Justin Rodriguez put together a series on the U-17 top prospects in the US for ESPN Soccernet. Here are the articles: Felix Garcia. This article is a year old. Garcia recently signed with MLS' Houston Dynamo before returning to his PDL side in Laredo. Carlos Martinez. A play-making midfielder who was dismissed from the U-17 team before being brought back a few months later. Former leading scorer for the U-17s. Stefan Jerome. Extremely fast striker who has attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, Leverkusen, and Newcastle and plans to move to Europe after this summer's U-17 World Cup. Joseph Gyau. Grandson of a Ghana International and son of a US International who trained in Zico's camps in Brazil. He'll be going to Bayern Munich's youth teams after the U-17 World Cup. Charles Renken. He joined the US U-17 Residency Program as a 13 year-old and has been rumored to have received a deal from Arsenal. Jack McInerney. Went from a criticized selection to leading goal scorer of the U-17 Residency Program. Might not be anything flashy, but sounds like a Taylor Twellman clone. Earl Edwards Jr. I skipped the keeper. Looks to be the latest in the line of Friedel, Keller, and Howard...sometime after Brad Guzan joins the group. Sebastian Lletget is turning heads with the West Ham U-18, and has been since he trailed with him as a 13 year old.
I look forward to seeing an American player make a REAL impact in the sport other than a keeper. Donovan is seen as some what as a joke over here and is certainly not the player you all think he is. I'm a massive Friedel fan and Howard is a very good keeper as well. Keller made his mark over here also. The player I really liked despite the fact he played for our rivals at one point was McBride. He was a top drawer player. The U.S should be very proud of McBride because not only was he a great honest competitior and excellent ambassador for the game, he was also an excellent centre forward who you could be forgiven for thinking was English not American by his approach and style. He was a throwback, no nonsense, battled for everything, great in the air, good touch and knew where the goal was. It was an honour to have him play in our league, he did you all proud. Sure there have been a few that have come over and caught the eye now and then Beasley is another example but no one consistenly did their job to a high level as McBride did. The fact he played for Everton and I have so much time for him speaks volumes. [video=youtube;tOev7CzGu5k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOev7CzGu5k[/video] I'm just glad he went to Fulham so I could like what he was doing as well as respect it.
Added an article about Jack McInerney. From the sounds of it, he isn't the prospect that Jerome, Gyau, and Renken are, but he should have a solid professional career. As I said above, he sounds like a Taylor Twellman clone. Someone who is really too small to be a target forward, but plays as one anyway because he will just work that much harder than everyone else.
Given my choice, I'd rather have Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and the other clubs these guys are rumored to be linked with have knowledge of those guys than you.
Added the article on Earl Edwards Jr. The keeper who looks to be the next in line after Howard and Guzan.
It would be amazing if McBride was still young enough to be a regular for the USMNT. He seems likely to be the best target striker I'll see for a long time wearing the US jersey. I'd love to see another with his abilities coming through the ranks, but its simply not there yet.
That's the guy...sorry Ronan. Just reviewed that ESPN article again looking for the injury info, but found it elsewhere. It said that Renken is expected to sign for a European team in the "next 12 to 18 months," so he should be signed anytime from next month to next April.
So it's a nagging knee injury that keeps coming up? That's bad. Walcott has that problem with his shoulders--At least those aren't as much used as shoulders.
no, he torn his ACL twice in about a year. it's not really a nagging injury, just one that requires surgery and then a while to rehab and stuff.
And SoccerByIves has an update on two of these gentlemen. Joseph Gyau and Charles Renken are going to 1899 Hoffenheim. Hoffenheim is the home of former American resident Vedad Ibisevic. I think this could be a new developmental path for young Americans. Normally, its the 18 to 23 year-olds moving into senior teams. These are young teens moving over to Germany, as Gyau is 16 and Renken is 15. I'd like to see more American youth taking this path, but I don't think it will happen unless Gyau and Renken find success. My thinking is that the more Americans who move abroad as teens, the more spots we open up in Bradenton at the IMG Academy. Even better, European teams may start investing in youth academies in the US. I'll be sure to post any further updates I can find on these two.
