DeAndre Yedlin One of Few Bucking USMNT's Poor Development Trend
PHILADELPHIA — One of the topics that has divided the U.S. Soccer fanbase during the reign of United States men's national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann is a debate on the development of young players.
The two options for young American soccer players are staying at home to work through the collegiate or MLS academy systems or transfer to a European club to speed up their development.
USMNT right-back DeAndre Yedlin has seen both sides of the spectrum. The 22-year-old worked his way up to the Seattle Sounders' first team before transferring to Tottenham Hotspur in 2015. Yedlin eventually went on loan to Sunderland for the most recent Premier League season. During his time at the Stadium of Light, Yedlin improved his defensive abilities tenfold.
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"I think in (the Premier League) little mistakes can expose you so I’ve really had to try and cut down those mistakes, especially positionally," Yedlin told reporters on Friday. "I think positionally I’ve improved. [One-on-one] I feel more comfortable. I knew that was going to come. That’s the kind of thing that comes with experience."
"When you’re in an environment where you can challenge yourself, you’re only going to improve," Yedlin continued. "That’s what I tried to do when I went to Europe. I’m not saying MLS wasn’t challenging for me. I’m saying in Seattle I was comfortable where I was. I was around my friends and family. If I needed anything, I could always go to my mom’s house. Off the field, I really had to grow as a person."
Yedlin is one of only a few players who have jumped into the USMNT starting XI thanks to the experience earned on European shores. In addition to Yedlin, Bobby Wood and John Brooks have turned into major contributors due to the playing time they've gained in Europe.
“What you want to see from younger players, you want them to be aggressive and hungry for the next step. You want them to have a bite that takes them to the next level," Klinsmann said. "We struggle traditionally with our 18-23, 24-year-old generation. I think that DeAndre is an exception, Bobby fought his way through. John fought his way through, but we need more. We struggle."
Klinsmann does have an argument to support his claim. Players who take the European route are able to access the first team at an earlier age than the athletes who stay at home and build their way up through either the MLS academy system or college soccer.
The USMNT boss used the example of Christian Pulisic, who at 17 broke into the Borussia Dortmund first team. After earning time in the Bundesliga, Pulisic picked up his first international call-up in March during CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. He impressed enough to make the 23-man squad for the Copa America Centenario.
"Who would have given Christian Pulisic a chance as a 17-year-old to play?" Klinsmann said. "We need to give (younger players) more support. They also have to help themselves more, but if you don’t give younger players a chance, how do you want them to break through?"
"Here in the U.S., you call a younger player a rookie at the age of 22. Well, when you’re 22 in Europe and you’ve not broken through yet, you’re done," Klinsmann said. "They move you down to the third or fourth level. In general, you got to give them more belief, more opportunities. You have to let them make mistakes. Stick to them and help them."
The good news for the USMNT is Yedlin and Chelsea center-back Matt Miazga have made the leap to Europe in recent years in search of improving their game, but only a handful of players on the USMNT U23 roster for the Olympic playoff against Colombia took the same risk.
"When you’re in that kind of top environment, you can only improve," Yedlin said. "Obviously you have to take it the right way, keep your head down, be humble."
Goalkeepers Ethan Horvath and Cody Cropper, defenders Shane O'Neill, Desevio Payne and Miazga as well as Julian Green, Emerson Hyndman and Jerome Kiesewetter are employed by European clubs. However, the rest of the roster was made up of MLS stars who have been tested, but only to an extent. Forward Jordan Morris, who burst onto the scene in 2015, saw his stock drop before he was left off the Copa America roster in favor of Pulisic and the experienced Chris Wondolowski.
Coming through the domestic system and staying in MLS still has its benefits. The poster child for that right now is Gyasi Zardes, who found his way into the starting 11 at the L.A. Galaxy despite a slew of big names on the club's roster.
However, Zardes' breakout season didn't come until the age of 22 as he scored 16 goals in his second season with the senior team. By the time Pulisic is 22, he'll have at least five years of top European club football under his belt. At 22, Yedlin has established himself as the starter at right-back for the foreseeable future thanks to a move overseas.
The talk of developing young players has escalated recently due to the age of the USMNT core. Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley, Alejandro Bedoya, Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, Matt Besler, Brad Guzan and Tim Howard will all be over 30 when the 2018 World Cup in Russia comes around. Dempsey, 33, and Jones, 34, were the main catalysts of the USMNT attack in Tuesday's 4-0 win over Costa Rica.
Brooks, Yedlin, Wood and Zardes are the only projected starters for Saturday's match against Paraguay under the age of 25. Pulisic and Darlington Nagbe, who were the first options off the bench in the Group A opener against Colombia, might be used as well to boost that total to six players, but that is still too low for a side looking to make a statement on the international stage for an extended period of time.
Klinsmann has been able to lay a small foundation for the future by handing Brooks, Yedlin, Wood and Zardes significant playing time at the Copa America, but there are still seven other spots on the pitch that need to be filled by youth at some point.
If you add Nagbe and Pulisic to the equation, you still have openings at left-back, center-back, goalkeeper and defensive midfield. There is potential at each of those positions if you look deeper down the talent pool, but no one has been able to stand out in the eyes of Klinsmann just yet. That is a worrying concern with the hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying less than a year away.
As the countdown continues to the next World Cup, the search for hungry young players will continue, but for now, Klinsmann will have to rely on the old guard and his handful of stars under 25 to carry the flag for the USMNT.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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