Okay, I think I’m in a better position than any of you to comment on this guy since he plays his games across the street from my house, the story first appeared in my local news paper, and I have watched him play a few times on a Friday night over here.
Firstly, he could have played in the MLS for a few years now, he chose not to for the reason Mark Allen pointed out. He has been playing at the collegiate level which means you cannot play professionally. But he could play for a developmental league for the Ventura Fusion, which is what he was doing.
The reason for him staying in college is he wants to be doctor. So he was completing his pre-med college education just in case his footballing career doesn’t work out. So instead of failing at football and having nothing, this guy could turn around and go to medical school and be a doctor. Quite an admirable and respectable thing in my opinion and should be used as a role model for kids growing up today.
And just one more point about him not being in the MLS so he can’t be that good, right? Well MLS is operated like every other US sport, with all the teams being owned by the league and owners being able to purchase and run individual franchises. So when a European club comes in wanting to buy a player from the MLS, that team doesn’t negotiate with the team the player is on, like they do throughout Europe. Instead they have to negotiate with the league and pay the price that the league determine he is worth to the entire MLS.
The MLS has over-priced their players for years now, making it very hard for players to leave until their contract expires. There are a few players still in the league right now who were wanted by the likes of Celtic but the MLS wanted far too much money and the players are still stuck in the MLS. This guy was not only smart to finish his education, but very smart to not sign with the MLS as he would most likely be stuck there for many years if he turned out to be a very good player.
And as I said, I have went and watched him play since it was announced we had signed him and he seemed to be a competent player. Probably not ready to be inserted into the starting eleven in the Premier League from Day One as his level of competition isn’t that high right now. But we’ll just have to see what type of player he can develop into.
But don’t knock the guy for choosing to finish his pre-med degree instead of turning professional, and use that as an argument for why he must be poor. He’s a smart kid who seems to have played his cards right, got a college degree and a contract with Everton at the age of 22. I would have taken that.
