Position Breakdown Part 4 - Central Midfielders
January 2020
With Michael Bradley coming to the end of his career, Weston McKennie is proving to be the future leader for the USMNT.
Regulars (No. 8/No. 6):
Weston McKennie (21 y.o. - Club: Schalke 04) - McKennie is the future for the U.S. in the middle of the pitch. After leaving the FC Dallas academy in July 2016, the versatile midfielder was promoted to the Schalke first team in May 2017 and made his Bundesliga debut not long after. This is now his third season as a regular starter and he’s grown into an important player for his club. For the 2019/20 season, McKennie has made 16 starts and recorded a 7.01 rating. For his national side, McKennie can play as a box-to-box or ball winner. Although he’s still very young, he’s got excellent physical stats, great mental stats, and is great in the air. The future is very bright for Weston McKennie.
Tyler Adams (20 y.o. - Club: RB Leipzig) - Adams is another young player for all American’s to get excited about. As long as he gets regular minutes at club level, Adams will be called into the national team. He came up as a right back before moving to the midfielder within the New York Red Bulls academy. He was a regular starter in the MLS before making the move to Germany in January 2019. During the second half of the 2018/19 Bundesliga season the versatile player made eight starts and two appearances off the bench before an injury. This season has been a little more difficult for Adams. He’s been dropped to the bench and has only managed six appearances in the league this year. He was hoping for a loan move before the start of this season, but nothing materialized.
Michael Bradley (32 y.o. - Club: Toronto FC) - The leader and captain of his national side, Bradley is just 11 caps away from tying Cobi Jones for the all time U.S. record. He’s played in the Premier League (Aston Villa), Bundesliga (Borussia Monchengladbach) and most recently, Serie A (Roma) before returning to the MLS. He’s still an excellent player and consistently one of the best in the MLS. With decent depth behind him on the USMNT depth chart, it’ll be interesting to see how much longer he has left.
Russell Canouse (24 y.o. - Club: D.C. United) - Born in Pennsylvania, Canouse left the U.S. at 15-years old and joined the Hoffenheim youth setup. After slowly progressing from the U17’s to the U19’s and finally the second team, Canouse spent the 2016/17 season on loan with VfL Bochum in the 2. Bundesliga where he was a regular. After that season, the defensive minded midfielder left Germany to join MLS side, D.C. United. The 2019 season was his fourth in D.C. where Canouse has grown into one of the top midfielders in the league. He recorded a 7.01 rating in 33 starts.
If Alfredo Morales can find first team minutes, he could become a regular for his national side.
Fringe Players (No. 8/No. 6):
Kellyn Acosta (24 y.o. - Club: Nashville S.C.), Alfredo Morales (29 y.o. - Club: Fortuna Dusseldorf), Wil Trapp (26 y.o. - Club: Inter Miami)
There aren’t many fringe players with the quality of the options ahead of them. Kellyn Acosta broke into the MLS as an 18-year old and excelled from the start. It didn’t take long for him to get called into the USMNT, but his progression has stalled a bit. Injuries this past season kept him off the field for periods of time and he only managed a 6.79 rating. Alfredo Morales has spent his entire career bouncing back and forth with two different clubs. He was a regular in the first team with Ingolstadt 04 for six seasons, two of which coming in the Bundesliga. At the conclusion of last season Morales left his club on a free to Fortuna Dusseldorf where he made 17 starts. He could potential be a “regular” on this list, but he’s only made one appearance this season. Lastly, Wil Trapp has 20 caps and has been a regular for the USMNT previously. However, with the emergence of McKennie and Adams, Trapp has fallen down the pecking order. He joined Inter Miami at the start of last season who were stuck playing in the lower leagues until they became introduced into the MLS. With that, the MLS 2020 season is only a few months away, Trapp could be reintroduced into the U.S. team if he can get to where he was before the 2019 season.
Even though he has just four U.S. caps, Joel Sonora has proved he deserves to be a regular in the senior team.
Regulars (Playmakers):
Joel Sonora (23 y.o. - Arsenal de Sarandí) - Some would say Sonora came out of nowhere when he was called up by Buckingham. But, once he got his chance, he proved to be important in the U.S. attack. Last season was his first at the senior team level and showed signs of potential in the top division in Argentina. This season he’s started all 18 matches for his club team and has recorded a 7.11 rating. With the success he’s having for both club and country, it’s hard to see him losing his spot for the U.S.
After being stuck in the youth ranks at Benfica, Keaton Parks is looking to reestablish himself in the MLS.
Fringe Players (Playmakers):
Sebastian Lletget (27 y.o. - LA Galaxy), Duane Holmes (25 y.o. - Derby County), Keaton Parks (New York City FC), Cristian Roldan (24 y.o. - Seattle Sounders), Matko Miljevic (18 y.o. - Watford)
The U.S. have a lot of young talent at this position, but most of those highly rated prospects are still trying to establish themselves at club level. The first two names on this list are talented enough to be with the first team, but have been used as wingers under Buckingham. Both Lletget and Holmes are natural wide players, but have the ability to fill in the No. 10 role (more on those two players when I cover the wingers). Keaton Parks got his chance under Buckingham last November, but really didn’t stand out when on the field. The deep lying playmaker left the U.S. at 18-years old to join Varzim who play in the Portugese second tier. He managed eight starts in his first season before Benfica came in and bought the American. At that point he became a big name prospect in the U.S. ranks, but Parks never proved himself with the Portugese giants. He spent the 2019 season with NYCFC before making the move permanent. He put up great numbers (17 starts, 6 assists, 7.01 rating) in his first MLS season and if that carries over into 2020 he should get another look. Crisitan Roldan has been an excellent talent and leader for Seattle in the MLS. In four seasons he earned 15 U.S. caps and that number should increase as he improves. Although he’s an attacking playmaker, he has the ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder as well. The last name on this list is the most exciting. Miljevic is a top prospect for the U.S. who recently committed to play for the U.S. over Argentina. He came up through the Argentinos Jrs. youth system and never played with the first team before Watford bought the player last summer. In his first season in England, the Miami Beach native has been bouncing back and forth between the U23’s and U18 sides. He has a 7.20 rating in ten appearances with the U18’s and 7.20 as well with the U23’s.
January 2020
With Michael Bradley coming to the end of his career, Weston McKennie is proving to be the future leader for the USMNT.
Regulars (No. 8/No. 6):
Weston McKennie (21 y.o. - Club: Schalke 04) - McKennie is the future for the U.S. in the middle of the pitch. After leaving the FC Dallas academy in July 2016, the versatile midfielder was promoted to the Schalke first team in May 2017 and made his Bundesliga debut not long after. This is now his third season as a regular starter and he’s grown into an important player for his club. For the 2019/20 season, McKennie has made 16 starts and recorded a 7.01 rating. For his national side, McKennie can play as a box-to-box or ball winner. Although he’s still very young, he’s got excellent physical stats, great mental stats, and is great in the air. The future is very bright for Weston McKennie.
Tyler Adams (20 y.o. - Club: RB Leipzig) - Adams is another young player for all American’s to get excited about. As long as he gets regular minutes at club level, Adams will be called into the national team. He came up as a right back before moving to the midfielder within the New York Red Bulls academy. He was a regular starter in the MLS before making the move to Germany in January 2019. During the second half of the 2018/19 Bundesliga season the versatile player made eight starts and two appearances off the bench before an injury. This season has been a little more difficult for Adams. He’s been dropped to the bench and has only managed six appearances in the league this year. He was hoping for a loan move before the start of this season, but nothing materialized.
Michael Bradley (32 y.o. - Club: Toronto FC) - The leader and captain of his national side, Bradley is just 11 caps away from tying Cobi Jones for the all time U.S. record. He’s played in the Premier League (Aston Villa), Bundesliga (Borussia Monchengladbach) and most recently, Serie A (Roma) before returning to the MLS. He’s still an excellent player and consistently one of the best in the MLS. With decent depth behind him on the USMNT depth chart, it’ll be interesting to see how much longer he has left.
Russell Canouse (24 y.o. - Club: D.C. United) - Born in Pennsylvania, Canouse left the U.S. at 15-years old and joined the Hoffenheim youth setup. After slowly progressing from the U17’s to the U19’s and finally the second team, Canouse spent the 2016/17 season on loan with VfL Bochum in the 2. Bundesliga where he was a regular. After that season, the defensive minded midfielder left Germany to join MLS side, D.C. United. The 2019 season was his fourth in D.C. where Canouse has grown into one of the top midfielders in the league. He recorded a 7.01 rating in 33 starts.
If Alfredo Morales can find first team minutes, he could become a regular for his national side.
Fringe Players (No. 8/No. 6):
Kellyn Acosta (24 y.o. - Club: Nashville S.C.), Alfredo Morales (29 y.o. - Club: Fortuna Dusseldorf), Wil Trapp (26 y.o. - Club: Inter Miami)
There aren’t many fringe players with the quality of the options ahead of them. Kellyn Acosta broke into the MLS as an 18-year old and excelled from the start. It didn’t take long for him to get called into the USMNT, but his progression has stalled a bit. Injuries this past season kept him off the field for periods of time and he only managed a 6.79 rating. Alfredo Morales has spent his entire career bouncing back and forth with two different clubs. He was a regular in the first team with Ingolstadt 04 for six seasons, two of which coming in the Bundesliga. At the conclusion of last season Morales left his club on a free to Fortuna Dusseldorf where he made 17 starts. He could potential be a “regular” on this list, but he’s only made one appearance this season. Lastly, Wil Trapp has 20 caps and has been a regular for the USMNT previously. However, with the emergence of McKennie and Adams, Trapp has fallen down the pecking order. He joined Inter Miami at the start of last season who were stuck playing in the lower leagues until they became introduced into the MLS. With that, the MLS 2020 season is only a few months away, Trapp could be reintroduced into the U.S. team if he can get to where he was before the 2019 season.
Even though he has just four U.S. caps, Joel Sonora has proved he deserves to be a regular in the senior team.
Regulars (Playmakers):
Joel Sonora (23 y.o. - Arsenal de Sarandí) - Some would say Sonora came out of nowhere when he was called up by Buckingham. But, once he got his chance, he proved to be important in the U.S. attack. Last season was his first at the senior team level and showed signs of potential in the top division in Argentina. This season he’s started all 18 matches for his club team and has recorded a 7.11 rating. With the success he’s having for both club and country, it’s hard to see him losing his spot for the U.S.
After being stuck in the youth ranks at Benfica, Keaton Parks is looking to reestablish himself in the MLS.
Fringe Players (Playmakers):
Sebastian Lletget (27 y.o. - LA Galaxy), Duane Holmes (25 y.o. - Derby County), Keaton Parks (New York City FC), Cristian Roldan (24 y.o. - Seattle Sounders), Matko Miljevic (18 y.o. - Watford)
The U.S. have a lot of young talent at this position, but most of those highly rated prospects are still trying to establish themselves at club level. The first two names on this list are talented enough to be with the first team, but have been used as wingers under Buckingham. Both Lletget and Holmes are natural wide players, but have the ability to fill in the No. 10 role (more on those two players when I cover the wingers). Keaton Parks got his chance under Buckingham last November, but really didn’t stand out when on the field. The deep lying playmaker left the U.S. at 18-years old to join Varzim who play in the Portugese second tier. He managed eight starts in his first season before Benfica came in and bought the American. At that point he became a big name prospect in the U.S. ranks, but Parks never proved himself with the Portugese giants. He spent the 2019 season with NYCFC before making the move permanent. He put up great numbers (17 starts, 6 assists, 7.01 rating) in his first MLS season and if that carries over into 2020 he should get another look. Crisitan Roldan has been an excellent talent and leader for Seattle in the MLS. In four seasons he earned 15 U.S. caps and that number should increase as he improves. Although he’s an attacking playmaker, he has the ability to play as a box-to-box midfielder as well. The last name on this list is the most exciting. Miljevic is a top prospect for the U.S. who recently committed to play for the U.S. over Argentina. He came up through the Argentinos Jrs. youth system and never played with the first team before Watford bought the player last summer. In his first season in England, the Miami Beach native has been bouncing back and forth between the U23’s and U18 sides. He has a 7.20 rating in ten appearances with the U18’s and 7.20 as well with the U23’s.