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Morning update

Americans abroad rundown, McGlynn moves, Cucho leaves Crew, U-17 roster, & much more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta writes up this thoughts on all the latest news in American soccer to start your day. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
February 12, 2025
5:30 AM

HAPPY WEDNESDAY to all you ASN readers out there, there is a lot to break down today before we get into some planned features later in the week. There has been a lot of big news out of MLS, Europe, and U.S. Soccer. Let’s break it down.

First, we will start with news from abroad.

 

Americans abroad notebook

 

Over at Soccer America, I have my Americans abroad analytical piece.



There is a lot to break down. But I start the piece with a look at how the Philadelphia Union exports over the past five years are all doing well. First it was Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie. Then it was Paxten Aaronson and Auston Trusty. Now it is Leon Flach in Poland.

Aaronson and McKenzie both scored this past weekend. McKenzie is establishing himself as a solid Ligue 1 central defender with Toulouse. By any measure, it’s been a good move for him. Toulouse in inside the top five teams in Ligue 1 in goals conceded. As for Brenden Aaronson, he now has eight goals for a Leeds United team that is leading the Championship and is a heavy favorite to get promoted. What a turnaround it has been for him since his last time with Leeds and his season away on loan with Union Berlin last season.

Josh Sargent is getting hot at the right time. After scoring two goals last weekend in a 5-1 win over Swansea City, the St. Louis native scored the winner in a 1-0 away victory over Watford. Despite missing two months of the season, Sargent now has seven goals on the season.

 

The two straight wins, in which Sargent has scored three, have lifted Norwich into 8th place, and only two points behind 6th-place West Brom for the last promotional playoff position. With its best striker back, there should only be optimism for Norwich’s chances to continue to climb.

Damion Downs, 20, should be considered one of the top young American players right now.

The German-born forward scored and assisted for Cologne on Saturday as it moved two points clear atop the 2. Bundesliga table. Downs now has eight goals and four assists on the season.

The safe bet is that Downs will be playing in one of Europe’s top leagues next year. If it is not with Cologne following a promotion, then it will be with someone else who comes in with a big-money offer. As for the national team, Downs could be a candidate for a call-up in March if Pepi and Balogun are still injured. Other forwards made a good case during the January camp, but Downs is in the process of seeing his stock soar.

Also in the Soccer America piece is Leon Flach’s great debut for Jagiellonia Bia?ystok in Poland. Griffin Yow looks like he’s returning to his form from last season with Westerlo. Noahkai Banks learns a lesson in Augsburg’s 1-1 draw against James Sands and St. Pauli. As for Sands, he’s doing well in the Bundesliga. Gio Reyna continues to not play, despite a good shift in the Champions League days earlier. Tim Weah helped to spark the late rally from Juventus to roll past Empoli. Plus, John Tolkin made his first Bundesliga start in a Mission Impossible loss away to Bayern Munich.

 

Deadline moves for Americans

 

It was a moderately busy January transfer window for American players, but most of the deals took place earlier in the window – which is good. Deadline deals can sometimes be rash and desperate. That might work for exceptional players who will play anywhere. But for players who need to find good fits, deadline deals might not be ideal.

Jordan Pefok, 28, was transferred from Union Berlin to Stade de Reims, which sits 13th in France’s Ligue 1. He’s been at a tough period in his career. Since his breakout years in Switzerland with Young Boys, he’s had more downs than ups in Germany. This past season has been a low point with 0 goals in 908 minutes with a Union Berlin team that has been tumbling into a relegation battle.



Now Pefok will return to his first club, where he developed and near where he was raised in France. It’s a reset for Pefok, who badly needs it. No one even mentions his name in USMNT discussions anymore.

Caleb Wiley will head to Watford for the rest of the season on loan from Chelsea. Watford once looked like a promotion contender and the club has been in a tailspin since the holidays, losing seven out of 10 in the Championship. It is unclear why he was recalled from Strasbourg in France where he was oft-injured but productive when healthy. Watford will offer more pressure as the club is trying to right the current ship.


Nothing much to add. The move could work out for him if he plays well and contributes. Playing for Chelsea seems like a long way off, so it’s about navigating a likely loan army route.

Taylor Booth transferred from Utrecht to FC Twente in the Eredivisie. The 23 year old winger/attacking midfielder fell out of favor at Utrecht, which was in the middle of a good season. What is good about this move is that he didn’t tumble towards the bottom of the Eredivisie, which is a tough place to stand out. Sitting in sixth-place, Twente is very competitive in the Netherlands. But the pressure is on Booth to make this move work.

Booth has shown that he can be a good Eredivisie player. But injuries and inconsistencies have been his worst enemy. Twente is taking a gamble that Booth can turn into the good version of himself on a regular basis.


Also, Justin Che went on loan from Brondby to Patro Eisden Maasmechelen in Belgium’s second tier. He just needs to play.


 

Big MLS moves amid preseason

 

Cucho Hernandez sold to Real Betis

 

Cucho Hernandez, 25, has been one of the best players in MLS since arriving in midseason 2022. In that time, he led the Crew in winning MLS Cup 2023, Leagues Cup 2024, and the CONCACAF Champions Cup runner up. He earned call-ups to the Colombian national team as a result.

 

Now, Hernandez is off to Real Betis. It is tough for fans to see a player of his caliber leave, but selling him to a La Liga side only opens the door for more top South American players to join MLS teams as it can be a steppingstone. Miguel Almiron’s initial move to Newcastle helped to pave that road and it has worked. Taty Castellanos has even taken things another step forward. 

It does leave a huge void for Columbus.

 

Evander out in Portland?

 

In a hypothetical move that would make sense, Evander looks to be on his way out in Portland. The writing was on the wall when Portland spent a fortune on Kelvin Kelsy, who was on loan with Cincinnati last season at Shakhtar Donetsk. Could he replace Cucho in Columbus?

Columbus needs to replace Cucho with an MVP-level player. By the looks of it, Evander is on his way out.

 


 

McGlynn to Houston

 

It is not the move fans were hoping for Jack McGlynn, but the recent U.S. Olympian has been traded from Philadelphia to Houston. Philadelphia will retain a significant percentage of any future sales.

Houston should be a fun team to watch this season, and Ben Olsen is showing signs that he has the Dynamo back on the right track. McGlynn is coming off an excellent January camp with the USMNT after he has progressed steadily through the youth ranks, the U-20 World Cup team in 2023, the Olympic team in 2024.

Houston has work to do with Jack. First, Olsen needs to put him into a role that allows him to shine and make the Dynamo a winner. Then, Olsen must help McGlynn work on the weaker parts of his game – namely his defense. Finally, the Dynamo must try to sell McGlynn at some point to show they can move players. It might not be in 2025, but it probably needs to happen before the end of 2026.

Union land top homegrown



The Philadelphia Union have signed U.S. youth international Neil Pierre to a homegrown deal. He is considered a top central defender in the U-19 pool. With Jim Curtin out, it is now up to Bradley Carnell to develop the Union's impressive pipeline. 

 

Cardoso resigns with Real Betis

 

Johnny Cardoso, 23, signed a new deal with Real Betis that runs through 2030. It is unclear if this affects Tottenham’s right to acquire him this summer but signing this contract might reflect that Betis is confident that he will stick around. If they weren’t, why bother signing him?

But Cardoso is in a great spot at Real Betis. He plays regularly in a top league and for a team that rates him. The Premier League is nice, but Cardoso shouldn’t be looking to leave quickly. Unless the pay increase at Tottenham is substantial, he has plenty of room to grow as a player with Real Betis.


 

Segares names U-17 qualifying team

 

United States U-17 national team head coach Gonzalo Segares named his roster for World Cup qualifying in Costa Rica. The U.S. team’s schedule is as follows

  • Monday, Feb. 10: U.S. U-17 team vs. U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Wednesday, Feb 12: U.S U-17 team vs. St. Kitts and Nevis
  • Saturday, Feb. 15: U.S. U-17 team vs. Cuba.

All three group stage games are at 8pm ET and will be televised on various platforms.

There are some top U.S. U-17 team players not here. Julian Hall at the Red Bulls and Nimfasha Berchimas at Charlotte are the two most obvious examples. But both players are with their clubs in preseason and could be expected to play significant first-team minutes in 2025. For the U-17 level, it is far more important for players to take advantage of chances that improve their first team standing.

 

The format this edition is simple, group winners qualify for the World Cup. Everyone else does not. There are no knockouts.

Bottom line is that this team has all the ability to qualify for the World Cup later this year in Qatar. Segares does not need Hall or Berchimas.

Here is the roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jack Kortkamp (Sporting KC; Olathe, Kan.), William Mackay (Real Salt Lake; Highland, Utah), Owen Pratt (LA Galaxy; San Clemente, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Christopher Cupps (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Jordan Griffin (Philadelphia Union; West Chester, Pa.), Pedro Guimaraes (Orange County SC; Aliso Viejo, Calif.), Ramiz Hamouda (Birmingham Legion FC; Lincoln, Neb.), Enrique Martinez (LA Galaxy; Compton, Calif.), Gio Villa (Real Salt Lake; Chicago, Ill.)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Maximo Carrizo (New York City FC; Greenwich, Conn.), Kellan LeBlanc (Philadelphia Union; Royersford, Pa.), Luca Moisa (Real Salt Lake; Las Vegas, Nev.), Cooper Sanchez (Atlanta United FC; Holly Springs, Ga.), Cristiano Oliveira (New England Revolution; Somerville, Mass.), Jude Terry (Los Angeles FC; San Diego, Calif.)

FORWARDS (6): Chase Adams (Columbus Crew; Naperville, Ill.), Lorenzo Cornelius (St. Louis City SC; St. Peters, Mo.), Chance Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; Ceres, Calif.) Jamir Johnson (Philadelphia Union; Huntsville, Ala.), Tanner Rosborough (New York Red Bulls; McDonald, Pa.), Axel Uriostegui (Real Salt Lake; Las Vegas, Nev.)

Pepi and Tillman updates



PSV has three American players injured at the moment. We know, Sergino Dest is out. But now Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman have provided updates. 

Ricardo Pepi recently announced he underwent surgery for his knee injury. 

Now, Malik Tillman reveales he will be out for awhile but hopes to return before the end of the season. 



That is far worse news for PSV than for the USMNT. The U.S. team will need to get through March without these two, but that is okay as Mauricio Pochettino needs to build up depth anyway. This might give Gio Reyna and/or Paxten Aaronson an opportunity in Tillman's role. In forward, Josh Sargent and perhaps either Damion Downs or one of the two players in January camp will get a chance. 

The key for the USMNT is that all players look like they'll be back before the summer. 

For PSV, it might prove to be difficult to hold onto their shrinking lead atop the Eredivisie. 

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