Pro Prospects: Hot start to the season

Pro Prospects: Hot start to the season
by J.R. Eskilson
September 14, 2016

Champions League is finally back. For the U.S.-based contingent in Europe, that is meaningful as well as there are a couple of youth players who made the squads for the UEFA Youth League, the U19 version of the Champions League. 

U.S. defender Kyle Gruno made the squad for Leicester City who took on Club Brugge on Tuesday. Gruno was on the bench for the game, as the Foxes dropped the opener against the Belgium side. 

U.S. U17 Men’s National Team forward Tim Weah played in the second of Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal. Weah is the second youngest player on the roster with a 2000 birthdate. 

Former U.S. U17 MNT goalkeeper Will Pulisic is listed as part of the Borussia Dortmund squad for the competition. Dortmund kicks off action on Wednesday against Legia Warszawa in Poland. Pulisic has made two appearances so far for Dortmund in league play. He was in net for the 3-0 win over Preussen Munster and the 2-0 victory over Borussia M’Gladbach. Pulisic and Dortmund are currently in third place in the U19 Bundesliga West standings.

U.S. National Team-eligible midfielder Timothy Tillman started and played the full 90 minutes for Bayern Munich in a 4-2 win over Rostov on Tuesday. Tillman drew a penalty kick late in the second half to help seal the win. Tillman’s father is an American serviceman. While he has not represented the U.S. at the youth level, he told OWTY in 2015 that he was open to a call-up from the U.S. However, Bild reported last week that Tillman was called into the U.S. U20 MNT camp in Germany, but Tillman declined as his preference is to represent Germany at this point

Born in 1999, Tillman would be eligible for the U20 World Cups in 2017 and 2019. Tillman played with the Bayern Munich first team over the summer in the International Champions Cup. He came on as a substitute against Inter on July 30. Bild suggested that the 17-year-old could make his Bundesliga debut this season. The German publication also compared Tillman’s game to Paul Pogba. So far this season, he has been with the clubs U19 side. He has two goals in four appearances. 

Also in Bundesliga U19 action, U.S. U20 forward Haji Wright scored his first goal of the season on Saturday. Wright scored the game-winner for Schalke U19 against against Borussia M’Gladbach. Weston McKennie and Wright both played all 90 minutes in the win as Schalke sits at the top of the table in the U19 Bundesliga West with 13 points from five games. For McKennie, this was his official debut with the club after signing his contract with Schalke on Aug. 30. 

Fellow Texan McKinze Gaines is also enjoying his time in Germany. Gaines has three goals in five appearances so far this season with Wolfsburg’s U19 side. He is in the top ten in his bracket for goals at this point of the season. Wolfsburg sits in second place in the U19 Bundesliga Nord/Nordost with a 4-0-1 record. 

U.S. U20 MNT midfielder Kyle Scott was named Man of the Match for the Chelsea reserve side against Tottenham in PL2 action on Friday. Scott helped Chelsea secure the 3-1 win with his play from the center of the field. The talented passer opened up the game for Chelsea, as he looked to impress while Antonio Conte watched from the stands. Scott has made four appearances in the Premier League 2 this season. He has one goal to his credit. 

Former U.S. Youth National Team forward Andrija Novakovich scored his first goal of the Premier League 2 season on Monday.  Novakovich notched the goal in Reading U23’s 1-3 loss to  Southampton. The 19-year-old forward has one goal in four appearances this season. 

U.S. U20 MNT forward Joshua Perez scored two goals and added an assist on Sunday in Fiorentina Primavera’s 4-5 loss to AC Milan. It was the opening game of the season for Fiorentina. Perez was heavily involved in the attack for Fiorentina. 

U.S. U20 MNT attack Mukwelle Akale scored the opening goal in Villarreal C’s 2-1 win over Torre Levante on Monday. Villarreal C is 3-0-1 on the season. 

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