Gio_reyna_-_asn_top_-_usmnt_vs_uruguay_-_7-2-24
Back from vacation

Reyna nears M'Gladbach move, Aaronson a Rapid, MLS sweeps MX, EPB & Pukstas on the rise, & more

ASN is back from a much needed vacation and here are thoughts on some of the things in American soccer that happened while we were away
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 22, 2025
7:55 PM

ASN IS BACK from a typical August vacation and while there wasn’t any writing, there was a lot of news to breakdown. It’s almost overwhelming but here is a piece on the news over the past week. Regular news and game analysis along with interviews, USMNT content and U.S. U-20 content will resume next week.

Meanwhile, here are some thoughts on all that happened while away.

 

Reyna nears Borussia Monchengladbach move

 

For awhile it seemed as if the club most interested in Gio Reyna was Parma in Serie A. But the clubs could never bridge the gap between what was reported €10 million asking price from Borussia Dortmund and a €8 million offer from Parma.

Now there is this report about Reyna heading to Monchengladbach for much less - €2 million plus incentives.



There is a lot to breakdown about this deal. But if the numbers of this report are correct, the numbers reported on the Parma negotiations were probably not accurate. Parma was probably never as close to a reality as it appeared, which is typical in covering the silly season during transfer windows.

But it is striking how low Reyna’s value has fallen. His development has simply stagnated and there isn’t much enthusiasm. A €2 million fee amounts to M’Gladbach going bargain hunting over him. They either view him as a depth piece or he’s a lottery ticket. But M’Gladbach wants the deal but isn’t all that invested in him either.

Reyna, 22, has to make the most of what is an ugly situation. He has to pick himself up and show he is valuable. But the list of American players who have made more expensive deals than this in recent years is long.

 

Paxten Aarosnon joins Colorado

 

In one of the most unpredicted moves this window, Paxten Aaronson returned to MLS to sign with the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids paid a reported $7 million fee to Eintracht Frankfurt for Aaronson which was essentially the fee they received from Toronto for Djordje Mihailovic.

Aaronson, who turns 22 next week, will occupy a designated player position on the Rapids, which sit seventh in a crowded Western Conference table. They are hoping that Aaronson can propel the team into a better playoff position.

But many national team fans were clearly hoping Aaronson could carve out a role on Eintracht after two productive loans to Eredivisie teams the last two seasons. In his most recent season at Utrecht, he was in the nomination lists for top young players in the Eredivisie. But several accounts, Utrecht wanted him back for another season.

If it was true that Eintracht didn’t see room for him this season, what were the options for Aaronson. He could go back to the Eredivisie again, with Eintracht likely having to subsidize a big portion of his salary due to high minimum salary requirements for non-EU players. He could move elsewhere in Europe on loan, but interest was unclear.

But if there was any potential full transfer interest in Aaronson, the Rapids might have had the best offer at this moment. A very good young player in the Eredivisie typically has value but MLS teams are competitive with spending. There are 30 teams in this league, and even smaller teams in the league can make big deals. In many European leagues outside of the “Big 5,” only a few top teams can spend (in the Eredivisie it is Ajax and PSV, in Scotland it is Celtic and Rangers) while the remaining teams have modest capabilities.

As for Aaronson, this move isn’t as ideal as going to a Big 5, but it reflects the realities that MLS teams can spend and make deals for young players, not just older players past their prime.

A short-term draw back to the move is that Aaronson is coming off a European offseason and likely within two months will have another offseason. He will not be playing many games between now and February.

Will it set his career back? Not as much as it would have 10-15 years ago. MLS is a far better league than it used to be. It might not accelerate his growth as much as thriving for teams in the Big 5, but we also don’t know how many of those options he had. Right now, only transfer interest from Salzburg (Austrian Bundesliga) and Southampton (English Championship) have been reported.

But Aaronson is a good player now and will remain a good player. Online talk about how this move ruined his career is over the top.

If he plays well for a year and a half or two years, the European market is still there for him at high levels to hit a lucrative deal in his prime – like how Cucho Hernandez moved from Watford to Columbus and then to Real Betis.

But Aaronson must play well to justify his big salary, help the Rapids win, remain in the USMNT picture, and make future moves. If he plays like a top level DP, then his future prospects are fine.

 

MLS Sweep of Leagues Cup

 

The Leagues Cup semifinals are set, and once again it will be four MLS teams after the quarterfinals were a clean sweep.

  • Seattle got past Puebla in a shootout after a 0-0 draw.
  • The LA Galaxy defeated Pachuca 2-1
  • Orlando City defeated Toluca in a shootout after a 0-0 draw
  • Inter Miami defeated Tigres 2-1

 


One specific note is on the Seattle Sounders who have simply been incredible against Liga MX teams during this time. Four wins including a 7-0 win over Cruz Azul. 

On an individual note, USMNT right back Alex Freeman has had several breakout performances. The latest came against Toluca. 

The whole tournament reworked its format to give Liga MX teams more knockout spots (4 were guaranteed from each league) and Liga MX teams went 0 for 4 in the first knockout round.

This is the third edition of Leagues Cup and Liga MX teams have had one semifinalist in three tournaments. MLS teams have take up the other 11 semifinalist positions.

Sure, MLS has the advantage of not going to Mexico for games but many of these games are played in neutral sites, or sites where Liga MX teams have crowd advantages. But there is motivation to win. Champions Cup positions and money are on the line.

This tournament is also further evidence that teams in midseason have a major advantage over teams at the start of their seasons. In the Champions Cup, MLS teams are hurt being at the start of their season.

The tournament is entertaining and its good for MLS teams to push outside of its borders for more official games. But it would be good for Liga MX to be more competitive.

 

Pukstas back on track

 

Rokas Pukstas has been considered a top prospect for awhile by U.S. Soccer. The clues have been obvious. At the 2023 U-20 World Cup, head coach Mikey Varas kept a roster spot open for Pukstas despite that he would not join the team until after the group stages. Such a move is typically only reserved for top players. Then at the start of the annual USMNT January camp in 2024, then head coach Gregg Berhalter said Pukstas was one of two European players he tried to have for the camp’s two friendlies but was later rejected a release from his club Hajduk Split.

Then last summer in 2024, Pukstas was widely reported to be on the move to a bigger club, with Parma in Serie A the reported front runner. Hajduk’s sporting director even told the media he expected the sale to take place. Such a move is widely expected among the bigger clubs in Croatia and Serbia where top young players typically are sold quickly to finance the club’s operations.

But then a cold reality hit – not once, but three times for Pukstas. Hajduk Split could not come to terms on selling Pukstas before the end of the summer window. Then, Hajduk Split head coach Gennaro Gattuso found no use for Pukstas in his lineup or system. Finally, Pukstas was hit with an injury that kept him out months.

When Pukstas returned to the field, he was still on the outside of Gattuso’s plans. His value crumbled.

But things are now back on the upswing for Pukstas. Gattuso left to take the job as the head coach of Italy’s national team. Hajduk Split then hired Uruguayan-born and Spanish raised Gonzalo Garcia as head coach. Life under the new manager has seen Pukstas’ prospects start to rise again and last weekend’s game against Slaven, Pukstas was arguably the best player on the field in a 3-0 win. He scored the team’s second goal and was credited with winning 16 duels. Playing in an attacking midfield position, typically out wide, Pukstas was very dangerous.

Following the win, there are again reported interests in Pukstas from bigger teams and certainly the club will want to cash in at some point for financial reasons.

This Sunday, the day before his 21st birthday, Pukstas and Hajduk Split visit Osijek. Despite being on the road, this is a game Hajduk should win. Hajduk sits on a perfect nine points from its first three games of the season while Osijek has just two points.

We will know a lot about Pukstas next week. Another good performance might convince clubs to come in with serious offers before the end of the transfer window.

It’s been a rollercoaster two years for Pukstas but the most encouraging thing is that he has picked himself up after essentially a lost season. Not every young player can do that. Maybe now he can return to being one of the top young American players in the game.

 

Palmer-Brown back on the rise

 

It’s been a long time since Erik Palmer-Brown has been talked about positively in American soccer media but it is also somewhat understandable. Once a top youth prospect, Palmer-Brown went form Sporting KC and signed with Manchester City. From there, it was a long string of loans that weren’t exciting  (Kortrijk, NAC Breda, Austria Vienna, and then Troyes). But in France he eventually saw the move become permanent and it gave him a home inside the top five leagues of Europe. But that ended with the club’s relegation.

Signing with Panathinaikos gave him a home with one of Greece’s biggest teams but last season was a lost year due to injuries.

But now at age 28, will Palmer-Brown now finally have a place where he can start regularly for a team inside the top of the table?

The early returns are promising and on Thursday, Palmer-Brown scored the game winner for Panathinaikos in a 2-1 win over Turkey’s Samsunspor in the first leg of a Europa League qualifier.

He’s always had the talent but it has never come together for him. Maybe he can be the story of a late bloomer.

 

Musah rumors heat up

 

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Atalanta is now after Yunus Musah. This summer, Musah has been linked with Nottingham Forest and Napoli. Now it is Atalanta.

The report also says Milan wants €25 million for him. That is a big asking price for a player who has not been very productive offensively and hasn’t quite fit into the plans at Milan yet. It would be a great move for Musah to command that price at age 22 when teams now have years of data on him but we will see if it happens.

But a move for Musah would be welcome. It's hard to say he has improved much at Milan as he has often been used as a way to fill in holes (such as playing right back or other positions) as opposed to playing his natural position. 

 

Horvath joins Sheffield Wednesday

 

After hitting a roadblock at Cardiff City after their relegation last season, Ethan Horvath will now be loaned to Sheffield Wednesday for the coming season. The good news is that the 30 year old American goalkeeper will now return to the Championship. The bad news is that Sheffield Wednesday have been terrible to start the season and could head to another relegation.

Horvath’s career has been a wild ride. Here’s to hoping he can help the club in a what looks like a tough season.

 

USMNT roster released next week

 

Mauricio Pochettino will release his roster for the September friendlies next week. It will be a fascinating look at how he sees the player pool after this past summer. Who sticks around from the Gold Cup team? Will the players left off (for reasons not due to injury) that team return?

 

U.S. U-20’s prepare for September window

 

A few months ago, U.S. U-20 head coach Marko Mitrovic said he was unlikely to use the September window and instead set up the pre-World Cup camp in Chile shortly after the window. Now Mitrovic has changed direction and opted to use the window and will have a camp in Spain where they will face Morocco. 

Mitrovic has kept his U-20 rosters very consistent over the past year since he took control of the team. Right now, it would be easy to predict 90% of his first-choice roster.

But the question is how are release discussions going with clubs? That determines everything.

If we see his typical consistent roster used for the September camp, that will likely reflect he’s got most of his team set. If there are a lot of new faces on this roster, Mitrovic might have the need to get more players up to speed to dig deeper into the player pool.

This roster is also due next week.

 

Barrios becomes an American

 

Finally, congratulations to Michael Barrios on becoming an American citizen. The speedy Colombian-born winger spent nine seasons in MLS with FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids, and the LA Galaxy where he enjoyed a lot of success.

In 2024, he returned to Colombia to finish out his career and is now with Once Caldas. But moving back to Colombia did not derail his U.S. citizenship process and on Friday, Barrios returned to the USA to formally become an American.

What is interesting is that Barrios, now 34, has seen a late resurgence in his career. Just on Tuesday, he had a MOTM performance for Once Caldas in a 3-1 win over Huracan in the knockout round of the Copa Sudamericana. In that game he had a goal and an assist. This weekend, Once Caldas returns to play in Colombia’s Primera.

What a week it has been for the former and popular player in MLS.

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