Yanks Abroad

This should probably go in a different thread, but this Ajax kid has committed to the USMNT instead of (I assume) the Dutch. Anybody heard of him?

 

Sergino Dest is in my opinion will step in as a starting fullback. Right side is his strong side but he can play left back as well and has twice already. He’s young and not perfect but for me this is a big thumbs up. He’s already getting playing time for Ajax.

 

Ives Galarcep at SBI Soccer says Berhalter can pencil him in at left back. Lord knows something needs to change at USMNT right now. One player won’t do it, but it couldn’t hurt. We’re so far from qualifying for Qatar we couldn’t see it from the top of Burj Khalifa.

 

Jump, he debuted for the senior US v Mexico a couple months ago, after playing very well for the youth squads. Since he is only 18 and starting and performing very well for Ajax, Holland full court pressed him and he told both sides he needed time to make a final choice. Born and raised in Holland (Dad is from Brooklyn).

His greeting for Pulisic when Christian was subbed on in Ajax-Chelsea CL match was very encouraging (Pulisic’s game winning assist went thru Dest’s legs).

Read somewhere that Holland wanted to put him in U20 team first, that had to help us since Dest can be in our senior starting lineup. Berhalter needs to be fired on the spot if he’s not starting next month.

This is the best news the US has had for a couple of years. US finally is filling the talent vacuum we’ve experienced. Pulisic, McKinnie, Adams, Sargent, Dest, and a few others have the makings of a team we can be proud of again.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/watch-usmnt-dest-scores-first-202605045.html

Dest w/his first 2 Ajax senior goals.

 

Gio Reyna made his debut for Dortmond today as a late sub.

 

Indiana Vassilev made his Premier League debut for Villa becoming the second youngest American to play in the Premier League after Jonathan Spector.

I know he came on as a sub against Fulham in the Cup match.

 

^^ Love it that there are youngsters moving up, and starting to get playing time, but seeing that name made think immediately of;

 

Cameron Carter-Vickers recalled from Stoke, subsequently shipped to Luton Town. This should provide him with more opportunities for regular minutes. Though it's a bit disappointing that he needed to move to a weaker team to (potentially) secure those minutes

https://www.football.london/tottenham-hotspur-fc/news/carter-vickers-first-words-luton-17656314

In other center back news, Matt Miazga tore an ankle ligament on Saturday and is looking at a lengthy recovery which could put his participation in the March international window in doubt.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...-significant-amount-of-time-with-ankle-injury

 

It has been reported that Pulisic has had a setback with his abductor injury. IIRC this is the same type of injury that kept Tyler Adams sidelined for an extended period of time with multiple setbacks. I hope Pulisic’s recovery time is much quicker than Adams.

 

Speaking of Adams, caught 10 minutes of his RB match vs Frankfurt and was happy to see him out there (he has started the last few, but not going the full 90). However, it was another player that I noticed immediately (his walk is unmistakable) that was impressive. Timothy Chandler was listed at RB, but he was playing midfield in the time I saw and was very effective. Saw him whip in a couple excellent crosses (one was after an excellent run) He has scored twice in their last few matches. Of the three main guys Klinsmann brought in (Jermaine Jones was outstanding, Fabian Johnson had some good moments, but Chandler was generally inconsistent) he was the least impressive. However, this is a guy Berhalter needs to talk to in terms of talent. Chandler himself said last summer when his team was in Philly he wants a call-up.

 

I haven’t seen him play this season but according to most pundits I’ve heard Chandler is having a very good season.

 

Gio Reyna scored a splendid goal to open his Dortmund account today. He missed a chance to tie it earlier but when he did put it in he did it right.



Edit: I watched the second half of this match and Gio was in the middle of so many really good attacking movements. Touch, movement into and out of space, dribbling in tight spaces, passing vision and oh my that shot! I know it is easy to get over exuberant about youngsters but this performance was beyond impressive.

On the other end of the spectrum Josh Sargent was lackluster at best. He didn’t get many touches because Dortmund were dominant but it seemed like there were more errant touches and passes than positive ones.

 

Gio Reyna became the youngest American to appear in the Champions League today.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/borussi...ut-makes-him-youngest-american-to-play-in-ucl

 

A very welcome sight as Josh Sargent starts and scores a cracker:


https://sbisoccer.com/2020/03/josh-sargent-scores-in-opening-minutes-for-werder-bremen

 

One big gaffe by Citeh and the kid was off to the races. Had another goal cleared off the line later.

 

Good news for Josh Sargent. He scored on the final day to help Werder Bremen get into a 2 legged playoff to avoid relegation and started and played well in Bremen squeaking out the playoff win on away goals. No pressure of the German 2nd division and/or finding a new Bundesliga club awaits. He’ll need to start putting the ball in the back of the net more, but his hold up play improved dramatically and fingers crossed he can take another step next campaign.