
As for the Americans who did successfully secure new club situations, here is a rundown of the Americans players who are on the way to new clubs:
Chris Richards to Hoffenheim
The USMNT centerback prospect is heading back to Hoffenheim, where he enjoyed a successful 11-match stint as a starter on loan last season.
🔹 Welcome back Chris 🔹
Chris #Richards has made a return to #TSG. Chris played for the Bundesliga side last season but returned to FC Bayern Munich after his loan spell ended. In a similar agreement, Richards joins on loan again until the end of the season. #TSG | @eastmamba pic.twitter.com/Jkw8cgq5cW
— TSG Hoffenheim EN (@tsghoffenheimEN) August 31, 2021
Matthew Hoppe to Mallorca
After being linked to a handful of English Premier League clubs, Hoppe settles in with newly-promoted La Liga side Mallorca.
😉 Vistas a 𝐆𝐎𝐋
👀 𝑵𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘𝒔 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/kJvifJ2MvG
— Real Mallorca (@RCD_Mallorca) August 31, 2021
Cameron Carter-Vickers to Celtic
Another loan beckons for Carter-Vickers, though this time the 23-year-old central defender will not be playing in the English League Championship. He will instead be heading to Scottish giants Celtic.
🆕 𝐂𝐂𝐕 ➡️ 𝐂𝐅𝐂 🍀
Cameron Carter-Vickers joins the Bhoys from @SpursOfficial on a season-long loan with an option to buy 👊
Welcome to #CelticFC, @cameroncv2! 🇺🇸#WelcomeCCV 🟢⚪️
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 31, 2021
Nicholas Gioacchini to Montpellier
Another Gold Cup player to secure a move, Gioacchini will make the jump from Ligue 2 to Ligue 1 as he joins Montpellier on a loan with an option to buy.
Officiel 🔸Nicholas Gioacchini rejoint le MHSC
𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 Nicholas !
➡️ https://t.co/La1sWYmqYy pic.twitter.com/5Tf4y5Wpuu
— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) September 1, 2021
Erik Palmer-Brown to ESTAC Troyes
After spending last season in Austria on loan, Palmer-Brown continues his Manchester City loan tour with a stop in Ligue 1, where he joins a Troyes side off to a poor start to the new season.
Erik Palmer-Brown is in town ! 🔥
Le défenseur international 🇺🇸 est prêté à l’ESTAC par @ManCity pour la saison 2021/22 !
Bienvenue à Troyes @ErikBrown14 ! 💯
Plus d'infos 👉 https://t.co/YPfWT7ADTk#mercato #TeamEstac 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/3VMUWOo8pf— ESTAC Troyes (@estac_officiel) August 31, 2021
Jack DeVries to Venezia
The Philadelphia Union academy product is the latest talent from the Union pipeline to move overseas, securing a loan to Serie A side Venezia, though he will be playing with the club’s Primavera side.
American midfielder Jack de Vries, 19, arrives on loan from the Philadelphia Union, and will join the club’s Primavera side.https://t.co/lkbQTychLR
#ArancioNeroVerde 🟠⚫️🟢 pic.twitter.com/TS9dffFYu6— Venezia FC (@VeneziaFC_EN) August 31, 2021
Other American transfers/loans this summer
Josh Sargent transfer to Norwich City
Konrad De La Fuente transfer to Marseille
Matt Miazga to Alaves on loan.
Gianluca Busio transfer to Venezia
Tanner Tessmann transfer to Venezia
Owen Otasowie transfer to Club Brugge
Sam Vines transfer to Royal Antwerp
Ethan Horvath transfer to Nottingham Forest
Christian Ramirez transfer to Aberdeen
Tyler Boyd on loan to Rizespor
Ulysses Llanez on loan to St. Poelten
Bryang Kayo on loan to Viktoria Berlin
What do you think of the summer moves made by Americans? Which move are you most excited about? Which move do you see being a mistake?
Share your thoughts below.
Disappointed Taylor Booth didn’t get a loan move.
I think he’ll get some pt with Bayern II and go on loan in Jan again. Probably get to train a lot with first team with maybe a minute or too in a cup game or against bottom dwellers when their is midweek CL game to rest starters for.
There are 3 players being promoted to Top 5 league clubs I had not heard of (EPB, Gioacchini, and De Vries). This has been a remarkable transfer period for US players. If you have followed US players for 30+ years like some o9f us have, it is especially amazing. And so much has happened so quickly, it’s almost hard to fathom. This is why I have said that we don’t have a Golden Generation so much as we have the beginning of a continuing supply of top players. Wow.
I agree with this!
I think what we are seeing is the US finally has legit development- MLS academies have reached maturity to the point where they are bearing fruit. Welcome to the new normal. Now that we are casting a wider net country wide- the chances of a legit world class phenom becomes much more realistic. I guess that is the next step in becoming true footballing nation.
I believe McKennie will force his way into the line up. He is a warrior. Same route that Dempsey had to do over and over and Christian for that matter. It’s probably a blessing in disguise. That’s the way it works for Americans at big time Cubs.
dempsey to me is exceptional. went from being a dancer-on-the-ball show-off to being a much more precise technician and finisher who completed plays. that to me had to have been coachability on how to play the game meeting a lot of work after practice on skills and finishing. otherwise, anyone remember agudelo at this point? a lot of players don’t grow much as players once in their 20s. to me it’s rare that a player kicks into another fitness level, gets 50% smarter about how to play, or sandpapers their technique to where it needs to be. usually they just kind of fill out and keep playing soccer.
dempsey also was underrated in terms of endurance, at peak he could run all day. this generation doesn’t really have a landon or dempsey or beasley type who just runs all day.
and one reason the landon thing matters is what happens if/when they trim subs back down to 3? we’ve been winning a lot late after making a hockey shift change of 5-6 subs. ok, cut that in half. you then need the starters to do more on their own, and deeper into games.
Regarding Dempsey I saw a post game interview with him once while he was at Fulham. I think he had scored the winning goal. Anyway, the interviewer made some complimentary remark which Dempsey tried to deflect b y praising his teammates. Standing nearby was a fellow midfielder Danny Murphy who stepped in to say that Dempsey deserves all the praise directed toward him because he was the hardest worker on the team. Dempsey, he said, was often the first on the practice pitch and always the last to leave. There is something to be said for hard work and Dempsey is a great example. It should be added that he did not arrive without skill. His first goal for Fulham, which saved them from relegation, was a mazy run past and around 4 Liverpool defenders before he scored.
Sargent runs all day. McKennie has a great motor. So does Adams.
As Clover362 referenced we have some players right now who hustle all game (Adams, McKennie, & Sargent). What people have to remember is that most of our talent are still extremely young and are still really breaking into their clubs and maturing. Add to that many have also had some injury concerns that have limited their game fitness. As these kids get healthy and mature their endurance will improve and they’ll be better able to “Run all Game”.
Ummmmm … The play and movement of Tyler Adams, Kellyn Acosta, Reggie Canon and Wes would disagree … I think Hoppe is gonna develop into that kind of player as well. I think these guys are players with a “reserve”. When others fade they always have “one more run” in them. I’ve seen it time and again where they run down and catch someone to put them off a shot or make a tackle or in Adams and Wes’ case, make that “lung buster” into the box in the 90′. I am especially mindful of the industry and work rate of Kellen Acosta. He is the very same guy who will play the (errant) pass in the final third, be completely out of the camera shot while the other team is countering and then by some miracle he’s the guy who’s making the challenge (foul) in our defensive third.
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Maybe that effort is less prominently noticed because they are not out wide (On the wings) where runs into green space are so easily noticed. With the examples cited I’m picking up some bias toward wing players. I could also be reading into your comment 😉 But even through the middle their industry and willingness to suffer can not be denied.
EPB CCV Miazga, at what point are people going to wake up that the big club loan paths are not helping? cause to me it’s like, hmm, interesting, celtic, except i think about it a second and weah did that a couple years back and they didn’t buy. the three are notable in their absence from the quali roster, bypassed by MLS players and mckenzie.
“EPB CCV Miazga, at what point are people going to wake up that the big club loan paths are not helping? “
There’s nothing wrong with loans. Harry Kane was loaned out 4 times before he became a regular for Spurs. There are many other examples.
In terms of getting better, real competition, real playing time, even if at a “lower” level, is far superior to training. That’s why teams do it.
These players are assets and a loan is intended to develop those assets and increase their value. Spurs would not have loaned CCV anywhere if they felt it wasn’t increasing his value by making him a better player. CCV’s valuation increased after every one of his loans.
Would it be better if CCV had moved on somewhere permanently, earlier on? Maybe yes, maybe no but obviously, he wasn’t afforded that opportunity for whatever reason.
If you read what Miazga has to say about it sounds like he feels Chelsea have taken very good care of him. They have served as his “agent” of sorts all while he has the security of a good contract with them. There are worse ways to try to become a regular player for a Euro team.
“bypassed by MLS players and mckenzie”
EPB, CCV and Miazga have been surpassed by better players regardless of their contractual status. If they want a bigger roles with the USMNT, they just need to be better players.
Brooks is a fixture and the real competition is for his partner. Right now the heir apparent seems to be Bayern/Hoffenheim loanee Chris Richards.
Too bad for Cannon. It would have been interesting to see Robinson on the left and Cannon on the right with the captain in the middle at Fulham. Hopefully he can get major minutes at his club.
I always thought Serie A fit a player type we produced in bulk, athletic, fairly technical if not amazingly so, hardworking, disciplined, stuck in, and so the sheer amount starting to accumulate there seems positive. Admittedly, friendly owner in Venezia, but every little bit helps.
The sheer amount of US player movement, including NT pool types, with little heed to playing time, kind of tells me we are in a new era in terms of priorities. I think they care about NT but it’s a lower priority that no longer drives their club destination. Before I felt like there was a purposeful effort to experiment on your transfer home first half a cycle but by second half of the cycle be playing if you could help it. Probably reflects decreased bias against players (though I think it still exists for coaches) where one can pursue their club dreams, as opposed to thinking about it like, “if I have to play for Rayo I can at least star for the USA.” The one hand, other hand, is we have more players in name brand leagues with decent teams but also a fair amount of NT-level players sitting or on loan. To the point you have people justifying 5 or so quali roster decisions on club situations.
Show me the money. I expect that for most players their payday has a lot to do with where they go. Of course they want to play in higher level leagues and the prestige that brings, but it also brings a lot bigger paycheck. I doubt any will choose prestige over financial considerations. That means their club situations are more important than whether or not they are on the National
Team.
??
Players should not put the cart before the horse.
A player’s club job, his “day” job, is his most important thing.
It pays the bills and gives you a chance to be considered for the National team. If you don’t have regular club job, you aren’t getting capped.
That’s true today and has always been true going all the way back.
Christian Ramirez was hard done by in Houston so I thought the Aberdeen move was good for him, and he has 5 goals across 11 appearances, including a couple SPL goals, which is not bad. It also amused me that our hapless former GM probably got a significant fraction for him, of what he sold Elis for.
The big difference was Ramirez was 30, Elis was 24. According to Transfermkt Houston only got 1.1 million for Elis plus add-ons, but considering he had 3 months left on his contract I guess at least it was something. To get 250,000 for 30 year old you weren’t using that much might actually be a better deal.
Thoughts on the transfer that didn’t happen eg Mckennie? It seems like his manager at Juventus doesn’t rate him, how will he fare there this season?
What has been said has not been a vote of confidence to say the least. Weston will fight for a spot, he’ll get chances as a sub or in cups, and hopefully he takes his chances. Otherwise, time to find a new club in January after some quality WCQ matches.
I found it troubling too, but if anyone can overcome it, McKennie can. No one thought he’d see the field last year either. I watched a lot of his performances, and he was pretty solid. My baseless thoughts: 1. new boss needs to undo something the old coach did, and benching a US player is an easy target. 2. Allegri has an anti-US bias himself 3. Weston has a youthful face and people underestimate him. Once Allegri watches him train and gets a good dose of his personality he will be sold!!
(1) technically speaking he was card suspended game 1 and did get half of game 2. i see a reduced role but assume he was kept because not a zero role and they wanted a mint. (2) he’s kind of a jack of all trades without a super strength or a particular position. crashes the box for goals but has only spot played as a forward. little sloppy for a 10, and he gets too much of a pass on that for how the past few years went. he will chase someone down 50 yards and tackle once, but is not as consistent on “sweeping” as adams. so when a new coach comes it’s like, not quite a forward, a 10, a 6, or a back. i think the swiss army aspect is useful — and wish the US made more use of it. but for a new coach looking for specialists it’s going to be, what exactly does he play? which is initially more useful off the bench than to start. (3) i think he needs to work on his game in a specific direction he wants to go. less sloppy. or better as a DM. or convert to back. try in some way to get out of being an interesting, talented but raw player without a pure position.
I thought he was seen as a box-to-box midfielder. But he just interprets that to mean the little box, not the big box…
He’ll be okay. He is still young so even if he doesn’t play a lot of minutes this season, he’ll probably get sold either in January or next summer and find a good club that will start him. His record in the Bundesliga and with the USMNT speaks for itself.
right, well, his record in B.1 was schalke played him everywhere but goalie. i don’t even think his TM fully reflects how many positions he seemed to play, including forward. and then juve, while treating him more as a mid, and predominantly central, shows up playing him 16 games wide. in some ways, this is a good thing. he could be shaped in a number of directions, and clearly has raw talent, skill, athleticism. but my point re dempsey is he put in the work and shaped himself in some direction. he became less showy and more technical and fit. it would help weston with both NT and juve (or whoever is next) if he kind of kept growing in some direction, became more a specialist good at one spot. otherwise, for example, if we ever moved reyna and pulisic in, would he keep his job? could he beat adams for 6? could he play back better than some choices? this is how keeping your job looks over time.
Weston should be fine. He’s on that team because he’s the closest thing they have to former great Vidal, a box to box all energy ball winner.
There’s a new sheriff in town so everyone has to win their jobs all over again. There’s a lot of old deadwood on Juve’s roster.
It’s a good thing that Weston now has a chance to prove himself all over again.
It’s important that Weston keep that chip on his shoulder.
The manager came out last week with tons of praise but people weren’t sure if it was genuine or designed to boost the asking price. He played Sunday as almost a false 9, he was the #10 but Chiesa and Dybala were very wide with Wes the only attacker in the center. Wes looked a little lost as I’m sure it was a midweek oh crud our CF just left us for ManU what do we do now?