Americans Abroad, 2020-21: The Kids Are Alright

67YAZ

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He just consistently finds space in between markers. That’s an excellent sign that he’s not just relying on his size.
 

dirtynine

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I’m far from a tactician but isn’t McKennie playing really high here? Or am I misunderstanding his role?
 

rguilmar

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I’m far from a tactician but isn’t McKennie playing really high here? Or am I misunderstanding his role?
He's had a few different roles for Juve, but when they are at their best, this is kinda where he is often. He does play CM/#8, but is constantly making forward runs to stretch the field. It opens up a lot of space behind him, and he often is the furthest player up the field for Juventus. The end result is the just watching McKennie run around all game is tiring.

I do hope he does similar things for the USMNT, as it will open up space in the midfield specifically for Reyna to drift into, which has the added benefit of allowing Dest to do what he's best at in providing dangerous width.
 

dirtynine

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Thanks, that's helpful & makes sense. I expected to see him making runs, but in that clip it looked like he was hanging out at the top waiting for service. Maybe it was more a result of buildup, or just how the role shakes out in reality.
 

Titans Bastard

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Thanks, that's helpful & makes sense. I expected to see him making runs, but in that clip it looked like he was hanging out at the top waiting for service. Maybe it was more a result of buildup, or just how the role shakes out in reality.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbn0EpW8FQ


This video has more of the buildup, which shows that McKennie started in position as a LCM and drifted diagonally as the play developed. He slowed up his run, but then pushed forward more when he recognized that Ronaldo dropped off to receive a pass in a deeper position.
 

dirtynine

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This video has more of the buildup, which shows that McKennie started in position as a LCM and drifted diagonally as the play developed. He slowed up his run, but then pushed forward more when he recognized that Ronaldo dropped off to receive a pass in a deeper position.
Thank you! That context really helps.
 

rguilmar

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Speaking of Germany, there was some more Yank on Yank action as RB Leipzig was held to a 0-0 draw by Hoffenheim. Tyler Adams was just ok (aside from missing one of the best chances of the game, though it looked to get touched just before the ball got to him) but Chris Richards was fantastic. Rumors are that Hoffenheim want to extend the loan into next season or just flat out buy him from Bayern. I know Bayern are bringing in Upamecano, but they have an aging back line and will need more youth. I wouldn't be surprised if the loan was extend for one more season and revisit buying him at that point.
 

Senator Donut

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it‘s go west, yes.
In many german arenas fans sing „olé, hier kommt der ...(insert your club/ BVB/FCB/etc.)“ which of course means „olé, here comes BVB!“
Thanks for clarifying. According to Wikipedia, Go West charted at number 1 in Germany, but never entered the top 100 in the US. It fascinates me which songs become football/soccer anthems.
 

Titans Bastard

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Silverware update. This post ended up being much longer than I anticipated it would be.


Today, Zack Steffen started and won the League Cup and Mark McKenzie came off the bench and won the Belgian Cup. Steffen will likely win the EPL title as well, not that he contributed much to the campaign.

Christian Pulisic will play for the FA Cup in Mid-May.

Weston McKennie is in the Coppa Italia final with Juventus.

Tim Weah and Lille cling to a narrow 1 point lead in Ligue 1 with four games to play.

Three of the four clubs competing for the Belgian title have Americans on them, though the likeliest candidate is Club Brugge, where Ethan Horvath has been buried behind Mignolet.

Brenden Aaronson has a chance to win the double with Red Bull Salzburg over the next few weeks. They have an eight point lead with five games to play, and the cup final is in early May.

Sergino Dest already won the Copa del Rey and has a shot at La Liga as well.

The DFB Pokal is looking good — Adams, Reyna, and Sargent in the semifinals, and the fourth club is Holstein Kiel!

Jordan Siebatcheu has won the Swiss Super League as Young Boys currently have a comical 28 point lead at the top of the table.

Haji Wright (SønderjyskE) is in the Danish Cup final.

Henry Wingo has already won the Hungarian league title with Ferencváros.

Ben Lederman (anyone remember him from La Masia?) is in the Polish cup final with Raków Częstochowa.

DeAndre Yedlin and Galatasaray still have a shot at the Turkish Süper Lig title, though it's not a great one.
 

Titans Bastard

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Some reporting on Marsch from Derek Rae this morning:

BREAKING: Jesse Marsch to become the next head coach of RB Leipzig after a whirlwind 24 hours. Twists & turns in this since the announcement of Julian Nagelsmann‘s departure for Bayern. At one point, Oliver Glasner appeared to have overtaken Marsch in the pecking order.

6:32am · 28 Apr 2021 · Twitter for iPad

Derek Rae
@RaeComm


2/ Some details still emerging from other sources. Kicker say Marsch turned down Tottenham in favour of RBL. He was also of interest to Eintracht Frankfurt.

6:42am · 28 Apr 2021 · Twitter for iPad
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Kicker claims Marsch turned down Tottenham to take the RBL job. No idea if true.
Makes sense if true and if he's being methodical. Leipzig are set up to play how he likes to play and are also plugged into a global scouting organization to find more players who can play in the style he likes to play. Spurs don't have those things, so while it might've been the more ambitious move it's certainly also the more fraught as well.
 

Senator Donut

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I haven’t seen a single Cameron match in years, but from his stats sheet, he appears to be a first choice center back for top half of the table Championship team, so he’s still good enough to crack an MLS roster and play meaningful minutes. I think it comes down to whether he’s willing to play for less than the max budget charge of USD 612,500. Clubs are already weary of using allocation dollars for defenders, let alone those of Cameron’s advanced age. (By the way, I was stunned to learn Atlanta signed Franco as a senior DP.)
 

Titans Bastard

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Aaronson scored a brace today. Red Bull Salzburg lead by nine points with three games to play, so they've all but officially won the double this year. Brenden adjusted to life at his new club pretty seamlessly. At the rate things are going, I'd expect him to be sold no later than summer 2022.
 

Titans Bastard

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Werder Bremen have one point from their last night games and have fallen into the relegation playoff position. In the final game of the season, they'll play Gladbach while Köln host last-place Schalke. Werder could get auto-relegated if Köln win and Werder don't.
 

Titans Bastard

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Weston McKennie picked up a Coppa Italia trophy today. It's getting hard to keep track of all the silverware Americans are winning these days.


The Athletic reports that FC Dallas is in talks to sell Justin Che to Bayern Munich. Che, a 2003, is on loan at Bayern right now and plays regularly with their reserve team in the 3. Liga. He would be the second CB that Dallas sold to Bayern before the CB ever even played for Dallas, following in the footsteps of Chris Richards. Dallas are reportedly asking for $3-4m and a sell-on percentage.

https://theathletic.com/2600152/2021/05/19/bayern-munich-fc-dallas-justin-che-lafc-brian-rodriguez-transfer/
 

Titans Bastard

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Jordan Siebatcheu is staying at Young Boys, having agreed to a permanent transfer from Rennes.
 

Joe D Reid

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Lynden Gooch played 90 minutes as Sunderland hilariously lost 2-0 at Lincoln in the first leg of the third-tier playoffs.

Am I stretching the point of this thread in order to be petty? You be the judge.
 

Titans Bastard

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Werder have been relegated. We'll see if someone comes in for Sargent.
 

Titans Bastard

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Jacob Montes '98, a one-time Portland Timbers academy central midfielder who went to Georgetown, has signed with Crystal Palace. The Timbers didn't offer him an MLS deal, though he would have had other options in the US.

I find the decision to players like Montes to sign in England to be questionable. He's not eligible for a work permit so he's going to be loaned out somewhere outside of the UK, and in all likelihood still won't be eligible for a work permit afterward. At least it's only a one-year deal so he won't be stuck in limbo.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/25/jacob-montes-signs-with-crystal-palace/
 

Senator Donut

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The Timbers didn't offer him an MLS deal, though he would have had other options in the US.
Goff added that Montes was selected by the Revs in the MLS Waiver draft, which has replaced the weighted lottery as the mechanism to select players who missed the Superdraft as the NCAA moved their championship to the spring. So that cuts down on his options stateside.
 

Section30

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Senator Donut

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One of the parties that sets the rules in the PFA, which as a union has a vested interest in keeping out foreigners who can compete for a limited number of jobs. Another "stakeholder" who gets a seat at the table is the FA, which also has an interest in keeping more roster spots for Englishmen.

As you already mentioned, the big six are incentived to only allow the best and therefore most expensive players to be registered.
 

Titans Bastard

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Dante Sealy '03 of FC Dallas is training with PSV Eindhoven. Jon Arnold got a public statement about this from FC Dallas, while 3rd Degree reports that a move abroad is likely this summer, probably a loan with an option to buy.

Sealy is a winger and son of former T&T international Scott Sealy who had an extensive career in MLS. To date, Dante Sealy has made a few appearances in MLS but hasn't become a real first team regular yet.

View: https://twitter.com/ArnoldcommaJon/status/1399420730643730436
 

Titans Bastard

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Barnsley apparently will not activate the purchase option on Daryl Dike, so he'll go back to Orlando (at least for the moment).

That surprises me. He did very well there and my understanding is that the option wasn't that expensive.
There has been some dispute over the size of the option. It was reported to be ~$20m, but Barnsley's exec claimed it was far less. Barnsley also did not pick up the option, so I'm not sure I believe him.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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There has been some dispute over the size of the option. It was reported to be ~$20m, but Barnsley's exec claimed it was far less. Barnsley also did not pick up the option, so I'm not sure I believe him.
Even at notably less than the reported level, it would've smashed Barnsley transfer records which are currently at around $2.5m.

In a more normal transfer market, even if they can't really afford the fee it seems like it would have been a no brainer to be the middleman in getting him to his ultimate destination in the EPL/monied part of the Championship.

With more uncertainty and less liquidity both for their club and elsewhere, I suppose they couldn't risk it.

Probably good news for Orlando though, as they can now get the full upside of a sale and a few more games out of Dike, although hopefully not too many more because the kid could probably use some rest between an assumed role at the Gold Cup and a likely European preseason of some sort.