Major League Soccer is in the midst of a makeover. Once a league thought of as a graveyard for aging European stars, MLS is now building a reputation for itself as a talent factory for European clubs to find their next great product. But, which clubs in particular are making their presence known in the market? Here, I'll lay out the 3 clubs that I've been the most impressed by as an exporter of talent.
3) New York Red Bulls
The Red Bulls have been shipping talent off to Europe since their MetroStars days. As one of the original MLS clubs, and as a club residing in a hotbed of young soccer talent in the New York Metro area, it's no surprise to me that they have been among the more successful clubs at producing, nurturing, and ultimately selling talent abroad. Here are some notable players they've been able to ship off to Europe through the years:
- Jozy Altidore
- Tim Howard
- Tyler Adams
- Matt Miazga
- Caden Clark
- Kamar Lawrence
-Tim Ream
- Jesse Marsch (Manager)
- Chris Armas (Manager)
As a part of the family of Red Bull clubs worldwide, this team is uniquely suited to promote their own players to the top level in a streamlined, step-by-step process. Examples of this can be seen not just with players, but with current Leeds manager, Jesse Marsch, who went from managing New York Red Bulls, to RB Satzburg in Austria, then to RB Leipzig in Germany. Each club acted as a stepping stone for him to get to the Leeds job that he's been so impressive in this season, proving the value that this system can provide to anyone in the family of clubs.
2) New York City Football Club
Despite being a relatively new club in the young league, NYCFC have proved to be an elite generator of talent. Despite their flashy signings early in their MLS days, the club has found something of a groove signing young South American players and trying to flip them into the next Miguel Almiron. Pair that with a very strong academy, and one really smart draft pick, and all of the sudden they're left with this incredibly impressive export list:
- Taty Castellanos
- Gio Reyna
- Jack Harrison
- James Sands
- Joe Scally
- Yangel Herrera
- Angelino
NYCFC have leveraged a similar model to their local rivals in the Red Bulls with their City Football Group ownership, who also owns Manchester City in England, Girona in Spain, Melbourne City in Australia, Montevideo Torque in Uruguay, Yokohama F. Marins in Japan, and others. Because of this system, NYCFC have been able to buy, sell, and loan players easily between their sister clubs in order to provide a level of play and environment that suits individual players in the right stages in their careers. With the resources at the disposal of the club, and with the talent in the city of New York, it seems that NYCFC will be an absolute assembly line of talent for years to come.
1) FC Dallas
Perhaps no surprises here in the number 1 spot, but FC Dallas have earned the crown of the best MLS talent production with the sheer volume of talented players they've been able to produce, and appear to still be producing every year. If there is a young American balling out in the Bundesliga, I generally just assume they came from FC Dallas' academy, because that just happens all the time. And while their willingness to sell their best prospects can occasionally leave them shorthanded in the near-term, the reputation they've cultivated as a talent factory has been huge for not just their image, but the MLS's image worldwide. Here is a list of some of their greatest exports recently:
- Weston McKenny
- Chris Richards
- Reggie Cannon
- Ricardo Pepi
- Bryan Reynolds
- Tanner Tessmann
- Justin Che
And its not just the players that they've sold abroad that's impressive, but their production of MLS stars like Jesus Ferreria and Kellyn Acosta that continue to demonstrate the power of their academy here at home. But, as a club operating on relatively tight financial constraints, they are not a club known to 'flip' South American talent like NYCFC or Atlanta United. To me, this certainly limits their potential as an exporting club, but just echoes how strong their academy really is given all of these players truly came from within the Dallas system.
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