Ayo Akinola

[Soccerpro]

9 minutes ago, Macksam said:

Yes, but they encouraged him to rep the USA, which is unacceptable.

Is there a single Canadian on the 1st team coaching staff or front office management? I don't think there is.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

2 hours ago, Soccerpro said:

TFC want to develop the best player they can. If they can develop the next Jozy Altidore, have success and the sell him, that's their prerogative. 

I wish he played for Canada too, but that's just the way it is right now...

Do we know for sure this guy is even a Canadian citizen? It's nothing out of the ordinary for people to move to Canada as children and then spend decades on PR status without ever going through the citizenship process. I have a cousin who has been doing that for almost fifty years.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

2 hours ago, Soccerpro said:

Is there a single Canadian on the 1st team coaching staff or front office management? I don't think there is.

His coach at TFC II would be Jason Bent, who is an ex-CMNT player. I doubt whether he has much interaction with the 1st team coaching staff at this stage of his career.

Edited December 3, 2016 by BringBackTheBlizzard

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

Why is everyone taking what this Aaron Niekson fellow posted as the truth? What contacts does he have that let him know what the TFCA academy saud to the player? I've heard him on TFC podcasts and he doesn't always come off as very sharp. 

[Macksam]

8 hours ago, Soccerpro said:

Is there a single Canadian on the 1st team coaching staff or front office management? I don't think there is.

That's already been pointed out as the cause. 

[Macksam]

6 hours ago, BringBackTheBlizzard said:

Do we know for sure this guy is even a Canadian citizen? It's nothing out of the ordinary for people to move to Canada as children and then spend decades on PR status without ever going through the citizenship process. I have a cousin who has been doing that for almost fifty years.

On Wikipedia, for what it's worth, says he was born in Brampton.

[One American]

I get why you all are upset. But Akinola is likely to end up playing for Canada in the long run. If he develops as a pro.  

You have to keep in mind that the US is loaded at the teenage level. He plays those wing midfield/forward roles, and those spots have Cristian Pulisic, Andrew Carleton, Josh Perez, to start. Akinola has been very, very productive. But reading around from people who follow the US youth levels, I don't get the sense that those people think of him as a top, top prospect. That said, I do wonder if he's a little underrated. He's very athletic and does score goals.

[Macksam]

1 hour ago, One American said:

I get why you all are upset. But Akinola is likely to end up playing for Canada in the long run. If he develops as a pro.  

You have to keep in mind that the US is loaded at the teenage level. He plays those wing midfield/forward roles, and those spots have Cristian Pulisic, Andrew Carleton, Josh Perez, to start. Akinola has been very, very productive. But reading around from people who follow the US youth levels, I don't get the sense that those people think of him as a top, top prospect. That said, I do wonder if he's a little underrated. He's very athletic and does score goals.

I don't blame the kid though. At his age, he's very impressionable and he's getting guidance from people who I can only imagine he trusts very much. 

 

[Floortom]

Akinola scores one goal in last nights u17 friendly 3-0 win over Brazil.

in last 3 friendlies (wins versus Turkey, Portugal and Brazil) Akinola with 4 goals.

[masster]

On 12/3/2016 at 9:21 AM, One American said:

I get why you all are upset. But Akinola is likely to end up playing for Canada in the long run. If he develops as a pro.  

You have to keep in mind that the US is loaded at the teenage level. He plays those wing midfield/forward roles, and those spots have Cristian Pulisic, Andrew Carleton, Josh Perez, to start. Akinola has been very, very productive. But reading around from people who follow the US youth levels, I don't get the sense that those people think of him as a top, top prospect. That said, I do wonder if he's a little underrated. He's very athletic and does score goals.

All it takes though is one poorly timed or cynical cap in a meaningful game, a la Bunbury, and he is gone.

[Ruffian]

If he goes Europe there is no chance he plays for Canada. 

[PopePouri]

If he does represent the US professionally, he's one of the better ones. It's the Begovic-types that use the programs resources and youth teams to then shun them later.

[jpg75]

He'd have to wait until 2018 to sign in Europe so there's time to keep him in the fold.

[FC_Hali]

As a CMNT fan I'm holding out little-to-no hope for this once. He's the top scorer and a top 3 prospect on the US u17's along with Carleton and Sargent. 

As a TFC fan, Bez needs to lock him down to a first team contract asap or they'll lose him. 

[Addona]

I know that this is unrelated, but whatever happened to Raheem Taylor-Parkes?  I feel like he was also a very young, dual national who chose the U.S. (after initialing choosing us).  Has his status as a top prospect vanished?

I only ask because it is entirely possible that this happens to Akinola ... not sure how the two compare.

 

[Soccerpro]

8 hours ago, Addona said:

I know that this is unrelated, but whatever happened to Raheem Taylor-Parkes?  I feel like he was also a very young, dual national who chose the U.S. (after initialing choosing us).  Has his status as a top prospect vanished?

I only ask because it is entirely possible that this happens to Akinola ... not sure how the two compare.

 

RTP plays college soccer. 

[jpg75]

RTP was in the Philly Union academy the past 3 seasons. He signed an amateur contract with their USL side (Bethlehem) and played 3 games before joining the U. of Virginia this fall. He had 15 GP (1 start) 0G 3A for the Cavaliers.

http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/raheem_taylor_parkes_1018725.html

Edited December 17, 2016 by jpg75

[Addona]

2 hours ago, jpg75 said:

RTP was in the Philly Union academy the past 3 seasons. He signed an amateur contract with their USL side (Bethlehem) and played 3 games before joining the U. of Virginia this fall. He had 15 GP (1 start) 0G 3A for the Cavaliers.

http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/raheem_taylor_parkes_1018725.html

So would it be fair to say that he's no longer on the US radar or is that premature?

[jpg75]

17 minutes ago, Addona said:

So would it be fair to say that he's no longer on the US radar or is that premature?

ATM he'll be on the outs for the U20 team, but if he plays well and scores goals for Virginia going forward he'll be scouted heavily for MLS and would then get considered for the U23 side for 2020. I wouldn't count on him switching to us unless his college career is floundering and/or he gets ignored for their U23 team.

[One American]

If you read the YNT boards on BigSoccer, the posters there don't rate Akinola as a tippy top prospect. In the long run, that's not worth a hill of beans, of course. But I don't think he's thought of as a can't-miss US prospect by any means. You actually hear more enthusiasm about his backup, Tim Weah, who is younger. I think there's a feeling that Akinola is simply more physically mature than his contemporaries and that contributes to his succcess. 

 

He's obviously been very productive. And there's a tendency among US fans to get excited about skill and underrate athleticism. A year ago Haji Wright had been branded a YNT player whose success was based on being bigger than everyone else his age. Now that he's tearing up the German youth ranks at Schalke, suddenly he's a hot prospect again. 

 

But I wouldn't say that he's lost forever to the Canadian program.   

Edited January 8, 2017 by One American

[Dub Narcotic]

TFC have apparently offered him a homegrown contract,

[Levi Oakey]

Scored two in the U-17 World Cup Qualifiers for the US. If somehow he doesn't make the Senior national team, can we still get him?

[jpg75]

12 minutes ago, Levi Oakey said:

Scored two in the U-17 World Cup Qualifiers for the US. If somehow he doesn't make the Senior national team, can we still get him?

Of course we can, he'd just use his one-time switch.

[ChuckMe92]

American soccer supporter here. Akinola was born in Detroit, Michigan, giving him automatic US citizenship. His family moved to Brampton, Ont. prior to him turning one year old -- meaning he has grown up in and played in Canada for nearly his entire life. A USSF scout spotted him at a Toronto FC youth game and learned of his eligibility, and he received his first USYNT callup a couple months later. Also, his parents are Nigerian, and the Nigerian FA are known to be keeping tabs on him.

I definitely think Akinola is one to watch for Canada's future. I've been impressed by watching him in the CONCACAF U17 Championship, in which he's scored 4 goals for the US. He's somewhat small and still needing to improve in skill and technical ability, but is explosive and physical and fast, and can play either winger or CF. He is a good prospect, but not a "can't miss" prospect on the level of Christian Pulisic, Joshua Perez, Andrew Carleton, Timothy Weah, Konrad de la Fuente, etc. I do think he can potentially be part of the USMNT in the future, but it may not be as a starter given the prospects ahead of him. He can still file a one-time switch to Canada if they can convince him that being a star for Canada (and increased potential to reach the WC with the expansion to 48 teams) is more appealing than being a bench player for the US.

[Keegan]

And you wonder why we have so many disgruntled players in Canada... 

How the hell does a kid playing for one of our 3 MLS academies get scooped out from under us before we call him?  Especially since half the time we just call rosters made out of those 3 teams.