Elliot Collier came off the bench just after the hour mark to make his club debut as well, but wasn't heavily involved as San Diego managed to hang on for the win.
Do many (or any?) players transfer into the MLS from USL sides? Is it similar to, say, playing for Wellington Olympic and then moving to the Phoenix?
It's rare, but it does happen. Usually the players that do move up tend to go into MLS Next Pro. As you would expect, a lot of loan deals from MLS sides to USL clubs.
Think the league record outbound transfer from the USL Championship was set this year - $1,000,000 fee from an Egyptian Premier League outfit.
Yeah most MLS prospects playing in the USL, tend to be kids drafted from College then loaned to USL clubs. That will be a lot less now with the MLS Next Pro comp for MLS reserve teams.
Read an article once that the USL tended to be looked down upon by MLS clubs, who preferred to recruit from overseas or the College scene.
Adams a full game for new club Louisville City in a 2-0 win.
Do many (or any?) players transfer into the MLS from USL sides? Is it similar to, say, playing for Wellington Olympic and then moving to the Phoenix?
It's rare, but it does happen. Usually the players that do move up tend to go into MLS Next Pro. As you would expect, a lot of loan deals from MLS sides to USL clubs.
Think the league record outbound transfer from the USL Championship was set this year - $1,000,000 fee from an Egyptian Premier League outfit.
Louisville City just sold a defender, local Louisville kid, Josh Wynder to Benfica for a fee of like 1.25m euros (2m NZD). That's a fee that would be in and around the A League record, so there is potential in this league. The transfer had been in the works for a while, and then finally became fact a bit after he turned 18 this year. He was called up for one of those (mostly) locally-based USMNT games they have earlier this year under Anthony Hudson (ever the eye for young players) but didn't make his debut. He did play, however, in the 4-0 win against NZ U20s in Argentina. His 20-year-old brother Elijah is still at City though.
The other main recent USL transfer I can think of right now is Diego Luna going to Real Salt Lake from El Paso Locomotive. That was apparently 225k euros (400k NZD), plus some money (50k USD (80k NZD) with 100k more USD in performance bonuses) the way of MLS side San Jose Earthquakes because they had discovery rights or whatever weird MLS rules they have. He is another one who played (very well) against the U20s in that 4-0.
Josh Wynder's transfer is also possibly a factor in Adams being brought in to fill that hole, as that would give a bit of financial wriggle room. Louisville, from what I've read, seem to be at the forefront of the USL in terms of development and investment, so there's worse places to be.
Also, to get a bit conspiratorial, MLS as an organisation is possibly not entirely thrilled with USL, as they are a rival product. We've already seen MLS sides move their second sides to Next Pro, out of USL, and expand into USL cities like San Diego, Miami and probably Las Vegas, essentially plonking their greater financial might over the USL. MLS player contracts are all centralised, as in all players are technically registered to the league rather than clubs (which is why trades and stuff can happen) and just distributed to the franchises. So MLS might discourage transfer money going to their rival organisation, and instead focus on getting youth players into MLS academies where they can get 'rights' over them.
From Flying Kiwis. Mods can you please update his club.
Louisville needed a defender. They’d already had one bloke leave for a European deal while another suffered a season-ending injury. In comes Kyle Adams, a long established defensive rock at this level, and now they can return to their back three formation.
LouCity coach Danny Cruz: “Kyle is a defender who brings us a lot of quality both with and without the ball. Since Jordan [Scarlett]’s injury was confirmed as season-ending, we’ve been on the market looking to acquire a center back. This opportunity presented itself and we feel it provides us with flexibility in our shape as well as the depth needed to finish this season strong. We are constantly evaluating the roster and will continue to look at different opportunities to add to the attack. With that being said, Enoch is still a Louisville City player who is under contract for 2024. This is an opportunity for him to go get games and in return we feel we are receiving a quality defender.”
Indeed, he’s already made his debut for Louisville City. Adams straight-away helped his new team bounce back to winning ways with a 2-0 result against Indy Eleven. The arrival of Adams worked exactly as anticipated by allowing them to pick a three-man defence with their wing-backs turning in huge attacking performances with that extra freedom. Adams delivered a dominant display and earned some glowing praise from his new coach.
Danny Cruz again: “I thought he was excellent tonight. He’s the player that we thought he would be. I thought tonight was a great start for him. He was excellent in the shape, he allowed us to do some things that we’ve been wanting to do, and he should be really, really proud of that performance.”
