USMNT – How are our Players doing Overseas?

Back last fall I wrote a piece on the USMNT. The key point was that while there hadn’t been any matches in almost a year, there was plenty for followers of the Nats to focus on. Specifically, that we have a plethora of key players playing in Europe this season and given the level of competition that suggested the potential for the MNT to be much improved during the next World Cup cycle compared to the disastrous cycle leading up to 2018 in which we failed to qualify.

However, in that review it was also pointed out that playing overseas is only as good as the player actually performs and grows from the improved training and competition. Here’s what was said about those key players:

USMNT – Key Players Overseas this Season

Well generally speaking the European seasons are at their mid-points so this would be a good time to check in and see just how those players are doing.

Goalkeepers:

Zack Steffan (Manchester City) – As mentioned last fall, the bad news for Steffan was that he wasn’t going to be the #1 keeper on City. However, the hope was the between EPL, UCL, FA Cup, and EFL Cup that he would get plenty of playing time. And that has shown to be accurate. Steffan has appeared in one EPL, one UCL, one FA Cup and four EFL Cup matches. In those combined 7 matches he has conceded a mere 3 goals and led City to wins in all of those matches. And he has been fit and avoided injuries so far this season. Good news for sure!

Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge) – Unfortunately, the prognosis for Horvath has also turned out to be accurate. The concern was that the manager of Club Brugge simply is stuck on first team keeper Simon Mingolet. In fact thus far, Horvath has only played in 2 matches and that was because Mingolet wasn’t available. Lots of potential interest from other teams in acquiring Horvath and he really needs to move on. While training with a quality side is very worthwhile, its also critical for keepers to get playing time. Hopefully he finds his way out of there.

Defense:

Sergino Dest (Barcelona) – When we put up the summary last fall, Dest was on the roster for Ajax in the Dutch league but it looked like he was going to get sold to Barcelona. Well he got sold all right and fans for Barcelona and the USMNT are giddy over this kid. Dest has seen the field 20 times already this season for Barca (15 in La Liga and 5 in UCL). And he became the first American player to ever score a goal for them. He has settled in very well for the Spanish side and is pretty locked in as their starting right back. Great news for the US.

John Brooks (Wolfsburg) – Brooks has started 14 of Wolfsburgs last 15 Bundesliga matches and was subbed in the other. He has played steady central defense but the best news is that he is healthy. He is deadly on both ends of the field on set pieces. Brooks is clearly the leader in the defense for the US and should feature prominently in the next WC cycle.

Antonee Robinson (Fulham) – While some fans of the US have argued that the best outside back combination was to have Dest at LB and Reggie Cannon at RB, I don’t see it and neither do most fans these days. Robinson has always been well thought of moving down the wing to support the attack but there was some question about his defending. Well put that to rest. He has played in 16 matches between EPL and EFL Cup and has been quite effective at both ends of the field. In fact, he was the Man of the Match in their recent match against that scoring machine, Liverpool. Cannon is a a great backup and spot starter but I think the tandem of Robinson and Dest is pretty well set for now.

Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) – Richards was mentioned as another player to keep an eye on. Good thing too! Between the Bundesliga, UCL, and German Super Cup he has been featured 7 times thus far and has looked good. A bit unsure of himself the first few outings as to be expected. But the more he sees the field the stronger he has looked. He may supplant Aaron Long and Matt Miazga as the the other CB to pair with Brooks.

Keep and eye on Mark McKenzie too. He just transferred from the Philadelphia Union to KRC Denk in Belgium. He could also move into the mix at CB this next cycle. And one more, Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds is on the verge of transferring from FC Dallas to Juventus. If that happens he would likely play the rest of the Serie A for Benevento then move to Juve in June. Juve is currently maxed out on the foreign players they can have. Oh and one more. Matthew Olosunde (Rotherham) played in their FA Cup match last week against Everton…and scored a very nice goal. And Cameron Carter-Vickers (Bournemouth), Emerson Palmer-Brown (Austria Wein) and Miazga (Anderlecth) are still around as well.

Midfield:

Weston McKennie (Juventus) – When it was announced that McKennie was transferring to Juve there were two schools of thought. One group felt the Juve was making this move for their future and that he wasn’t ready to play everyday in Italy yet. Others felt that Juve was bringing him in to play now. Well the first group missed the boat! A good thing to miss on. McKennie has already played in 18 matches between Serie A and UCL and has scored 3 times including sensational strike against Barcelona. A superb slotted pass, run into the box, and volley into the net. That’s a world class goal right there.

Gio Reyna (Dortmund) – 24 matches between the Bundesliga, UCL, German Super Cup and German Cup. Four goals and 6 assists. Starting in 80% of Dortmund’s matches. Doesn’t turn 19 until November. Think about that for a minute. Kid is a mainstay starter for one of the top clubs in the world and can’t have a beer with his US teammates when in country for training. He’s having a solid season and is only going to get better.

Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig) – To be upfront, Adams has not had the season many were hoping for. While he has played in 18 matches (all competitions) he is only starting about half the time and has not tallied an assist or goal on the season. However, to look a bit deeper, he is also playing for the #2 team in the Bundesliga and his role isn’t to score goals. Its to play defense and he has done that well. And that is the same role he will mostly be asked to fill for the Nats so all is good. Still like to see him involved a bit more in the attack though.

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) – Ready for this? Pulisic is the “old man” in the US midfield. And he doesn’t turn 23 until September. No doubt US fans are excited to watch this group play together over the next many years. Pulisic has been hit with the injury but again this season resulting in him only seeing time in 14 matches and only 2 goals and no assists to show for it. The question though is how much of this lack of production is on him and how much of it is on the manager, Frank Lampard? Chelsea as a side has not performed near expectations this season. Sitting clear down in 10th in the EPL. Hardly is cutting it for a team that was expected to challenge for a UCL spot (top 4 finish). Rumors abound that Lampard may be on his way out. One odd way he has used Pulisic, is to put him in as a sub after pulling out Oliver Giroud and/or Timo Lerner. Hard to link up with somebody who is sitting on the bench. Just watching Chelsea play there isn’t much question that they just “look better” when Pulisic is on the field.

Tim Weah (lille) – Lots of good surrounding Weah. He finally seems to be past his muscle injury that has plagued him the last two seasons. He has gotten back into form and is now playing much more often. Playing for Lille makes it hard to see much time. They are currently 3rd in the French Ligue 1 but only a single point out of first. But Weah has seen the field 17 times this season between the league and Europa League and has 3 goals and an assist. He has played mostly RW with a few appearances at LW but more importantly his minutes have been increasing over the last month. Look for more from his the rest of the season.

And there are a lot of others starting to make noise. Konrad de la Fuente has seen time for Barcelona in UCL and may see action on their first team in La Liga this spring. Julian Green is playing well in the Bundesliga second division and has scored 5 goals and added 3 assists thus far. A bit surprising that a first division side hasn’t picked him up? Then there is a new face emerging that needs to be watched closely. Yunas Musah plays for Valencia in La Liga at only 17 years old. He played for the USMNT in their two recent friendly matches and looked really, really talented. The bad news is that he has also played in the English national youth teams and is eligible to play for not only the US and England, but Ghana and Italy as well. Hope to keep this kid on our side!

Forwards:

Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen) – Sargent is a tough one to report on. In 16 matches between the Bundesliga and German Cup he has only scored 3 goals along with 2 assists. You want to see more production from your forwards. On the flip side, he has started over 90% of their matches and has seen almost 95% of the available minutes. And the entire team has only scored 17 goals thus far. When you watch their matches, Sargent seems to make the right runs. He collects and distributes the ball well. And he seems to be in the right place to score goals. But the service he gets…..well lets just say its lacking. Still the forwards job is to score and he isn’t doing it at a level you want to see out of a teams primary forward. The jury is out on him.

Jordan Morris (Swansea City??) – There is a very good chance that Morris is soon to be loaned to Swansea City for the remainder of their season. While they are in the English Championship, they sit in 2nd and have a great shot to move up to the EPL next season. The thinking here is that Morris would really improve their attack. I agree and it would be good to see him overseas getting some more exposure.

Brenden Aaronson (Salzburg) – Just transferred from the Philadelphia Union to Salzburg and got his first start today. Could put him in the midfield grouping or here as a forward (Same with Weah, Pulisic, and Reyna for that matter). But in any case he’s an attacking player and bears watching. Oh, and todays start? He got his first goal!!!

With the Gold Cup, the Olympics, and WC qualifying all this year its going to be very busy for the USMNT. The good news is that all those matches will give manager, Gregg Berhalter plenty of time to put together a solid roster. In a nutshell here’s how I see our depth.

Goalkeeping – Not deep enough. We are an injury away from being at risk. Steffen is very good but there is also an apparent drop off after him. Horvath isn’t playing (not his fault) and nobody else has really stepped up. Perhaps Matt Turner challenges for a spot this year.

Defense – Starting to have some depth here finally. Things are looking good.

Midfield – Tempted to say world class here. And deep. The best position group in the team for sure.

Forward – Have some options here but no one has really grabbed a spot or even become a solid front runner. Jozy Altidore is still a solid option for a late match sub but he is no longer a 90 minute player. Sargent has the tools but the results haven’t been there. Weah and Aaronson are upcomers but more wingers, as is Morris. And Gyasi Zardes is still valuable. Still like to see some player(s) take the next step here. But plenty of matches this year for somebody to shine!

2021 should be a really good year for the USMNT. Only 2 years now to WC 2022 in Qatar and it will go fast!!