Time for a new thread!
The landscape of American players overseas reflects the current state of the USMNT: there are not a lot of established veterans in top leagues, but there are a lot of young players who have broken through or are threatening to do so.
I'm not going to post a Big List until the end of the transfer window, but I'm going to preview some players aged 23 or younger worth watching. Numbers = birth year
Germany
The Bundesliga has no restriction on foreigners and its clubs are reasonably willing to give youth players a chance, so Germany has emerged as the pre-eminent destination for American youth who begin their pro careers in Europe.
Christian Pulisic 98 (Borussia Dortmund) is well-known to all USMNT fans and Weston McKennie 98 (Schalke) is getting there as well. Both will be playing in the Champions League this year. McKennie made 25 appearances (14 starts) for the club last year and figures to play a bigger role this season following the departures of Leon Goretzka and Max Meyer. Both figure to be absolute cornerstones of the USMNT over the next two WC cycles at least.
If 2016/17 was Pulisic's breakout season and 2017/18 was McKennie's breakout season, this upcoming year could be Josh Sargent 00's (Werder Bremen) breakout season. Sargent is a classic center forward who was so good with the US U17s, that the USSF played him up with the U20s, which rarely happens. Sargent attracted a variety of interest, but chose Werder over some larger clubs because of the path they offered to playing time. Werder's manager has discussed Sargent as part of his first-team plans this year. How much he plays this season is up to Sargent, but the opportunity is absolutely there for the taking.
That's the "Big Three" in Germany for now.
EDIT: and it will possibly be the "Big Four" soon, as central midfielder Tyler Adams 99 is strongly rumored to be moving from NYRB to RB Leipzig no later than the winter transfer window. If Adams improves his passing a bit and matures in his defensive positioning, he could really be something, because his motor and field coverage is in the "world class" conversation.
Some others:
Bundesliga
Timothy Tillman 99 (Nürnberg) -- an attacking midfielder on loan from Bayern. He's currently playing with German youth national teams, but may switch at some point
2.Bundesliga
Julian Green 95 (Greuther Fürth) has a permanent home at this 2.Bundesliga club where he had some success on loan last year. Nobody expects great things from him at this point, but he could still have a reasonable career; certainly the USMNT doesn't have attacking midfielders coming out of its ears.
Lennard Maloney 99 (Union Berlin) is a center back who is with Union Berlin's first team this preseason. It remains to be seen where he will be on their CB depth chart, but supposedly they like him.
Kevin Lankford 98 (Heidenheim) is a very low-profile German-American attacking midfielder who has nonetheless already made 24 2.Bundesliga appearances over the last two seasons. I'm unsure of his quality and upside.
Reservists
Nick Taitague 99 (Schalke) is an attacking midfielder with some real talent and, unfortunately, what seems to be a real injury streak. He had a series of injuries last season that possibly prevented him from getting a first team cameo. Now he's too old for Schalke's U19 team, so he'll toil for Schalke II in the fifth division hoping for a look. Unless his career is killed by injuries, I think he'll be a good pro somewhere even if it's not Schalke.
Haji Wright 98 (Schalke) is a big forward who was once a majorly hyped member of the US U17 team. He has size and skill, but he's historically not been a great on-field decision-maker and in a loan to Sandhausen last year he exhibited a low work rate that eventually sapped his playing time. He's on trial at Union Berlin now. His star has fallen a bit and he's almost certainly not going to make it at Schalke, so the sooner he leaves the better.
Jonathan Klinsmann 97 (Hertha Berlin) is a goalkeeper who enters the season as the club's #3.
Brady Scott 99 (Köln) is a goalkeeper who the USSF really seems to like and is the probably starter for the US U20 team.
U19 Bundesliga
Chris Gloster 00 (Hannover) -- a former NYRB academy and US U17 left back entering his first season in Germany
Chris Richards 00 (Bayern Munich) -- a well-rounded CB on loan from FC Dallas
Zyen Jones 00 (Schalke) -- a winger/forward who left Atlanta United's academy to sign overseas.
Maurice Malone 00 (Augsburg) -- prolific forward who is currently playing with German YNTs, but may switch
Taylor Booth 01 (Bayern Munich) -- a central midfielder who left RSL's academy to sign with Bayern. He's at the club, but can't be registered until his Italian passport comes through.
Justin Butler 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CF
Malik Tillman 02 (Bayern Munich) -- CM
Recent Trialists
Sebastian Soto 00 (Borussia Mönchengladbach) -- forward, RSL academy
Alex Mendez 00 (Freiburg) -- CM, LA Galaxy academy
Uly Llanez 01 (Bayern Munich) -- winger, LA Galaxy academy
Cameron Duke 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CM, Sporting KC academy
Thomas Roberts 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CM, FC Dallas academy
England
Matt Miazga 95 (Chelsea) -- after two years on loan in the Eredivisie with Vitesse, the question is where he'll play this season. It's probably not Chelsea. I think he's ready for a loan to a bigger club than Vitesse.
Cameron Carter-Vickers 97 (Tottenham) -- after loans to Sheffield United and Ipswich, he'll probably go on loan again. Hopefully he lands at upper-tier Championship or maybe even a lower-tier EPL club, although the latter might be a bit too much at this point.
Erik Palmer-Brown 97 (Manchester City/NAC Breda) -- He's had a weird career path mainly because Porto bizarrely passed on a very cheap purchase option after he was loaned from SKC. Still, he has all the tools and could emerge as our best CB. On loan at NAC Breda in the Netherlands this season.
Antonee Robinson 97 (Everton) -- Had a reasonably successful loan at Bolton in the Championship last year. It remains to be seen if he'll go on a loan to a bigger club than Bolton or whether he'll stick around as a backup at LB.
Emerson Hyndman 96 (Bournemouth) -- He's the Forgotten Man at this point. The move to Bournemouth looks pretty disastrous at this point and he should probably be angling for an exit. He's still young enough to revive his career and work back to the USMNT.
Luca de la Torre 98 (Fulham) -- An attacking midfielder who has been on the fringes on their first team. It will only get harder to break in now that Fulham won promotion back to the EPL, but we'll see. He has some quality from what I've seen, but I worry that he's a tweener at the highest levels -- not quite good enough to play a central attacking role in the EPL, not fast enough to be effective on the wing.
Andrija Novakovich 96 (Reading/Fortuna Sittard) -- center forward who scored a ton of goals on loan for Telstar last year in the Dutch second division. Now he's on loan to an Eredivisie club.
Gedion Zelalem 97 (Arsenal) -- working back from an ACL injury. No idea what to expect from him in terms of performance or where he'll be. Presumably we should be rooting for a loan or transfer to a nurturing club environment.
Lynden Gooch 95 (Sunderland) -- listing him mainly because he's been called to the USMNT before, but I don't rate him very highly. He didn't play much more in Sunderland's Championship season than he did in the EPL. Hopefully he can get something going in League One.
Academy
Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen 01 (Everton) -- GK
Marlon Fossey 98 (Fulham) -- RB
Matthew Olosunde 98 (Manchester United) -- RB, talk of a loan/transfer
Owen Otasowie 01 (Wolves) -- CM
Indiana Vassilev 01 (Aston Villa) -- CM/AM
Charlie Kelman 01 (Southend) -- FW, scored a bajillion goals for their youth teams last year and might get a first team chance soon
Elsewhere
Ethan Horvath 95 (Club Brugge/BEL) -- GK, dealing with the yips
C.J. dos Santos 00 (Porto/POR) -- GK, reserves
Shaq Moore 96 (Levante/Reus/ESP) -- RB, on loan
Sergino Dest 00 (Ajax/NED) -- RB, reserves
Keaton Parks 97 (Benfica/POR) -- CM/AM, a few first team appearances so far
Juan Pablo Torres 99 (Lokeren/BEL) -- CM, mostly reserves
Romain Gall 95 (GIF Sundsvall/SWE) -- winger, likely to move to a bigger club
Mukwelle Akale 97 (Villarreal/ESP) -- winger, reserves
Joshua Perez 98 (Fiorentina/ITA) -- winger, possibly trialing elsewhere
Jonathan Amon 99 (Nordsjælland/DEN) -- winger, blazing fast, doing well
George Acosta 00 (Boca Juniors/ARG) -- AM
Rubio Rubin 96 (Tijuana/MEX) -- winger/FW
Jordan Siebatcheu 96 (Rennes/FRA) -- FW, 2nd leading scorer in Ligue 2 last year, sold for €12m, played only in youth friendlies for France
Emmanuel Sabbi 97 (Hobro/DEN) --- FW
Timothy Weah 00 (PSG/FRA) -- winger/FW, a few first team appearances so far
Konrad de la Fuente 01 (Barcelona/ESP) -- winger/FW, some good reviews
The landscape of American players overseas reflects the current state of the USMNT: there are not a lot of established veterans in top leagues, but there are a lot of young players who have broken through or are threatening to do so.
I'm not going to post a Big List until the end of the transfer window, but I'm going to preview some players aged 23 or younger worth watching. Numbers = birth year
Germany
The Bundesliga has no restriction on foreigners and its clubs are reasonably willing to give youth players a chance, so Germany has emerged as the pre-eminent destination for American youth who begin their pro careers in Europe.
Christian Pulisic 98 (Borussia Dortmund) is well-known to all USMNT fans and Weston McKennie 98 (Schalke) is getting there as well. Both will be playing in the Champions League this year. McKennie made 25 appearances (14 starts) for the club last year and figures to play a bigger role this season following the departures of Leon Goretzka and Max Meyer. Both figure to be absolute cornerstones of the USMNT over the next two WC cycles at least.
If 2016/17 was Pulisic's breakout season and 2017/18 was McKennie's breakout season, this upcoming year could be Josh Sargent 00's (Werder Bremen) breakout season. Sargent is a classic center forward who was so good with the US U17s, that the USSF played him up with the U20s, which rarely happens. Sargent attracted a variety of interest, but chose Werder over some larger clubs because of the path they offered to playing time. Werder's manager has discussed Sargent as part of his first-team plans this year. How much he plays this season is up to Sargent, but the opportunity is absolutely there for the taking.
That's the "Big Three" in Germany for now.
EDIT: and it will possibly be the "Big Four" soon, as central midfielder Tyler Adams 99 is strongly rumored to be moving from NYRB to RB Leipzig no later than the winter transfer window. If Adams improves his passing a bit and matures in his defensive positioning, he could really be something, because his motor and field coverage is in the "world class" conversation.
Some others:
Bundesliga
Timothy Tillman 99 (Nürnberg) -- an attacking midfielder on loan from Bayern. He's currently playing with German youth national teams, but may switch at some point
2.Bundesliga
Julian Green 95 (Greuther Fürth) has a permanent home at this 2.Bundesliga club where he had some success on loan last year. Nobody expects great things from him at this point, but he could still have a reasonable career; certainly the USMNT doesn't have attacking midfielders coming out of its ears.
Lennard Maloney 99 (Union Berlin) is a center back who is with Union Berlin's first team this preseason. It remains to be seen where he will be on their CB depth chart, but supposedly they like him.
Kevin Lankford 98 (Heidenheim) is a very low-profile German-American attacking midfielder who has nonetheless already made 24 2.Bundesliga appearances over the last two seasons. I'm unsure of his quality and upside.
Reservists
Nick Taitague 99 (Schalke) is an attacking midfielder with some real talent and, unfortunately, what seems to be a real injury streak. He had a series of injuries last season that possibly prevented him from getting a first team cameo. Now he's too old for Schalke's U19 team, so he'll toil for Schalke II in the fifth division hoping for a look. Unless his career is killed by injuries, I think he'll be a good pro somewhere even if it's not Schalke.
Haji Wright 98 (Schalke) is a big forward who was once a majorly hyped member of the US U17 team. He has size and skill, but he's historically not been a great on-field decision-maker and in a loan to Sandhausen last year he exhibited a low work rate that eventually sapped his playing time. He's on trial at Union Berlin now. His star has fallen a bit and he's almost certainly not going to make it at Schalke, so the sooner he leaves the better.
Jonathan Klinsmann 97 (Hertha Berlin) is a goalkeeper who enters the season as the club's #3.
Brady Scott 99 (Köln) is a goalkeeper who the USSF really seems to like and is the probably starter for the US U20 team.
U19 Bundesliga
Chris Gloster 00 (Hannover) -- a former NYRB academy and US U17 left back entering his first season in Germany
Chris Richards 00 (Bayern Munich) -- a well-rounded CB on loan from FC Dallas
Zyen Jones 00 (Schalke) -- a winger/forward who left Atlanta United's academy to sign overseas.
Maurice Malone 00 (Augsburg) -- prolific forward who is currently playing with German YNTs, but may switch
Taylor Booth 01 (Bayern Munich) -- a central midfielder who left RSL's academy to sign with Bayern. He's at the club, but can't be registered until his Italian passport comes through.
Justin Butler 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CF
Malik Tillman 02 (Bayern Munich) -- CM
Recent Trialists
Sebastian Soto 00 (Borussia Mönchengladbach) -- forward, RSL academy
Alex Mendez 00 (Freiburg) -- CM, LA Galaxy academy
Uly Llanez 01 (Bayern Munich) -- winger, LA Galaxy academy
Cameron Duke 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CM, Sporting KC academy
Thomas Roberts 01 (Bayern Munich) -- CM, FC Dallas academy
England
Matt Miazga 95 (Chelsea) -- after two years on loan in the Eredivisie with Vitesse, the question is where he'll play this season. It's probably not Chelsea. I think he's ready for a loan to a bigger club than Vitesse.
Cameron Carter-Vickers 97 (Tottenham) -- after loans to Sheffield United and Ipswich, he'll probably go on loan again. Hopefully he lands at upper-tier Championship or maybe even a lower-tier EPL club, although the latter might be a bit too much at this point.
Erik Palmer-Brown 97 (Manchester City/NAC Breda) -- He's had a weird career path mainly because Porto bizarrely passed on a very cheap purchase option after he was loaned from SKC. Still, he has all the tools and could emerge as our best CB. On loan at NAC Breda in the Netherlands this season.
Antonee Robinson 97 (Everton) -- Had a reasonably successful loan at Bolton in the Championship last year. It remains to be seen if he'll go on a loan to a bigger club than Bolton or whether he'll stick around as a backup at LB.
Emerson Hyndman 96 (Bournemouth) -- He's the Forgotten Man at this point. The move to Bournemouth looks pretty disastrous at this point and he should probably be angling for an exit. He's still young enough to revive his career and work back to the USMNT.
Luca de la Torre 98 (Fulham) -- An attacking midfielder who has been on the fringes on their first team. It will only get harder to break in now that Fulham won promotion back to the EPL, but we'll see. He has some quality from what I've seen, but I worry that he's a tweener at the highest levels -- not quite good enough to play a central attacking role in the EPL, not fast enough to be effective on the wing.
Andrija Novakovich 96 (Reading/Fortuna Sittard) -- center forward who scored a ton of goals on loan for Telstar last year in the Dutch second division. Now he's on loan to an Eredivisie club.
Gedion Zelalem 97 (Arsenal) -- working back from an ACL injury. No idea what to expect from him in terms of performance or where he'll be. Presumably we should be rooting for a loan or transfer to a nurturing club environment.
Lynden Gooch 95 (Sunderland) -- listing him mainly because he's been called to the USMNT before, but I don't rate him very highly. He didn't play much more in Sunderland's Championship season than he did in the EPL. Hopefully he can get something going in League One.
Academy
Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen 01 (Everton) -- GK
Marlon Fossey 98 (Fulham) -- RB
Matthew Olosunde 98 (Manchester United) -- RB, talk of a loan/transfer
Owen Otasowie 01 (Wolves) -- CM
Indiana Vassilev 01 (Aston Villa) -- CM/AM
Charlie Kelman 01 (Southend) -- FW, scored a bajillion goals for their youth teams last year and might get a first team chance soon
Elsewhere
Ethan Horvath 95 (Club Brugge/BEL) -- GK, dealing with the yips
C.J. dos Santos 00 (Porto/POR) -- GK, reserves
Shaq Moore 96 (Levante/Reus/ESP) -- RB, on loan
Sergino Dest 00 (Ajax/NED) -- RB, reserves
Keaton Parks 97 (Benfica/POR) -- CM/AM, a few first team appearances so far
Juan Pablo Torres 99 (Lokeren/BEL) -- CM, mostly reserves
Romain Gall 95 (GIF Sundsvall/SWE) -- winger, likely to move to a bigger club
Mukwelle Akale 97 (Villarreal/ESP) -- winger, reserves
Joshua Perez 98 (Fiorentina/ITA) -- winger, possibly trialing elsewhere
Jonathan Amon 99 (Nordsjælland/DEN) -- winger, blazing fast, doing well
George Acosta 00 (Boca Juniors/ARG) -- AM
Rubio Rubin 96 (Tijuana/MEX) -- winger/FW
Jordan Siebatcheu 96 (Rennes/FRA) -- FW, 2nd leading scorer in Ligue 2 last year, sold for €12m, played only in youth friendlies for France
Emmanuel Sabbi 97 (Hobro/DEN) --- FW
Timothy Weah 00 (PSG/FRA) -- winger/FW, a few first team appearances so far
Konrad de la Fuente 01 (Barcelona/ESP) -- winger/FW, some good reviews
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