MLS 2019: Top 5 young stars from this season

The United States of America, historically, has not exactly been a football (or soccer) haven. They have had some excellent exports in the past, in the forms of Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, but the US men's national team, or the USMNT, for short, has never quite clicked as a major footballing force.

It is something the country's footballing federation is looking to change, with the likes of Christian Pulisic at Chelsea, Weston McKennie at Schalke, Timothy Weah at Lille, Matt Miazga at Reading and Josh Sargent at Werder Bremen all plying their trade on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in Europe, with a view to enabling these players to improve their game, by playing in higher quality divisions, which will in turn benefit the national team.

The success of the women's team in the United States has also captured the attention of the American public, and it is these stars who are inspiring the next generation of youngsters, both male and female, to take up the game of football.

Along with a host of home-grown talents, MLS clubs, just like their cousins in the NBA and MLB, are extremely adept at scouting players from foreign shores, most prominently South America, to help them achieve their goals, and helping the player himself further his career and get himself on the radar of bigger clubs.

It would also serve the men's national team well if they were to naturalize their foreign imports, thus making them eligible to represent the United States at various international tournaments.

In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the best young talent lighting up Major League Soccer, the potential torchbearers of a new generation of footballing talent.

Honourable mentions go to the following:

Ezequiel Barco (Atlanta United, age 20)

Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union, age 21)

Cristhian Paredes (Portland Timbers, age 21)

Brandon Servania (FC Dallas, age 20)

Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City, age 17)

*All stats and figures taken from whoscored.com and transfermarktcom

#5 Cristian Casseres Jr.

Minnesota United FC v New York Red Bulls

Age: 19 Club: New York Red Bulls Market Value: €400,000

Cristian Casseres Jr. landed up on American shores when New York Red Bulls purchased him from his first senior club, Deportiva La Guaira, for an undisclosed fee in February of 2018. He was loaned out to the Red Bulls' affiliate side, New York Red Bulls II before being handed his first team debut by head coach Chris Armas in August 2018, starting in a 1-0 win over Houston Dynamo.

As the son of former Venezuelan international Cristian Casseres, the Caracas-born Casseres Jr. has been marked out as a special talent for many years. He made his La Guaira debut at the age of 16, and made 15 appearances for them, scoring one goal, all before his 18th birthday. He played as a striker at youth level for Atletico Venezuela, but was converted into a defensive midfielder after joining La Guaira.

In the 2019 MLS season, which ended with an extra time play-off defeat to the Philadelphia Union, Casseres Jr. played a total of 1921 minutes, across 24 appearances, 61% of the total available minutes. Only six other players, and one other under the age of 25, managed more minutes than him last campaign.

In what has now become a staple of the Red Bull clubs' style of play, New York also play at a relentlessly high tempo, using sharp, direct passes and getting the ball out wide to stretch opposition defences. However, they are also vulnerable on the counter due to the number of players they commit forward, and this is where the 19-year-old Casseres Jr. comes in.

Playing most often as the defensively minded half of a midfield double pivot alongside German Marc Rzatkowski, Casseres Jr does often venture forward, and his 1.1 shots per game, one key pass per game, three goals and three assists across last season are testament to that facet of his game. However, it is out of possession where he is in his element.

Casseres Jr ranks third in the Red Bulls' squad for total tackles made over the entire season, with 63, and fourth in their squad for tackles per 90 minutes, with 2.6. He also ranks second for interceptions among midfielders in the squad, with 1.4 per 90 minutes.

The youngster is extremely combative in the middle of the park, and is a master of the dark arts. he has committed the most fouls of anyone in the Red Bulls' squad, with 52, and has been booked five times, which means he has been shown a card once every 10.4 fouls.

For comparison, Fernandinho, widely considered one of the best at getting away with counter-attacking, tactical fouls, has been booked once every eight fouls and 5.85 fouls over the last two seasons respectively. Interestingly, Casseres Jr. has also been fouled the most in the squad, 61 times last season.

Casseres Jr. averages a pass accuracy of only 72%, but is not bad for a team which only completes 68.2% of their passes, due to their proclivity to go long and direct. In short, he would be a fantastic signing for any team looking to add some bite, and energy, to their midfield.

#4 Paxton Pomykal

Age: 19 Club: FC Dallas Market Value: €800,000

Paxton Pomykal was born in Lewisville, Texas, on December 1999, and started his youth career with junior side Dallas Texans, before joining FC Dallas' youth academy in 2014, at the age of 14. He won national championships with the FC Dallas U-16 and U-18 sides, as well as representing the United States national team at the U-18 and U-19 level in 2016.

Pomykal was only 16 when he made his senior debut for FC Dallas, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Panamanian side CD Arabe Unido, in March 2017. Later that year, for his excellent form early in the season, he was named to the MLS All-Star game.

In 2019, Pomykal starred alongside club teammates Edwin Cerrillo and Brandon Servania for the USA U-20 side as they reached the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup, and was given his debut for the senior team by head coach Gregg Berhalter on September 10th 2019, when he played the last five minutes of a friendly game against Uruguay.

After making his club debut in 2017, Pomykal made only one start in the 2018 season, but his breakthrough season came in 2019, when he started 20 games, and made six substitute appearances for FC Dallas, racking up a total of 1922 minutes. He scored just two goals and laid on only two assists, but his overall quality of play has made him a vital cog in the Dallas machine.

A unique part of Pomykal's game is his versatility. He has played as a No. 10, a central midfielder, and a defensive midfielder, as well as starting a couple of games on the right-wing as well. His primary duty may be to progress the ball through the middle of the park and provide the strikers with quality service, but he can do so much more.

Pomykal ranks second in the Dallas squad for successful tackles, making 58 over the previous season, at a success rate of 66%. Only full-back/winger Ryan Hollingshead has made more tackles than him, and only five regular starters have a better success rate. His relative prowess in the air is not to be scoffed at either. Despite measuring only 5 feet 7 inches, Pomykal has an aerial duel success rate of 54%.

Going forward is where Pomykal's main strengths lie, however. He averages 1.2 shots per game, as well as 1.6 key passes per game, which is the second-best in the Dallas squad. He also completes 0.9 dribbles per game, and is not averse to receiving rough treatment from opposition defenders, as his quick feet and propensity to attempt skillful moves in tight areas make him an easy target. He is fouled 2.4 times per game, far more than anyone else in his squad, thus providing his team ample opportunities to score from set-pieces.

Pomykal is a perfect fit for the attacking midfield position in head coach Luchi Gonzalez's preferred 4-2-3-1 set-up, which heavily emphasizes possession of the football, and control of the game in the opponent's territory. He completes an average of 40 passes per game, at an 86.5% completion rate, as well as completing 63% of his 3.8 attempted long balls per game.

Within a few years, Pomykal could well develop into one of the best midfielders in the United States, and his performances could certainly warrant a move to a top European club soon.

#3 Jesus Ferreira

Age: 18 Club: FC Dallas Market Value: €750,000

Jesus Ferreira was born on Christmas Eve of 2000 in Santa Marta, Colombia and is the son of ex-Colombia international David Ferreira, who represented the country 39 times between 2001 and 2008. David still plays club football in his native Colombia, turning out for Union Magdalena at the age of 40.

David was an attacking midfielder, whereas Jesus is a forward, more concerned with goalscoring rather than chance creation. Along with fellow youngsters Paxton Pomykal, Brandon Servania, Edwin Cerrillo, Reggie Cannon and Thomas Roberts, Ferreira is part of a talented group who could well become the next big thing in American soccer.

Despite being born in Colombia, Ferreira holds American citizenship, and in 2019, was called up to the American U-23 squad for the qualifying games for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He joined the FC Dallas youth academy in 2009, when his father signed for the senior side, and played for them for four years.

After spending seven years in the academy, Ferreira signed a homegrown player contract with Dallas in November 2016, before making his senior debut in June 2017 as a substitute against Real Salt Lake, where he scored the last goal in a 6-2 victory for his side. He was in and around the senior squad that season, but was sent out on loan to the Tulsa Roughnecks for the 2018 season.

He scored six goals in 14 appearances at the age of 17 for the Roughnecks, and returned to Dallas, ready to make himself a key member of the squad. There is no doubt that he has achieved that, as he was Dallas' top scorer in the 2019 season, with eight goals in 35 games. He also provided five assists, the second most in the squad, behind Michael Barrios' 14.

He played 80% of the minutes available to him, something that not many 18-year-olds can claim to have done, and his total of 13 goal involvements meant that he was directly a part of 24% of Dallas' league goals, and his minutes per goal involvement ratio of 194.76 is decent enough, but will surely improve as he gets older and his all-round game improves.

By the time the 2022 World Cup rolls around, Ferreira will be 22, and could well be plying his trade in Europe by then, so he could potentially be one of the key players for the U.S. for years to come.

#2 Valentin Castellanos

Age: 21 Club: New York City FC Market Value: €600,000

Born in October 1998 in Mendoza, Argentina, striker Valentin Castellanos spent his youth career at four different clubs-Villa Nueva, Independiente Rivadavia, Leonardo Murialdo, and Universidad de Chile. He finally found a home for himself at Universidad, where he made his senior debut in 2017 before moving to Club Atletico Torque that same year.

In his two years at the Montevideo-based Segunda Division side, Castellanos made a total of 30 appearances, scoring five goals. Castellanos caught the eye of the New York City FC scouts and coaches once Torque were purchased by the City Football Group, which includes Manchester City, Melbourne City and Yokohama Marinos, apart from Torque and New York.

The interest in him was concrete and finally, a move materialized in the form of an initial loan spell to NYCFC for the 2018 season, with an option to buy at the end of his loan also included in the contract. He would go on to play just 10 times in 2018, scoring one goal, but that was all that the club needed to make them exercise their option to buy in November 2018.

Under head coach Domenec Torrent, former assistant to Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, Castellanos has proven himself to be a key member of the team. He started 24 of their 34 league matches last term, and also made seven substitute appearances as the club finished top of the Eastern Conference standings and now await their opponents for the final play-off series.

Castellanos is a striker in the mould of compatriot Sergio Aguero. Not a particularly physical presence in the penalty area, he thrives on his excellent movement and reading of the game to make space and fashion chances for himself. He also has a dangerous turn of pace, and is capable of playing off either wing as well as through the middle, which he prefers and where he is best.

Alongside the likes of Alexandru Mitrita, Heber, and Maximiliano Moralez, Castellanos forms part of one of the most feared attacking units in the MLS. In the season just gone by, he scored 11 goals, the third highest in the NYCFC squad, behind Mitrita and Heber. He also provided six assists, which means his total of 17 goal contributions are only topped by Moralez (20) and Heber (18).

He averages 2.8 shots per game, the second highest in his squad, and his conversion rate also sits at a decent 12.64%, something which he can easily improve upon as he develops his game. This season, he was involved in a goal every 126 minutes, another figure which is already good, but can get even better.

It is hard to see him breaking into the Argentina squad anytime soon, thanks to the plethora of attacking talent the country has at its disposal, but if he were to perform at a similar level of performance, for a club in Europe, don't bet against him.

#1 Diego Rossi

Age: 21 Club: Los Angeles FC Market Value: €8 million

Uruguay has received more than its fair share of striking talent in recent years. The likes of Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani have all gone on to have stellar careers at the very highest level of the game, playing for the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, among others.

Diego Rossi hails from the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, born there in March 1998. He was just five years old when he joined the youth club of Uruguay Solymar, staying there until he was 10, when he moved to Club Atletico Penarol, a club with a storied history. Nine of the Uruguayan squad that lifted the 1950 World Cup played for Penarol, and it remains the only club to have one of its players in the Uruguay squad for each of the country's World Cup appearances.

Rossi spent eight years in the youth academy before breaking into the first team at the age of 17, in January 2016. He made his first start for the club in April of that year, and between his debut and December 2017, he scored 13 goals in 46 games for the club.

At the end of the calendar year in 2017, Rossi was signed as a young designated player by LAFC, who were set to join the MLS and make their debut in the 2018 season. Just a day before his 20th birthday, Rossi made his LAFC debut, and scored 11 minutes into the club's first ever MLS match, against the Seattle Sounders. He would go on to play 33 times that year, scoring 12 goals, before taking his game one notch higher in 2019.

Whilst the headlines in Los Angeles have been mainly about LA Galaxy star Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Rossi's teammate Carlos Vela, who is having an outrageous campaign, the 21 year-old has quietly had an excellent season himself.

He has started 34 games so far, playing a total of 2992 minutes (only centre-back Eddie Segura has played more), and is the club's second highest goal scorer this term, with 17 goals, and their joint-second highest assist provider with eight. The only player to top him in both these aspects is Vela (36 goals and 11 assists respectively).

Rossi stands at juts 5 feet 7 inches, and is a slippery customer. His ability to slip between defenders and get into dangerous positions makes him extremely difficult to mark, and when he gets into striking positions, he is an assassin in front of goal. Deployed most often as a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 or a left-sided forward in a 4-3-3 by ex-Swansea manager Bob Bradley, where he can cut inside onto his favoured right foot and cause problems for defenders.

His conversion rate of 15.3% is bettered only by Vela (21.8%) and he is involved in a goal every 119.8 minutes, a number which will only get better as he improves. His total of 62 dribbles and 51 key passes this season also puts him in the top five of LAFC players for both those metrics.

Rossi has played for the Uruguay U-20 side, but is still eligible to play for Italy and Armenia (through his father and mother respectively) as well as the USA, as he earned his green card earlier this year. Make no mistake, Rossi would improve whichever side he chooses to represent.

Edited by Alan John