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Americans abroad analysis

Transfer rumors heating up, preseason offering clues, Iceman goal, & more

What do we make of preseason, the transfer rumors, and the few players in season? Brian Sciaretta breaks it all down.
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 17, 2020
5:45 AM

IN NORMAL YEARS for American soccer, the middle August would see the start of most of the European leagues while MLS would be in midseason. Summer international tournaments would have been concluded and the September window would be approaching – in 2020 it would be the first set World Cup qualifiers.

But this is not a normal year. World Cup qualifiers are put off until next June, there might be U.S. national team friendlies in October and November, European leagues are in preseason (with the Champions League and Europa League at the final stages), and MLS is in some weird stage between the MLS is Back tournament and a full restart (except for FC Dallas and Nashville).

So what is there to talk about? Here is a rundown of some of the Americans abroad right now as well as a few MLS nuggets, and transfer talk to start your day.

Reyna’s brace in BVB rout


In a preseason game, Borussia Dortmund took on Austria Vienna in a preseason friendly for both teams. In the end, it was a brutal, brutal game for the Austrians as Borussia Dortmund cruised to a laughable 11-2 result.

American attacker Gio Reyna, 17, scored the first two goals of the game for Dortmund and it was clear early that Austria Vienna did not come to play.

Preseason results are tough to gauge but Reyna should earn his fair share of starts this season to build off the second half of 2019/20 when he made his first team debut and came off the bench in most matches. During his time he earned positive reviews and is setting the stage for this season where he will earn more responsibilities.

Meanwhile in this game, Erik Palmer-Brown did, thankfully, not play for Austria Vienna. The American central defender spend last season on loan from Manchester City to Austria Vienna. He has not formally rejoined Austria Vienna for another loan although that remains a distinct possibility.

Robinson to Fulham?


Antonee Robinson appeared to be off to Sheffield United last week but this week it looks like things have changed. Newly promoted Fulham is now reported by the Daily Mail and the Sun.

As he told American Soccer Now last month, Robinson wants to go to a club where he will start. With Sheffield United currently starting Irish national team left back Enda Stevens in that role, perhaps that is what halted the deal.

The problem with Fulham is that Joe Bryan is a pretty known and established left back for the club. At 26, he is four years younger than Stevens at Sheffield United. Bryan moved to Fulham in 2016 for a reported transfer fee of £6 million and scored both goals for Fulham in the 2-1 win over Brentford in extra time. He is also dependable having played 3714 minutes last season in the Championship for Fulham. Across all competitions, he has surpassed 3000 minutes in five out of the last six seasons.

Robinson would likely get minutes for Fulham but would they be consistent? We will see if this deal happens or not.

McKennie/Taitague start for Shalke


Schalke faced German Regionaliga side Verl on Saturday in a preseason friendly and won 5-4 in a game that was just 60 minutes.

For a Schalke team with many questions about its defense, this game had fans wondering if it is staring at a potential relegation this season.

Two Americans started in this game. The off-injured Nick Taitague, 21, started on the wing and Weston McKennie started at right back.

It was very positive to see Taitague able to play and the Virginia native must have shown enough in training to merit the start. Unfortunately, he struggled in his 30 minutes on the field.

Meanwhile, Weston McKennie started at right back and he has been subject of many transfer rumors from Monaco, to Hertha Berlin, the Southampton. He reportedly declined a move to Hertha.



Following the game, Schalke manager and former U.S. national team forward David Wagner had this to say.

“In the end, I'm personally happy that Weston is here because he's a really good player and a very fine person too,” Wagner said. “And we work with him, he also helped in the right-back position against Verl. Accordingly, I am glad that he is there. I cannot influence what that will mean in the future.”

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if Wagner has no idea what will happen with McKennie. The fact that Mckennie is still playing for Schalke probably means no deal is imminent but the fact he is plugging in holes in the preseason probably means Wagner doesn’t want to build anything around him right now.

Novakovich and Frosinone fall


In the first leg of the Serie B promotional playoff final, Frosinone dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Spezia. This is a tough result because there are no away goals or shootouts in this round. If the two teams finish even on goals, the higher seeded team advances – in this case Spezia.

In the next round, Frosinone will have to go to Spezia and win by two. On a brighter note, Frosinone did that in the last round with Novakovich scoring the winning goal against Pordenonde Calcio.

The second leg will take place on Thursday, August 20.


Johannsson scores again for Hammarby


Two games ago for Hammarby, Aron Johannsson scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 win over Djurgarden. Unfortunately for Johannsson, he was subbed out in the 21st minute with a “deal leg” injury. Fortunately, he recovered and played 58 minutes in a 2-1 win over Norrkoping.

On Sunday, Johannsson was a 58th minute sub for Hammarby and scored a 78th minute equalizing penalty in a 2-2 draw with Elfsborg.

 

Johannsson, 29, now has two goals in his past three games for Hammarby – which sits in sixth place in the Allsvenskan. For a player who has struggled with injuries over the years, this is a great development to see him playing again.

Lewis earning English interest?


Colorado Rapids and United States U-23 winger Jonathan Lewis, 23, might be on the move soon as ESPN.UK reported that Colorado recently turned down an offer from Barnsley in the neighborhood of $500,000. Barnsley recently escaped relegation out of the Championship by the slimmest of margins.

ASN can confirm that there is interest from a few teams from the Championship. Lewis has never had a season where he has eclipsed the 1500-minute mark but has played well when on the field. Between last season and 2020, Robinson has eight goals, four assists in 1186 minutes for Colorado. His numbers would typically justify him playing more as he has been effective while on the field.

Will Colorado move Lewis? Possibly. With Lewis holding a U.K passport, typical work permit issues do not apply. It will take more than $500,000 to get it done. Likely $1.5 million should probably convince Colorado to move the Olympic hopeful.

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