Yanks Abroad 2016-17: Pulisic GIF Repository

Titans Bastard

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Dec 15, 2002
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I thought it was time to turn over the thread, since we're in the offseason now. It's the end of an era: with Howard off to Colorado and Guzan relegated, there are no American GKs in the EPL. Unless I am forgetting someone, it's slated to be the first EPL season without an American GK since 1994-95. Juergen Sommer played for QPR the next season, Keller joined Leicester a year after that and Friedel joined Liverpool the year after Keller.

While the EPL is light on Americans, there's a pretty heavy presence in the Bundesliga, albeit heavily aided by foreign-born players.

We do have a growing cadre of young players in Europe. Some are playing first-team soccer already, others are still toiling in academies. I'm not expecting another Pulisic-esque breakout, but I think we could see progress on multiple fronts. While most prospects don't pan out as hoped, we have many irons in the fire at this point.

Some questions for the offseason:

1. Will Brad Guzan be on the move from Villa? They're seemingly sick of him.

2. Where will Emerson Hyndman land?

3. Will a big club take a pass at John Brooks this summer?

4. Some young players may go on loan, but where? Zelalem, Miazga, possibly Yedlin. Gyau should finally be healthy again, but will probably need to go on loan to get playing time. Boyd may face a similar issue. Lesser-profile prospects like Gooch and Novakovich could benefit, too.

5. Julian Green - time to leave, hopefully

6. Will anyone be sold from MLS? Winter is a busier time, but there have been a number of rumors about Steve Birnbaum lately.

7. Can more of the bajillion youth players in Mexico break through and make an impact?

The list including birth years for age reference:

Bulgaria
B Group
FW Bjørn Johnsen, 91 (Litex Lovech)

Colombia
Primera A
GK Kevin Piedrahita, 91 (Rionegro Águilas)
CM Juan Nino, 90 (Atlético Huila)
MF Juan Guzman, 88 (Patriotas)
FW Omar Salgado, 93 (Jaguares de Córdoba, on loan from Tigres)

Costa Rica
Primera Division
CB Ramon Martin del Campo, 93 (Deportivo Saprissa)

Denmark
Superliga
CM George Fochive, 92 (Viborg)
CM Conor O'Brien, 88 (Horsens)

1st Division
CB Babajide Ogunbiyi, 86 (Hobro)
FW Sammy Adjei, 93 (Næstved)

El Salvador
Primera Division
FW David Lopez, 92 (Isidro Metapán)

England
Premier League
RB DeAndre Yedlin, 93 (Tottenham Hotspur)
CB Geoff Cameron, 85 (Stoke City)
CB Matt Miazga, 95 (Chelsea)
CM Gedion Zelalem, 97 (Arsenal)
AM Lynden Gooch, 95 (Sunderland)

Championship

GK Brad Guzan, 84 (Aston Villa)
RB Eric Lichaj, 88 (Nottingham Forest)
CB Tim Ream, 87 (Fulham)
CB Jonathan Spector, 86 (Birmingham City)
CM Danny Williams, 89 (Reading)

League One
AM Gboly Ariyibi, 95 (Chesterfield)

National League
GK Brendan Moore, 92 (Torquay United)

Faroe Islands
Premier League
CB Mayowa Alli, 92 (KÍ Klaksvík)

Finland
Veikkausliiga
GK Tyler Back, 93 (RoPS)
GK Craig Hill, 87 (KuPS)
AM Will John, 85 (RoPS)
AM Brian Span, 92 (IFK Mariehamn)
FW Christian Eissele, 92 (Kemi Kings)

Ykkönen
GK Tim Murray, 87 (Ekenäs IF)
CB Etchu Tabe, 86 (Haka)
CB Gabriel Wirz, 92 (FC Jazz)
LB Mike Banner, 84 (KPV)
MF Kyle Curinga, 93 (Jaro)
MF Isaac Kannah, 93 (KTP)
MF Josue Soto, 87 (Jaro)
MF Daniel Stevens, 85 (GrIFK)

France
Ligue 1
AM Alejandro Bedoya, 87 (Nantes)

Ligue 2
FW Jordan Siebatcheu, 96 (Reims)

Germany
Bundesliga
RB Timothy Chandler, 90 (Eintracht Frankfurt)
RB Ashton Götz, 93 (Hamburg)
CB John Brooks, 93 (Hertha Berlin)
CM Alfredo Morales, 90 (Ingolstadt)
CM Caleb Stanko, 93 (Freiburg)
AM Fabian Johnson, 87 (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
AM Julian Green, 95 (Bayern Munich)
AM Joe Gyau, 92 (Borussia Dortmund)
AM Christian Pulisic, 98 (Borussia Dortmund)
FW Terrence Boyd, 91 (RB Leipzig)
FW Aron Johannsson, 90 (Werder Bremen)
FW Bobby Wood, 92 (Hamburg)

2.Bundesliga

CM Royal-Dominique Fennell, 89 (Würzburger Kickers)
AM Jerome Kiesewetter, 93 (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
FW Fafà Picault, 91 (St. Pauli)
FW Andrew Wooten, 89 (Sandhausen)

3. Liga

GK Kenneth Kronholm, 85 (Holstein Kiel)
AM Shawn Barry, 90 (FSV Frankfurt)
FW Jann George, 92 (Jahn Regensburg)
FW Marc Heider, 86 (Osnabrück)

Guatemala
Primera Division
FW Edward Santeliz, 87 (Malacateco)
FW Jonathan Top, 93 (Comunicaciones)

Iceland
Úrvalsdeild
AM Dion Acoff, 91 (Thróttur)
FW Jose Seoane, 89 (Fylkir)

1. deild
GK Will Dieterich, 87 (Haukar)
AM Johnatan Lama, 93 (Huginn)
AM J.C. Mack, 88 (Selfoss)
FW Will Daniels, 90 (Grindavik)

Ireland
League of Ireland
GK Ciaran Nugent, 91 (Sligo Rovers)
FW Don Cowan, 89 (Longford Town)

Israel
Premier League
FW Aaron Schoenfeld, 90 (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

Italy
Lega Pro
CM Douglas Bentley, 96 (AlbinoLeffe)

Japan
J.2 League
GK Daniel Schmidt, 92 (Matsumoto Yamaga - on loan from Vegalta Sendai)

Mexico
Liga MX
GK Austin Guerrero, 89 (Puebla)
GK William Yarbrough, 89 (León)
CB Ventura Alvarado, 92 (América)
CB Omar Gonzalez, 88 (Pachuca)
CB Michael Orozco, 86 (Tijuana)
LB Jonathan Bornstein, 84 (Querétaro)
LB Edgar Castillo, 86 (Monterrey)
LB Greg Garza, 91 (Tijuana)
LB Jorge Villafaña, 89 (Santos Laguna)
LB John Requejo, Jr., 96 (Tijuana)
CM Joe Corona, 90 (Tijuana)
CM Alejandro Guido, 94 (Tijuana)
CM Jose Torres, 87 (Tigres)
CM Marco Vidal, 86 (Veracruz)
AM Paul Arriola, 95 (Tijuana)
AM Luis Gil, 93 (Querétaro)
AM Miguel Ibarra, 90 (León)
AM Benji Joya, 93 (Necaxa)
AM Luis Silva, 88 (Tigres)
AM Sebastian Saucedo, 97 (Veracruz, on loan from Real Salt Lake)
FW Amando Moreno, 95 (Tijuana)

Ascenso MX
LB Juan Pablo Ocegueda, 93 (Alebrijes de Oaxaca)
DF Cristian Cruz, 96 (Loros de Colima, on loan from Morelia)
AM Rodrigo Lopez, 87 (Celaya)
AM Jesus Vazquez, 94 (U de Guadalajara)
MF Emanuel Guzman, 86 (Venados)
FW Isaac Acuna, 89 (Celaya)
FW Joaquin Hernandez, 94 (Juárez)
FW Julio Morales, 93 (Coras de Tepic)
FW Bruno Piceno, 91 (Cafetaleros)
FW Esteban Rodriguez, 94 (Atlante)
FW Cesar Romero, 89 (Coras de Tepic)
FW Adrian Ruelas, 91 (Celaya)

Netherlands
Eredivisie
RB Desevio Payne, 95 (Groningen)
FW Rubio Rubin, 96 (Utrecht)

Norway
Tippeligaen
GK Ethan Horvath, 95 (Molde)
GK Alex Horwath, 87 (Brann)
CB Alex DeJohn, 91 (Start)
CB A.J. Soares, 88 (Viking)
CM Cole Grossman, 89 (Stabæk)
AM Josh Gatt, 91 (Molde)
FW Ben Spencer, 95 (Molde)

Poland
I Liga (second tier)
CB Hunter Gorskie, 91 (Miadź Legnica)

Portugal
Primeira Liga
AM Sergio Duarte, 93 (Nacional)

Scotland
Premier League
CM Perry Kitchen, 92 (Hearts)

League One
CM Kevin Dzierzawski, 91 (Peterhead)

Slovakia
Super Liga
AM Nermin Crnkić, 92 (Slovan Bratislava)

Spain
La Liga
CB Amro Tarek Abdel-Aziz, 92 (Real Betis)

Sweden
Allsvenskan
GK Matt Pyzdrowski, 86 (Helsingborg)
CB Brendan Hines-Ike, 94 (Örebro)
FW Andy Stadler, 88 (Östersunds)

Superettan
GK Josh Wicks, 83 (AFC United)
CB Patrick Hopkins, 87 (Sirius)
MF Paul Torres, 91 (Sirius)
FW Tristan Bowen, 91 (AFC United)
FW Ryan Finley, 91 (Ängelholm)

Uruguay
Primera Division
CM Agustin Viana, 83 (Danubio)
MF Fabian Bastidas, 93 (River Plate)

Free Agents / Out of Contract
GK Cody Cropper, 93 (MK Dons)
GK Aleks Gogic, 96 (Fleetwood Town)
GK Adam Hobbs, 93 (Optik Rathenow)
GK Chris Konopka, 85 (Ross County)
GK Quentin Westberg, 86 (Tours)
GK David Yelldell, 81 (Bayer Leverkusen)
RB Travis Brent, 92 (Almere City)
CB Ryan Malone, 92 (Magdeburg)
CB Shane O'Neill, 93 (Apollon Limassol)
CB Zak Whitbread, 84 (Shrewsbury Town)
CM Bryan Gaul, 89 (Bahlinger SC)
CM Emerson Hyndman, 96 (Fulham)
AM Eder Arreola, 91 (Shirak)
AM Duane Holmes, 94 (Huddersfield Town)
AM Moises Orozco, 92 (Ararat Yerevan)
AM Devann Yao, 90 (Berliner AK)
FW Danijal Brković, 91 (Olimpic Sarajevo)
FW Christian Chaney, 94 (Ararat Yerevan)
FW Bryan de la Fuente, 92 (Ararat Yerevan)
FW Robbie Kristo, 93 (Spezia)
FW Kyrian Nwabueza, 92 (Ararat Yerevan)
FW Charlie Rugg, 90 (Eintracht Trier)
FW Eugene Starikov, 88 (Chornomorets Odesa)
FW Matt Taylor, 81 (Saarbrücken)
 

Titans Bastard

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There are a ton of youth players, some promising, some not so much. Five big names to keep track of this season:

- Mukwelle Akale (Villarreal) - Transfermarkt says he's out of contract, but everything I hear about him is great...I think he'll be back. Very dynamic attacking midfielder.
- Erik Palmer-Brown (Porto B) - CB who impressed on loan in the spring and will be back in the fall. Now we wait to see if they buy him outright from SKC.
- Cameron Carter-Vickers (Tottenham) - fantastic for the US U20s, probably could use a lower-division loan this year
- Haji Wright (Schalke) - ballyhooed U17 striker who I've always thought was a bit overrated, but he scored a lot of goals in limited action after joining Schalke late last season. I'd absolutely love to be wrong with this kid.
- Josh Perez (Fiorentina) - talented attacking midfielder who did well for Fiorentina's Primeravera squad after becoming eligible to play in the spring. Hugo Perez's nephew


There is an enormous number of players in Mexico and their youth systems aren't well-covered. It's easy to get stats and PT, but very few scouting reports make the rounds in the usual discussion places. From what I can tell, Mexican clubs employ way more youth players than typical clubs elsewhere, so take the numbers with a grain of salt. A lot of those guys are roster filler. There's no way of knowing which players are coming and going, so quite a few might have different clubs (or be unemployed) come the start of the season in August when the Liga MX database is updated.

Youth/Reserve Players
Argentina

Primera Division
MF Adam Ozeri, 98 (Banfield)

Croatia
Prva Liga
MF Zach Kobayashi, 97 (Dinamo Zagreb)

England
Premier League
GK Brandon Austin, 99 (Tottenham Hotspur)
RB Matthew Olosunde, 98 (Manchester United)
CB Cameron Carter-Vickers, 97 (Tottenham Hotspur)
CB Kyle Gruno, 99 (Leicester City)
CM Kyle Scott, 97 (Chelsea)
AM Brooks Lennon, 97 (Liverpool)

Championship
RB Marlon Fossey, 98 (Fulham)
CB Sam Golan, 98 (Brighton & Hove Albion)
CB Kasha Wallace, 98 (Birmingham City)
CM Luca de la Torre, 98 (Fulham)
AM Anthony Wright, 97 (Nottingham Forest)
FW Andrija Novakovich, 96 (Reading)

France
Ligue 1
FW Timothy Weah, 00 (PSG)

Ligue 2
RB Kyle Duncan, 97 (Valenciennes)
MF Nicholas Pergjini, 99 (Troyes)

Germany
Bundesliga
GK Will Pulisic, 98 (Borussia Dortmund)
RB Ken Gipson, 96 (RB Leipzig)
DF Lyonel Hyer, 99 (Wolfsburg)
CM Russell Canouse, 95 (Hoffenheim)
CM Eric Lickert, 95 (Freiburg)
AM Junior Flores, 96 (Borussia Dortmund)
AM McKinze Gaines, 98 (Wolfsburg)
FW Jordan Dörr, 98 (Darmstadt)
FW Jalen Hawkins, 01 (Bayern Munich)
FW Malik Tillman, 02 (Bayern Munich)
FW Timothy Tillman, 99 (Bayern Munich)
FW Haji Wright, 98 (Schalke)

2.Bundesliga
RB Corey Anton, 99 (Kaiserslautern)
RB Toni Suddoth, 98 (Stuttgart)
CM Darian Gurley, 98 (Karlsruhe)
CM Justin Kinjo, 97 (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
CM Abuchi Obinwa, 97 (Hannover 96)
AM Joel Sonora, 96 (Stuttgart)
MF Kevin Coleman, 98 (Kaiserslautern)
MF Ian Hoffmann, 01 (Köln)
MF Justin Smith, 00 (Kaiserslautern)
FW Tyler Jankowski, 00 (Kaiserslautern)

3.Liga
CM Christian Albelo, 98 (FSV Frankfurt)

Italy
Serie A
MF Paolo Belloni, 99 (Genoa)
AM Joshua Perez, 98 (Fiorentina)
FW Dylan Romney, 96 (Internazionale)

Serie B
CM Armando Guarnera, 97 (Avellino)

Mexico
Liga MX
GK Benny Diaz, 98 (Querétaro)
GK Ramón García, 94 (León)
GK Christian Herrera, 97 (Pachuca, on loan from Real Salt Lake)
GK Hector Holguin, 01 (Santos Laguna)
GK Bernabé Magaña, 93 (Pumas)
GK Estevan Vazquez, 96 (Querétaro)
GK Luis Zamudio, 98 (América)
GK Adrian Zendejas, 95 (Tijuana)
RB Luis Martir, 95 (Chivas)
CB Jaime Frias, 93 (Chivas)
CB Angel Uribe, 99 (Tijuana)
LB Jose Alfaro, 99 (Morelia)
LB Josue Soto, 95 (Querétaro)
LB Jesus Vazquez, 95 (Tigres)
DF Jose Adame, 00 (Atlas)
DF Adrian Bravo, 98 (Atlas)
DF Adair Casas, 97 (Morelia)
DF Carlo Chavez, 97 (Tijuana)
DF Dillon Cota, 00 (Chivas)
DF Jonathan Esparza, 99 (Tijuana)
DF Brian Herrera, 00 (América)
DF Franco Mestre, 98 (Tijuana)
DF Juan Monticelli, 97 (Tijuana)
DF Antonio Nava, 99 (Tijuana)
DF Diego Nunez, 00 (Tijuana)
DF Hector Ortega, 96 (Cruz Azul)
DF Joseph Perez, 97 (Puebla)
DF Juan Perez, 96 (León)
DF Victor Ramirez, 95 (Tijuana)
DF Victor Reyes, 96 (Querétaro)
DF Raul Rodriguez, 94 (Tijuana)
CM Fernando Arce, 96 (Tijuana)
AM Sergio Buenrostro, 94 (Querétaro)
AM Jonathan Suarez, 97 (Querétaro)
MF Juan Albisar, 98 (Querétaro)
MF Alexis de la Rosa, 96 (Santos Laguna)
MF Yovany Duran, 98 (Jaguares)
MF Jose Elias, 96 (Santos Laguna)
MF Orlando Garcia, 00 (Monterrey)
MF Irvin Gijon, 94 (Morelia)
MF Giansebastian Goicochea, 97 (Atlas)
MF Ruben Gonzalez, 97 (Tijuana)
MF Jonathan Gonzalez, 99 (Monterrey)
MF Leonardo Marquez, 99 (León)
MF Fabian Partida, 00 (Chivas)
MF Lorenzo Ramirez, 96 (Tijuana)
MF Jacobo Reyes, 00 (Monterrey)
MF Luis Tavares, 99 (Santos Laguna)
FW Jesus Enriquez, 97 (Tijuana)
FW Ernesto Espinoza, 99 (Tijuana)
FW Carlos Flores, 98 (Santos Laguna)
FW Andy Garcia, 95 (Toluca)
FW Luis Garza, 98 (Tigres)
FW Benji Lopez, 95 (Santos Laguna)
FW Manuel Lopez, 00 (Santos Laguna)
FW Jose Montes de Oca, 95 (León)
FW Miguel Padron, 96 (Tijuana)
FW Osvaldo Ramirez, 97 (Jaguares)
FW Brandon Vazquez, 98 (Tijuana)
FW Ricardo Zacarias, 95 (América)

Ascenso MX
GK Jesus Angulo, 97 (Dorados)
GK David Silva, 94 (U de Guadalajara)
DF Carlos Marquez, 96 (Juárez)
MF Alan Huerta, 95 (Atlante)

Netherlands
Eredivisie
DF Kik Pierie, 00 (Heerenveen)
FW Kai Koreniuk, 98 (Vitesse)

Portugal
Primeira Liga
CB Erik Palmer-Brown, 97 (Porto, on loan from Sporting Kansas City)
MF Ethan Lotenero, 98 (Boavista)

Spain
La Liga
MF Ander Egiluz, 98 (Athletic Bilbao)
FW Konrad de la Fuente, 01 (Barcelona)
FW Nicholas Garcia-Morillo, 00 (Atlético Madrid)

Sweden
Allsvenskan
RB Christopher McVey, 97 (Elfsborg)
FW Nebiyou Perry, 99 (AIK)

Switzerland
Challenge League
GK Nicholas Ammeter, 00 (Aarau)

Free Agents / Out of Contract

GK Benjamin Machini, 96 (Mallorca)
GK Zack Steffen, 95 (Freiburg)
RB Shaquell Moore, 96 (Real Oviedo)
CB Danny Barbir, 98 (West Bromwich Albion)
CB Demarveay Sheron, 97 (Karlsruhe)
LB Antonee Robinson, 97 (Everton)
DF Tyrese Chatmon, 99 (Energie Cottbus)
CM Alec Becker, 98 (Freiburg)
CM Sidney Friede, 98 (Hertha Berlin)
AM Mukwelle Akale, 97 (Villarreal)
MF Omar Castro, 96 (Eintracht Braunschweig)
MF Bartosz Dziedzic, 98 (Rot-Weiss Erfurt)
MF Irvin Parra, 93 (Kaiserslautern)
MF Stephen Rudderham, 97 (Magdeburg)
FW Junior Ebot-Etchi, 96 (Wolfsburg)
FW Mario Rodriguez, 94 (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
FW David Spies, 94 (Augsburg)
 

bosox4283

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As always, fantastic work. Many thanks for this information. Your updates are one of my favorite parts of SoSH.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
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Cheers.


Here's a fun one that just came to my attention.


Bayangol are in the Mongolian Premier League. Sadly for Rogers, they aren't doing too well. On the bright side, he's only 20 and now has experiencein the Albanian second division and Mongolia, so this has all the makings of an epic journeyman career.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Nine of the 10 teams in the Mongolian Premier League are in Ulan Bator. No long road trips.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Cheers.


Here's a fun one that just came to my attention.


Bayangol are in the Mongolian Premier League. Sadly for Rogers, they aren't doing too well. On the bright side, he's only 20 and now has experiencein the Albanian second division and Mongolia, so this has all the makings of an epic journeyman career.
He will be able to put the Friedel/Bradley accents to shame.
 

soxfan121

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Nine of the 10 teams in the Mongolian Premier League are in Ulan Bator. No long road trips.
What a shame. Chengis Khan Airport is really a treasure; clean and spacious, it make O'Hare look like a craphole.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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It's awesome. It's always a derby!!

Ulan Bator has about 1.3 million people, so it's like Dallas hosting 9 professional teams.

Erchim FC, who won the league last year is sponsored by a power plant (full name: Thermal Power Plant No.4 Erchim) and plays their home games in front of it, described on wiki as "their little but glorious stadium".

I have the urge to see if I can find a jersey of a team somewhere. I'm leaning towards FC Ulaanbaatar or Khanagarid FC.



 
Last edited:

Cellar-Door

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It's awesome. It's always a derby!!

Ulan Bator has about 1.3 million people, so it's like Dallas hosting 9 professional teams.

Erchim FC, who won the league last year is sponsored by a power plant (full name: Thermal Power Plant No.4 Erchim) and plays their home games in front of it, described on wiki as "their little but glorious stadium".

I have the urge to see if I can find a jersey of a team somewhere. I'm leaning towards FC Ulaanbaatar or Khanagarid FC.



Not really like Dallas though, the Dallas metro is huge, Ullaanbaatar has no suburbs, it's more like Jacksonville having 9 teams.
 

rguilmar

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Titans Bastard

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Although Hyndman was available on a free, reports are that Bournemouth had to pay Fulham a modest sum of £750k in training compensation. I'm far from an expert on Bournemouth's squad, but Hyndman seems like a guy who would carefully consider his options and not just take the biggest offer on the table. Hopefully he's a good fit for Eddie Howe's system.

Fulham's head of recruitment had some nice things to say about Emo. Also, hopefully Hyndman's departure will eventually lead to some opportunities for Luca de la Torre, who is a similar midfielder at Fulham who is two years younger.

Sampdoria came calling about Bradley:


I can't see who in Europe could match or exceed Bradley's salary in Toronto who aren't also clubs that exceed Bradley's level.

German clubs are always particularly cranky about NT and youth NT call ups and Hertha certainly has not been an exception over the years, but even they are ready to express excitement about what they have on their hands:


Unreliable German tabloids like Bild are linking Brooks with Man City and throwing around a €20m fee. Things can move fast if enough money is thrown around, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him stay in Berlin for one more year.
 

soxfan121

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Sampdoria asked about Bradley recently? Which Bradley? ;-)

I guess interest from a Serie A/B club now, when MB has been utter shit for several seasons running, puts to rest any lingering doubts that he could have found a club to play for after Roma and before Toronto. That BS has always bothered me - Bradley could have found gainful employment somewhere in Europe before he chose to "come home" to Toronto in exchange for a ridiculous salary.

Finally, just say no, John Brooks. You'll never play at Man City. Hold out for a place where you'll be a no-doubt, locked-in first team starter. Please.
 

Cellar-Door

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Sampdoria asked about Bradley recently? Which Bradley? ;-)

I guess interest from a Serie A/B club now, when MB has been utter shit for several seasons running, puts to rest any lingering doubts that he could have found a club to play for after Roma and before Toronto. That BS has always bothered me - Bradley could have found gainful employment somewhere in Europe before he chose to "come home" to Toronto in exchange for a ridiculous salary.

Finally, just say no, John Brooks. You'll never play at Man City. Hold out for a place where you'll be a no-doubt, locked-in first team starter. Please.
Is that Chelsea's music?
 
Dec 21, 2015
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Brooks will face his main competition for a starter role at Man City tomorrow, in Nicolas Otamendi. I bet it'll be in the back of his mind whether he's better than that guy on the other end of the field. If Kompany can't return to health, he might very well think "Kolarov is 30 and I can beat out Mangala"
 

Infield Infidel

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Sampdoria asked about Bradley recently? Which Bradley? ;-)

I guess interest from a Serie A/B club now, when MB has been utter shit for several seasons running, puts to rest any lingering doubts that he could have found a club to play for after Roma and before Toronto. That BS has always bothered me - Bradley could have found gainful employment somewhere in Europe before he chose to "come home" to Toronto in exchange for a ridiculous salary.

Finally, just say no, John Brooks. You'll never play at Man City. Hold out for a place where you'll be a no-doubt, locked-in first team starter. Please.
This makes little sense. A Serie A team wouldn't be interested if he was playing like "utter shit". TFC has gotten better since he's arrived, they are on track for their second consecutive playoff appearance, when they previously had none in 8 seasons. It was seriously a wasteland. He plays well for them, he had a bad game against Colombia (but who didn't?), he played great against Costa Rica and pretty decent against Paraguay. And while it's doubtful TFC or Bradley would go for a transfer, it's good to know there's interest and there are always January loan deals.

Also it's hilarious that Bradley is criticized for taking a no-doubt starting position, but Brooks shouldn't go to Man City since he won't be a locked-in first team starter. How bout just letting players play where they want to play? It's not one-size-fits-all, and these aren't 18 year olds trying to figure shit out. If he was younger I might agree, but Brooks is 23, entering his prime, and if he can get run at City (which plays in 4 competitions, so, plenty of opportunities) or get loaned somewhere, it would be great. Damn, him learning from Kompany would be awesome. If it doesn't work out it's still a great learning experience and he'll fall on his feet. See Tim Howard.
 

Titans Bastard

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Sampdoria asked about Bradley recently? Which Bradley? ;-)

I guess interest from a Serie A/B club now, when MB has been utter shit for several seasons running, puts to rest any lingering doubts that he could have found a club to play for after Roma and before Toronto. That BS has always bothered me - Bradley could have found gainful employment somewhere in Europe before he chose to "come home" to Toronto in exchange for a ridiculous salary.

Finally, just say no, John Brooks. You'll never play at Man City. Hold out for a place where you'll be a no-doubt, locked-in first team starter. Please.
Don't be so dramatic. Bradley could easily have found employment at a club in a Big Five league when leaving Roma, though not necessarily at a club of Roma's stature. That he is drawing interest from a "Serie A/B" (i.e. played in Serie A for 12 of the last 13 seasons, w/5 stints in Europe during that time) after two years in Toronto when he hasn't showed peak form and isn't that young any more only underscores this point.

Bradley made 30 appearances (24 starts) in 2012/13 and 11 appearances (5 starts) in the first half of the 2013/14 season for a team that ultimately finished 2nd in Serie A. His PT was falling off, but it wasn't like the dude was buried.
 

Infield Infidel

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Also, as far as USMNT is concerned, this is the summer we want guys to make big moves. If they go somewhere and it works out, they will be well-settled by the time the 2018 World Cup comes along. If they go somewhere and it doesn't work out, they can get another lesser move next summer.

If they wait a year and make a big move, and it doesn't work out, then it might be a year of rust going into the World Cup.
 

Cellar-Door

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Also it's hilarious that Bradley is criticized for taking a no-doubt starting position, but Brooks shouldn't go to Man City since he won't be a locked-in first team starter.
There's a big difference between turning down a move to the Premier League to stay at a Bundesliga club in the Europa League and turning down offers from top 5 leagues to play in a much worse league.
Brooks is the equivalent of turning down a trade from the Atlanta Braves to the Texas Rangers.
Bradley's is turning down a contract offer from the Braves to go play for the Perth Heat.
 

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There's a big difference between turning down a move to the Premier League to stay at a Bundesliga club in the Europa League and turning down offers from top 5 leagues to play in a much worse league.
Brooks is the equivalent of turning down a trade from the Atlanta Braves to the Texas Rangers.
Bradley's is turning down a contract offer from the Braves to go play for the Perth Heat.
You're right that there's a difference, but the bolded is a bit of an exaggeration. For that to be apt, MLS would need to be 6 years old, play a 12 game season and pay next to nothing. Plus the Braves suck and Hertha an EL team. Analogies will be the death of me, but a better one would be Bradley going to Korea, except top KBO players don't make what MLS DP make. So really there's no good analogy.
 

Cellar-Door

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You're right that there's a difference, but the bolded is a bit of an exaggeration. For that to be apt, MLS would need to be 6 years old, play a 12 game season and pay next to nothing. Plus the Braves suck and Hertha an EL team. Analogies will be the death of me, but a better one would be Bradley going to Korea, except top KBO players don't make what MLS DP make. So really there's no good analogy.
Not the best analogy on my part. The point was that the Braves are in the same class as the best teams in that they are a team in the top tier league, so moving from one top tier team to a better top team league is different from moving from a top tier league (or turning down a move to) to go to a 3rd or 4th tier league.
As to Bradley the point was more that he had options in one of the top tier leagues and turned it down for a league that maybe was 20th in the world.
A better analogy would have been Basketball maybe. It's a guy turning down an NBA roster spot because he got a bigger offer in Korea or China. He knows the competition will be garbage, but he's getting that money.
 

Infield Infidel

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Yeah, that China B-Ball comp is better, as long as the checks don't bounce lol. I agree that MLS is a third-tier league. It's a weird league to comp because of parity and DP spots, since there are guys who cold play 1st tier sprinkled in. I am hoping Bradley does take a loan Spring 2018 to get some better competition before the World Cup.
 

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Best rumor of the day: Servando Carrasco to Olympique Lyon?

Sure, he might be a 27 year old MLS journeyman, but it's an offer (for their reserve team) that they might need to make since they seem to want to sign his wife so badly.
 

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Danny Williams (whatever that's worth) has been getting poked and prodded by Newcastle, Villa, Swansea, and Sunderland.
 

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There's a report today that FC Dallas has sold Alejandro Zendejas to Chivas for $500k. Nothing official yet, but it sounds like it's happening.

Zendejas is an 18 year old midfielder who broke into Dallas' first team last year. He hasn't played this year due to an injury, but he's just about recovered now. Zendejas was an academy signing, originally funneled to FCD's program via their affiliate in El Paso. He was a regular with the U17 national team. I'd normally expect him to be a regular in the U20 pool, but Chivas is the world's single worst possible club from a US national team perspective. We will have to see how his situation is treated.

This isn't the first time that Dallas has sold a teenage Mexican-American player to a Liga MX club. Richard Sanchez, who starred for Mexico's U17 WC-winning team., was sold to Tigres a few years back.

Dallas also has a number of highly touted midfielders on their U18 team who I expect to start going pro soon. Maybe they just wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to turn a quick profit on Zendejas, knowing the pipeline is full?
 

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There are rumors that Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa are trying to sign Steve Birnbaum. He's attractive to Israeli clubs because he can presumably get Israeli citizenship and count as a domestic player, but he'd be going down a step in league quality.

Chelsea U21 midfielder Kyle Scott is on trial with Willem II. He signed a new contract with Chelsea in February, but by summer, apparently, it dawned on him that he was never going to play for the first team so he's seeking a permanent move away. Willem II survived the Eredivisie relegation playoff last season.
 

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Rubio Rubin scored a brace in Utrecht's first preseason game.

John Brooks is still dealing with knee inflammation and Hertha aren't sure how serious it is.

Oguchi Onyewu is in preseason camp with Rangers in South Carolina at the moment(!)

Nermin Crnkić has moved from Slovan Bratislava to FK Sarajevo, which apparently is owned by Vincent Tan.
 

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Rubio Rubin scored a brace in Utrecht's first preseason game.
In the first 9 minutes.

Just stay healthy Rubio. Of course the Eredivisie has been a bad luck charm for our strikers so I'll accompany the comment with a healthy knock on wood. Or maybe it's just AZ that's cursed.
 

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Today is apparently signing day for American players in the German lower leagues.

22 year old forward Mario Rodriguez signed with Dynamo Dresden after three seasons with Borussia Mönchengladbach's reserves. Dresden have just been promoted to the 2.Bundesliga, but Rodriguez was immediately loaned out to Chemnitzer FC for the season, down in the 3.Liga.

Western MA native Ryan Malone, a 23 year old CB, signed with Stuttgarter Kickers after his contract with Magdeburg expired. The club has just been relegated to the Regionalliga Südwest, so he's dropping down a level from the 3.Liga.

Bryan Gaul has moved on a free from Bahlinger SC (just relegated down to the Oberliga [5th tier]) to another Regionalliga Südwest club, Kickers Offenbach. They're historically bigger than the fourth tier of German soccer, so perhaps have some promotion potential.


Americans in the Europa League today:

- Perry Kitchen subbed on in Hearts' 2-1 win over Infonet Tallinn (EST). That's a quick turnaround for him after the Copa, but at least he's well rested.

- Will John started in RoPS' 2-0 road win at Shamrock Rovers (IRL). Nice win for the Finns.

- Cole Grossman started in Stabæk's 0-0 road draw at Connah's Quay Nomads (WAL). Stabæk have fallen apart since Bob Bradley left and are currently in the relegation zone as Norway's league approaches the halfway mark.

- Sachem Wilson made his professional debut for Gorica as a late sub; the Slovenes lost 3-0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Wilson played college soccer at Liberty.

- Brian Span started in IFK Mariehamn's 2-0 loss at Odd Grenland (NOR).
 

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- Hoffenheim defensive midfielder Russell Canouse is reported to have undergone a medical at VfL Bochum today, where he's rumored to be heading on loan for the upcoming season. Canouse made his Bundesliga debut last season, but was otherwise a regular for Hoffenheim's reserve team in the Regionalliga Südwest. Bochum are in the 2.Bundesliga and represent a significant and hopefully achievable step up from that level.

- Utrecht sold forward Ruud Boymans to a club in the UAE and have said they aren't bringing in a replacement. Rubio Rubin isn't the exact same sort of player, but it will help open up minutes among the front four.

- After signing for Serie B club Spezia 1.5 years ago out of college, forward Robbie Kristo has moved to VfL Osnabrück in Germany's 3.Liga. Kristo had two loan stints in Lega Pro last season with Fidelia Andria and then Tuttocuoio and never made an appearance for Spezia. At Osnabrück, he'll be managed by club legend Joe Enochs, who took the reins last season.

- Tijuana U20 goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas has moved back to the US, signing with Swope Park Rangers (the USL team of Sporting KC). Tijuana also has a sizable contingent of young players getting time with the first team during preseason - Paul Arriola, Alejandro Guido, John Requejo, Amando Moreno, Brandon Vazquez, Angel Uribe. It's not clear to me who among them have the best chances of playing a lot next yea other than Arriola.
 

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- Hoffenheim defensive midfielder Russell Canouse is reported to have undergone a medical at VfL Bochum today, where he's rumored to be heading on loan for the upcoming season. Canouse made his Bundesliga debut last season, but was otherwise a regular for Hoffenheim's reserve team in the Regionalliga Südwest. Bochum are in the 2.Bundesliga and represent a significant and hopefully achievable step up from that level.
This was announced today, with a twist: Canouse signed a one-year extension with Hoffenheim, taking his contract to June 2019 and his loan to Bochum is a two year loan through June 2018.

At Bochum he'll be managed by Gertjan Verbeek, who coached Michael Bradley at Heerenveen and Jozy Altidore at AZ Alkmaar. I'm not sure what to make of the two-year loan. On the bright side, Bochum likes him enough to take him for two years. On the down side, it doesn't seem like Hoffenheim is that interested in him, at least for now.

Canouse is a natural DM, so pray for his development.
 

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- Duane Holmes signed with Scunthorpe United today on a free from Huddersfield Town, where he was out of contract and released. He's dropping down a level to League One, which seems appropriate after sporadic playing time in the Championship in which he didn't make much of an impression. He's looked at times, but very inconsistent. If he can improve a bit with steady playing time, perhaps he can make it back to the Championship.

- It's preseason, so there are lots of academy players training and playing with first teams. Cameron Carter-Vickers is in Tottenham's squad for their preseason tour. He may get a decent amount of playing time with many of Spurs CBs possibly getting breaks after the Euros. Later on, he could probably use a loan. Attacking midfielder Luca de la Torre left the US U20 camp early to join up with Fulham's first team and ended up scoring in their first preseason friendly. Another AM, Joel Soñora played for Stuttgart the other day. He joined their reserves from Boca Juniors last season. A very young (15 y.o.) Dutch-American center back named Kik Pierie played in a friendly for Heerenveen. He's not going to play first-team soccer right now, but this indicates they like his potential.

- Emerson Hyndman's American accent is holding up well. No Friedelization is as yet noticeable.


- Midfielder Mael Corboz is on trial with MSV Duisburg. He came through NYRB's system, signed with them after his college career, but was waived in preseason. He's been a mainstay with the Wilmington Hammerheads in USL thus far in 2016.

- Another former NYRB academy midfielder Ian Hoffmann moved from Köln to Karlsruhe, where I think he'll be with the U15s or maybe the U17s, not sure.
 

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There were a bajillion Europa League qualifiers today. Americans in EL this week:

- Jeunesse d'Esch (Martin Ontiveros) were knocked out by St. Patrick's Athletic on away goals. Yes, there are Americans playing in Luxembourg.
- IFK Mariehamn (Brian Span) drew with Odd Grenland of Norway, but the Finnish club were knocked out 3-1 on aggregate.
- ND Gorica (Sachem Wilson) lost to Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 and 4-0 on aggregate
- Stabæk (Cole Grossman) lost, embarrassingly, 1-0 to Connah's Quay Nomads of Wales. That club is a mess.
- Hearts (Perry Kitchen) advanced comfortably over Infonet Tallinn.
- RoPS (Will John, Tyler Beck) drew with Shamrock Rovers and advanced 3-1 on aggregate.

Next round's matchups:

RoPS (John, Beck) vs. Lokomotiva Zagreb
Birkirkara vs. Hearts (Kitchen)



The summer window is moving quickly. A few rumors:

- Steve Birnbaum continues to be connected to a few Israeli clubs. The latest report is that Maccabi Tel Aviv has offered $700k for him, which isn't all that much. It's not that Birnbaum is worth a huge sum of money, but MLS clubs don't have much incentive to sell at low prices.


 
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Titans Bastard

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Just realized I've been posting stuff to the old YA thread. Oh, well.

Anyway: Hugo Arellano just signed a USL deal to play with LA Galaxy II today, so he's not going to Pumas.

Weston McKennie, however, is rumored to be heading to Schalke. He's disappeared from UVA's soccer page, so it's very likely he's going somewhere, be it FC Dallas or Europe. Europe is more likely and we'll probably find out when he turns 18 next month.
 

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- Interview with Emerson Hyndman about his decision to sign with Bournemouth. He sounds like a really intelligent and thoughtful guy.

- The USSF announced a U19 roster for a friendly tournament today. Included in the squad is Kevin Lankford, a midfielder at Heidenheim. He spent last season with their U19s after joining from SSV Ulm and right now appears to be training with the first team during preseason. Sometimes youth national team rosters unveil out-of-the-blue foreign-born players who fans never previously uncovered or knew about; Lankford is one of them. Who knows, if he's good he could get some 2.Bundesliga minutes this year.

- UCSB goalkeeper Justin Vom Steeg is on trial at Kaiserslautern. I'm not entirely sure how good a prospect he is, but he started there as a freshman and has been called to the U20 team a few times.
 

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Guzan to Middlesbrough?

Reportedly, Aston Villa are willing to let him go on a free to get him off the books. He definitely needs to leave the club. Looking forward, at an EPL club he'd be a backup, but I'd guess he'd make more money as an EPL backup than as a Championship starter.

It's potentially bad news for keeping him as sharp as possible for the US.

Middlesbrough signed Victor Valdes earlier and have 37 year old incumbent Dimitrios Konstantopoulos and last year's backup Mejias on the books as well. Not sure how Guzan stacks up to these guys (even Valdes, as I'm not sure how much he has declined in recent years).
 

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That's a bummer for Hyndman. A 2-3 week injury isn't a huge deal, but it's bad timing.

- Eintracht Frankfurt have brought in some right back competition for Timothy Chandler - they've taken ManU's Guillermo Varela on loan. They also have a younger right back who played a bit when Chandler was out last season. I can't help but feel his standing there is pretty tenuous right now.

- Götze to Dortmund is official. With three competitions I think Pulisic will get plenty of time in a Götze/Reus/Kagawa/Dembele/Pulisic/Mor/Passlack rotation. I think he can beat out Mor and Passlack (Dembele looks like a beast though) and Reus is made of glass. It gets tougher if they add Schürrle, too, but that's the way it goes at big clubs.

- The USSF released their Development Academy awards and casually mentioned that Weston McKennie had signed with Schalke, but they now appear to be premature in doing so. Various reporters are saying that he is still considering an offer from FC Dallas as well.

- Tijuana's Copa MX group stage opener was a Yank-a-palooza. Six Americans started - goalkeeper Carlos Lopez made his professional debut wearing the classic #281 shirt (Mexican clubs typically give youth players three-digit numbers). Winger Paul Arriola and forward Amando Moreno both scored en route to a 3-0 win over Toluca. Central midfielder Alejandro Guido, left back John Requejo, Jr., and our old friend Michael Orozco also started. Guido unfortunately had to come off with a possible ligament injury, which would really suck for him because he just got back from an ACL tear suffered in December 2015.
 

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As further proof that God seems to hate American CMs in Europe even more than the ones who slink back to MLS, Hearts are knocked out of Europa League qualifying by a team from the Maltese Premier League as Perry Kitchen sits hurt on the sidelines.

Besides making our pals in the Scottish football thread wince a bit, this probably dents his plan to use Europa League games as a bit of an extra showcase to push for a move to a stronger European league.
 

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As further proof that God seems to hate American CMs in Europe even more than the ones who slink back to MLS, Hearts are knocked out of Europa League qualifying by a team from the Maltese Premier League as Perry Kitchen sits hurt on the sidelines.

Besides making our pals in the Scottish football thread wince a bit, this probably dents his plan to use Europa League games as a bit of an extra showcase to push for a move to a stronger European league.
Losing to Birkirkara is highly embarrassing, but the Europa League shop window was unlikely to ever be a thing for Kitchen. Hearts' chances of making it to the group stage were always going to be a long shot for two reasons: their coefficient means that they'd be unseeded from here on out and, more importantly, second-tier Scottish clubs really don't have that much quality. Even the Old Firm doesn't anymore. Hearts' opponent in the 3rd qualifying round would have been Krasnodar, which likely would have meant the end of the road. If they had advanced, they could have been drawn with an even tougher opponent.

The only hope for Kitchen is to kill it week in and week out in the SPL, attract the attention of someone south of the border, and hope that nothing jeopardizes his chances of getting a work permit with a new club. Kitchen's decision to take a step down and sign in the SPL was a risky one, but I think DC United is just one of those clubs that ambitious players try to get away from sometimes. Their resources are limited in the realm of MLS and "ugly but effective" is the strategy that they have adopted to compensate for that reality under Ben Olsen.
 

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- Götze to Dortmund is official. With three competitions I think Pulisic will get plenty of time in a Götze/Reus/Kagawa/Dembele/Pulisic/Mor/Passlack rotation. I think he can beat out Mor and Passlack (Dembele looks like a beast though) and Reus is made of glass. It gets tougher if they add Schürrle, too, but that's the way it goes at big clubs.
Well, Dortmund signed Schürrle yesterday. Buckle up, Christian!


- Center forward Bjørn Maars Johnsen signed for Hearts yesterday. He's had a weird career as something of a late bloomer. He grew up playing soccer in NC, then signed overseas instead of going to college. He played in Norway's 3rd tier, then Spain's 4th tier and 3rd tier, then Portugal's 3rd tier and then 2nd tier where he came into his own. He signed for one of Bulgaria's bigger clubs Litex Lovech, but they got booted out of the league after the players walked off the field in protest of the referee in a match against Levski Sofia. Based on how he's done in recent times, I think he has a good chance at being successful in Scotland.

- Goalkeeper Zack Steffen has departed Freiburg and signed with Columbus. That was abrupt and I'm curious to know why he left. He's a pretty good prospect in my eyes.

- A couple more young amateurs have moved to overseas clubs, both defenders. J.J. Foe Nuphaus has moved from the SJ Earthquakes academy to Hoffenheim's U17 team. Callum Stretch joined Aston Villa from FC Golden State. Both are 16 years old - Stretch made the move because he has dual citizenship with the UK; not sure how Nuphaus qualifies for a move abroad at this age.

- Roslindale native Charlie Rugg has swapped clubs in the Regionalliga Südwest, moving from Eintracht Trier to FK Pirmasens.

- Mike Lansing, a goalkeeper from Bucknell, has signed for Vejle in the Danish second tier. No word yet on where winger Chris Stynes or right back Hipolito Pichardo will land.
 

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Well, that's confirmation that Weston McKennie is training with Schalke. (That's him in the background with the neon yellow laces).

That's not a surprise. What's more interesting is that the player in the foreground is attacking midfielder Nick Taitague, who is considered to be one of our top 1999s. I wouldn't expect anything official on Taitague just now because he doesn't turn 18 until February, but it looks like there is interest here.
 

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- In what may be a first, we have an American in Liechtenstein. Defensive midfielder Caleb Stanko has been loaned from Freiburg to FC Vaduz. All seven Liechtensteiner clubs play in the Swiss pyramid; Vaduz are by far the most successful and currently play in the Super League.

- A.J. Soares signed a two year contract with AGF Aarhus in the Danish league. His contract with Viking in Norway expired last month. I've heard that Orlando (among others in MLS) wanted to sign him, but the Revs refused to trade his rights, which they held within MLS because they offered him a contract when he left to sign in Norway. It's a dumb rule and it's dumber still that the Revs didn't extract value for the "rights" to a player they didn't have under contract.

- Julian Green has been playing for Bayern in preseason - mostly at center forward, interestingly. I'd like for him to show well and at least get a decent loan somewhere. He's not the only German-American in camp. It's another attacking player, Timothy Tillman, who is 17 and who has gotten into a few preseason friendlies. Tillman has played with German U15 and U16 teams, but not in any official U17 games that would cause him to be preliminarily cap-tied to Germany.


EDIT: Living in Vaduz is probably boring as hell, but this isn't a bad place to show up for work: