RSL-AZ player Sebastien des Pres signs with Blackpool

It’s not unusual that you see players from Real Salt Lake’s academy signing professional contracts these days, and so it continues with Sebastien des Pres, who signed with fourth-tier English side Blackpool FC.

Already in the U.S. youth system, des Pres, 18, signed an 18-month deal with a club option year attached, and he’ll be playing with Blackpool’s U-18 side.

"Seb's been on trial with us and he's impressed everybody at the club. He still falls into the category of an under-18 player but he's one that the first-team staff and ourselves in the academy are all very excited about," Blackpool's academy manager said.

There’s no word on whether or not RSL offered des Pres a contract, although if anything was offered, it would certainly have been with Real Monarchs. It does appear the player had committed to UC Santa Barbara, as well.

Having only played one year at Real Salt Lake Arizona, it’s unclear if Real Salt Lake would retain des Pres’ MLS rights.