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In a story that’s becoming foo frequently written, another young American prospect from an MLS academy is heading overseas to play his soccer.
Sebastian Soto, 18, has already made his debut for the club, playing in a 3-1 loss against Werder Bremen. The move was announced by Hannover 96 earlier today.
Soto is hardly the only player to make the jump to Europe. Young midfield prospect Taylor Booth joined FC Bayern Munich in January and Richard Ledezma — who scored his first professional goal for Real Monarchs — is set to join PSV Eindhoven on his 18th birthday.
Opinion, as you might expect, came fast.
It doesn't make any sense to me why RSL isn't signing more of their best academy players to USL deals at 15/16, giving them run with Monarchs and then signing the ones that can cut it to MLS contracts. https://t.co/gR6SDKbLy8
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) August 15, 2018
Of course, MLS clubs aren’t compensated for academy players who leave without having signed a contract. This has been a tricky issue in MLS for many years. The linked article offers details on why U.S. Soccer clubs don’t receive training compensation.
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RSL Soapbox writers Randal Serr and Howie Smith penned an excellent opinion piece today: Real Monarchs’ fatal flaw to RSL development. Check it out.