Ayo Akinola

[Offside]

So what if he is small

Edited May 8, 2017 by Offside

[FC_Hali]

5 hours ago, ChuckMe92 said:

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.

I watched the final and wasn't overly impressed with him. I agree with the assessments that his physical attributes probably inflate his current market value. He was the most physically imposing player on the field, holding the ball up effortlessly and shrugging off defenders. This will undoubtedly level off as other u17 players catch up in their physical development and bulk up. Shades of Freddy Adu. Definitely a prospect and Homegrown quality but not a blue chip prospect like Carleton. 

[Havoc88]

18 hours ago, Keegan said:

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.  

LOL well maybe when a Canadian club is run by Americans!

[harrycoyster]

Currently taking in the Portland v LA Galaxy match with his USA u17 teammates. Seems poised to get minutes for the US u17s at RW at the u17 World Cup in October. His competition for starting minutes is Timothy Weah, one of the crown jewels of the PSG academy.

 

 

[ChuckMe92]

The US U17 camp in Portland was one of two training camps they held before traveling to a tournament in the Czech Republic. Akinola is not in the traveling US squad, and it's unclear why. The forward competition is intense: Weah signed a pro contract with Paris Saint-Germain, Sargent was awarded the Silver Boot at the U20 (!) World Cup and has a handshake deal with Werder Bremen, Carleton has made his MLS debut. And there are two newcomers to the cycle, both Mexican-Americans: Jacobo Reyes (Monterrey) and Uly Llanez (LA Galaxy) who have been fought over between the USSF and the FMF -- the US has now won over both.

Most US fans would agree Weah is better than Akinola. Better skill, technical ability, and so forth, you can see it in his French youth league and UEFA youth league matches with PSG. Llanez has better technical ability, too. Akinola's main asset is his raw physicality and pace, which is not a bad thing to have -- it's what has been keeping him afloat vs. Weah and others -- but it won't work as effectively against senior-level competition compared to youth players.

[jpg75]

29 minutes ago, ChuckMe92 said:

 Akinola's main asset is his raw physicality and pace, which is not a bad thing to have -- it's what has been keeping him afloat vs. Weah and others -- but it won't work as effectively against senior-level competition compared to youth players.

So i remember looking at his wiki page last year (and it hasn't been updated) and it said he was 5'7" which doesn't strike me as "physical". I checked his soccerway profile just now and it says 5'9" (175 cm) and 180 lbs. (82 kg)! That's pretty stocky for a 17 year old soccer player, he's like a man child basically (or like an NCAA Cornerback). Usually a guy like that's not going to have as much upside as a less physically developed player with better skills. Probably bodes well for us...i know, pathetic...

Edited August 18, 2017 by jpg75

[harrycoyster]

15 minutes ago, jpg75 said:

So i remember looking at his wiki page last year (and it hasn't been updated) and it said he was 5'7" which doesn't strike me as "physical". I checked his soccerway profile just now and it says 5'9" (175 cm) and 180 lbs. (82 kg)! That's pretty stocky for a 17 year old soccer player, he's like a man child basically (or like an NCAA Cornerback). Usually a guy like that's not going to have as much upside as a less physically developed player with better skills. Probably bodes well for us...i know, pathetic...

Even if you are a "I want all dual-nationals to be good but not good enough for their main nationality" type, you should want him to be and play as good as possible at this point. He knows that he is at best the fourth, probably fifth, in the attacking pecking order of Americans born in 2000/2001 now. As great a prospect as he is, what are the chances he becomes a USMNT regular? Llanez, Carleton, Weah, and Sargent all have higher upside and Busio, Pynadath, Reyna are only two years younger and are projected by TDS and the like to be Weah/Sargent level talents. 

Edited August 18, 2017 by harrycoyster

[Bikerack]

Where is he playing?? Is he still at TFC academy ? 

[BCM]

3 hours ago, ChuckMe92 said:

The US U17 camp in Portland was one of two training camps they held before traveling to a tournament in the Czech Republic. Akinola is not in the traveling US squad, and it's unclear why. The forward competition is intense: Weah signed a pro contract with Paris Saint-Germain, Sargent was awarded the Silver Boot at the U20 (!) World Cup and has a handshake deal with Werder Bremen, Carleton has made his MLS debut. And there are two newcomers to the cycle, both Mexican-Americans: Jacobo Reyes (Monterrey) and Uly Llanez (LA Galaxy) who have been fought over between the USSF and the FMF -- the US has now won over both.

Most US fans would agree Weah is better than Akinola. Better skill, technical ability, and so forth, you can see it in his French youth league and UEFA youth league matches with PSG. Llanez has better technical ability, too. Akinola's main asset is his raw physicality and pace, which is not a bad thing to have -- it's what has been keeping him afloat vs. Weah and others -- but it won't work as effectively against senior-level competition compared to youth players.

Good post, mate. But didn't you explain why - it would appear perfectly clear why he's not in the traveling squad - he's down in the packing order. And if the US had to fight off Mexico for two guys, you can bet they'll be getting playing time.

[Blackjack15]

I really do hope this guy picks Canada in the long run! He's lived here since he was 9 years old. I'm sure it has to feel 50/50 at times

US Soccer really stealed this player away, although it's just Youth International Games

So anything can happen 

[Keegan]

Would seem it's a matter of when, not if he plays for us.  Along with Tabla he would be a nice addition to the already solid attacking crop of 99s/00s with Davies, Millar, Hundal, Reid, David.. 

[Dominic94]

While I hope we get him, I wish we were producing better prospects than the US.

[Ottawafan74]

I'd heard he would eventually come back to play for Canada. 

[mrstepp817]

9 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

While I hope we get him, I wish we were producing better prospects than the US.

The US has some big time attacking talent coming up the ranks....there's some real excitement about the young pool......that being said Akinola may emerge as a victim of that depth and be left out.....which could be good for Canada..

[Keegan]

59 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

While I hope we get him, I wish we were producing better prospects than the US.

Trust me, US fans are looking at us and thinking the same thing right now.  Per capita we are producing more prospects.  Tabla and Davies are the top 2 2019 u20 players in MLS at the moment and Larin is  arguably the best young player in MLS. 

The Americans are notorious for overhyping prospects, just as we are.  I remember when Jack Mac was touted as the next McBride as a u17.  Just as we thought Aleman was the next De Rosario. 

[jpg75]

12 hours ago, harrycoyster said:

 As great a prospect as he is, what are the chances he becomes a USMNT regular? Llanez, Carleton, Weah, and Sargent all have higher upside and Busio, Pynadath, Reyna are only two years younger and are projected by TDS and the like to be Weah/Sargent level talents. 

On the other hand these are all 15-17 year olds we're talking about so anything cam happen.

[Keegan]

9 minutes ago, jpg75 said:

On the other hand these are all 15-17 year olds we're talking about so anything cam happen.

Exactly.. like that 16 year old we had on our u20s in 2007. I forget his name but remember Hart calling him our top prospect and most here had him as a sure thing.

the pro game is a different animal.. that's why we can breathe a sigh of relief that guys like tabla and Davies have established themselves somewhat at a young age in the pros.  That is much more valuable than showing well at youth level... although still a small sample size.

Edited August 18, 2017 by Keegan

[jpg75]

10 minutes ago, Keegan said:

Exactly.. like that 16 year old we had on our u20s in 2007. I forget his name but remember Hart calling him our top prospect and most here had him as a sure thing.

the pro game is a different animal.. that's why we can breathe a sigh of relief that guys like tabla and Davies have established themselves somewhat at a young age in the pros.  That is much more valuable than showing well at youth level... although still a small sample size.

I think you're thinking of Kennedy Owusu-Ansah? He was a late '89 birth date so he was 16 when the U20's played Brasil in May 2006. He was a promising, exciting prospect, just like Shane Lammie and AJ Gray. None of those guys panned out.

[Keegan]

10 minutes ago, jpg75 said:

I think you're thinking of Kennedy Owusu-Ansah? He was a late '89 birth date so he was 16 when the U20's played Brasil in May 2006. He was a promising, exciting prospect, just like Shane Lammie and AJ Gray. None of those guys panned out.

Nope, French Canadian kid who played at Strasbourg.

Olivier Lacoste lebuis I believe was the name. 

Edited August 18, 2017 by Keegan

[Dominic94]

All good points, to be fair though we've lost Talba, I won't count Tomori as we didn't develop him.

[jpg75]

47 minutes ago, Keegan said:

Nope, French Canadian kid who played at Strasbourg.

Olivier Lacoste lebuis I believe was the name. 

Oh yeah, OLL. He had a major health issue though, don't remember exactly what...

[Ivan]

I think OLL tore his knee up and couldn't come back.  Just like Jason DeTullio who held Iniesta under wraps when we played Spain in the quarters of U20 WC in UAE.

[Big_M]

Lacoste-Lebuis injured his ankle and didn't go to Maryland like he was supposed to but made a full recovery and played with Mcgill. Was very high quality and could have pursued a pro career but decided not to

[ChuckMe92]

13 hours ago, BCM1555362349 said:

Good post, mate. But didn't you explain why - it would appear perfectly clear why he's not in the traveling squad - he's down in the packing order. And if the US had to fight off Mexico for two guys, you can bet they'll be getting playing time.

Fair enough. Mexico thought highly enough of Texas native Reyes to play him at U15, U17, and U18 level, before the US finally got him back; he hadn't been with the US since U14. California native Llanez was coveted by Mexico, was a regular for their U16s, but in the end he chose his original team, the US.

I just don't see Akinola making it with the US in the long run. Joshua Perez has made his Serie A debut with Fiorentina. Kyle Scott is on Chelsea's first-team bench (pretty surreal to see it in reality). Mukwelle Akale seems to be doing well with Villarreal B. Pynadath is tearing it up with Ajax's academy. Haji Wright and Nick Taitague are doing well with Schalke. Konrad de la Fuente and Federico Oliva, at Barca and Atletico respectively, appear to truly be among the best in their age group at those prominent academies. Then there are the other names mentioned above, and someone else named Christian Pulisic who you might have heard of. These attackers are more skilled than Akinola. That does not mean Akinola is a bad player and not useful, just not likely to be as good.

The US even has its own set of dual-nationals it is monitoring, just like Canada is monitoring Akinola. Jordan Siebatcheu, American-born France U21 international who has expressed USMNT interest. Timothy Tillman, yet another German-American, with Bayern Munich II and Germany U19s, who has expressed USMNT interest. Very realistic for the US to eventually recruit both of those attackers, given the stacked depth those countries have, thus pushing Akinola even more likely to Canada in the long run.

[Blackjack15]

6 hours ago, Ottawafan74 said:

I'd heard he would eventually come back to play for Canada. 

Says who?