Derby County is moving closer and closer to the playoff places in the EFL Championship and American forward Patrick Agyemang has certainly helped in those efforts.
Agyemang scored the winner for John Eustace’s squad on Saturday as the visiting Rams defeated Preston North End 1-0 at Deepdale. The goal marked Agyemang’s seventh of the season in all competitions, one that earned him SBI Americans Abroad Player of the Week honors.
Derby County left it late but found a go-ahead goal through Agyemang’s physical prowess in the 18-yard box. Ben Brereton Diaz delivered a dangerous cross from the right wing, one that Agyemang headed into the bottom-left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
It would prove to be the winning goal for Derby County, who moved five points back of the final playoff place.
Agyemang, who now has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) this season, is picking up steam at the right time. The former Charlotte FC man has stepped up big time in Carlton Morris’ absence, scoring four goals since December 1.
Should Derby County truly be a contender in the top-six race, it will need Agyemang fit and in strong form with 19 matches to play.
Here is a closer look at this week’s top Americans Abroad performances:
Haji Wright
Haji Wright’s three-month goalscoring drought ended in Coventry City’s crucial home win on Saturday.
Wright scored his ninth goal of the season in all competitions as Frank Lampard’s squad earned a 2-1 comeback win over rivals Leicester City. The American forward came off the bench and tucked away the winning goal for Coventry before second-half stoppage time.
Wright will hope his goalscoring performance kickstarts a strong second half of the season.
Gianluca Busio
Venezia concluded the Serie B weekend slate in the top-two automatic promotion places.
Gianluca Busio helped in those efforts by scoring in Saturday’s 3-1 home victory over Catanzaro. The former Sporting KC midfielder tallied his third goal of the season and also delivered a strong 90 minutes in Venezia’s fifth-consecutive win.
Busio remains a key part of the squad this winter and should continue being a consistent starter going forward.
Alyssa Thompson
Chelsea breezed into the FA Cup Round of 16 with Alyssa Thompson being amongst the goals yet again.
Thompson capped off the Blues’ 5-0 victory over London rivals Crystal Palace by scoring for the second-straight match and third in her last five appearances. The 21-year-old has continued to be a major threat in the final third, holding down a starting role in Sonya Bompastor’s side.
With a headlining League Cup trip to Manchester City coming midweek, Thompson will hope to find the back of the net once again.
James Sands
Bundesliga club St. Pauli were unable to leave Signal Iduna Park with three points, but James Sands did walk away with his first goal for the club.
Sands scored in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund, delivering one of his best outings of the season. The NYCFC loanee also won six duels, made two tackles, and four defensive recoveries.
Sands now has 19 appearances for St. Pauli this season and that number should increase with four months to go.
What did you think of this weekend’s slate of Americans Abroad action? Is there anyone else deserving of a shout on this list?
Share your thoughts below.
Busio’s a guy I’ve always been higher on than most. Dude is just smooth. His passes are crisp, on the rug, usually pinpoint accurate and exactly the right weight. He’s got a cannon for a foot – actually, both feet – and can endanger bystanders in Row Z when he puts one over the bar. Guy just glides around, feels space well, sees the field well, makes intelligent decisions. In short, just…Italian. He’s no Pirlo but you see why the comparison gets made. Where Busio was weak was, he was sort of a lightweight defensively and not physical enough, but when last I saw him he was sticking in a lot better and showing some bite, which was encouraging. He definitely struck me as another of those guys that will continue to get better later in his career. I always figured he’d be a guy who’d factor for the USA at some point.
Sands is interesting too. He kind of reminds me of where Tim Ream was going into Europe, but he’s doing it earlier on in his career. Definitely a similar profile, and he’s no burner but he’s faster than Ream was.
I’m back and forth on Agyemang. I love his physicality, his enthusiasm, his willingness to put in the work and chase every ball. He is also absolutely not polished and because he spent so many years in college and is well behind the usual curve in pro development I’m not sure if he’s as good as he’s going to get or if he’s still got a fair bit of untapped upside. Right now he’s an above-average Championship/MLS-level striker. Does he have the upside to get to a Top-5 league? I don’t know. But he’s nowhere near the finisher Wright or Pepi are. If he can get better there, he could have something and that is a skill that can develop later on – unlike touch. So…maybe.
quozzel,
“He kind of reminds me of where Tim Ream was going into Europe, but he’s doing it earlier on in his career.”
Sands is 25. He was 21 when he went to Rangers.
Timmy was 24 when he transferred to Bolton who were an EPL side at that point. He had a rough transition but eventually became Bolton’s “player of the Year” two years ( 2013-2014, 2014-2015).
There are some similarities. He’s not in his class but I think Sands sees himself as more Geoff Cameron or maybe Jonathan Spector than Timmy Ream.
Most of SBI forgets what an unbelieveable players Spector and Cameron were.
Timmy made his name as a hybrid, utility, swiss army knife player.
Sands will eventually lose his burst. Then what will he do? What separates him and Ream besides the athleticism and speed is what is between their ears.
I saw his USMNT debut. Ream never had any speed to lose.
He was always about as fast as you and most of us. That should make what he has accomplished and continues to accomplish all the more impressive.
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Patrick is going to get better but probably not a lot. He’s where he is right now because he has whatever it is that a player needs to either score or create opportunities to score. The question for Pochettino is can his “gift” translate to the World Cup level? I gues we’ll see.
Patrick reminds me of a quote from Cruyff regarding Inzaghi: ““Look, the thing about Inzaghi is he can’t actually play football at all. He’s just always in the right position.”
Inzaghi had a 22-year career, scoring 288 goals, winning the 2006 World Cup, two Champions League titles, and three Serie A titles.
I’m not sure if Sands can raise his game further and be a serious contender for a WC roster spot. I think his biggest differentiator is the versatility he brings with the ability to play both MF and CB effectively, but he lacks the pace needed at the next level. Just think we’re here dismissing the potential of a player who is a consistent starter in the Bundesliga. A lot has changed in a few short years.
Maybe others may disagree, but it feels like Agyemang right now is where Pepi was 4 years ago. He isn’t polished enough to push Balogun, Wright or Pepi out of a roster spot. He needs more experience and quality coaching to improve more aspects of his game to be a more complete player.
PN,
As you say a lot has changed in a few years. If this was the last cycle Sands and Patrick would both have had a decent shot at going to Qatar.
This cycle, even with 26 man rosters ( the 30 man idea seems to be dead) Sands looks like a dead duck and Patrick is dependent mostly on how well Pepi recovers from injury. Remember, Scally is also a BL regular and his chances of going to the WC look iffy at the moment.
And I would take Scally before Sands.
The game here is to be hot and ready to go around March. The reality is it is too soon but Patrick’s scoring spree certainly does not hurt, especially when you consider that Pochettino already has a soft spot for him. He does not have enough time before the World Cup to become the kind of elegant, polished, skilled player that you might be thinking about but as long as he keeps producing , it doesn’t matter, as far as the USMNT goes..
Pochettino just needs him to be a human wrecking ball for 8 games not a whole season. After he scores the winning goal in the World Cup final he’ll have lots of time to try to become that polished player that everyone wants to see.
I’ve always liked Busio too, so smooth with the ball. But both him and Sands would have to beat out all of Morris, Johnny, Musah, Berhalter just to make our WC roster. Wright is a pretty solid #3 at striker so Agyemang is probably out unless Pepi doesn’t recover in time. But then again, most of those guys who demolished Uruguay were what most of us would consider 2nd/3rd stringers, and that was the best US performance in recent memory. Maybe Poch knows more about this stuff than us posters…
jb,
Plenty of SBI folk would have a cow but if Brian White scored a brace in the World Cup final and we won, and the assists came from Roldan and Patrick, it would not bother me in the least.