Luca Koleosho

[Kadenge]

I get that players bet on themselves to reach the top, but in retrospect did it benefit Tomori when he opted for England? Did he end up at AC Milan because he was capped by England? He was already playing for Chelsea. So from a "business or career" perspective I'm not sure he is in a better position vs if he had opted for Canada. With traditional soccer powers like England and Italy ( they are at a low point right now) etc, they churn out talent every year and the competition is fierce. Unless they develop into top class players, longevity or continuity with a top 20 national team is fraught with risk. In the last year, the USA has pulled away from Mexico & Canada and that gap will continue to grow, especially if they continue to land duals like Balogun, Dest, Robinson etc.  

[grigorio]

3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

It isn’t ludicrous to want some dual prospects to just do okay while they are undecided - it is pragmatism.   
 

This is why I'm personally holding out hope that de Fougerolles never sees the pitch for the Fulham first team and ideally gets stuck captaining the reserve squad for another 2 years until WC 2026 rosters start taking shape 🥴😭💀

[grigorio]

2 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

In the last year, the USA has pulled away from Mexico & Canada and that gap will continue to grow, especially if they continue to land duals like Balogun, Dest, Robinson etc.  

This is the huge difference between CanMNT and USMNT's prospects. The US being a bit better, and obviously a more functional FA makes them meaningfully more attractive for duals. The gap between fighting for an England spot vs slotting into the US 11 is a lot smaller as far as risk/reward and potential upside than fighting for an England spot (with its tremendous upside) and slotting into a worse Canada 11 with its fucked up politics/FA/compensation/no opportunity. 

It's much easier for players with incredibly vague connections to the US and with better options among traditional powerhouses to also see and imagine how playing for the US could be great too. 

[Canadian Chuck]

There isn't such a big gap between the USMNT and CanMNT players. But there is a clear gap between the federations' competence and finances (or lack thereof). The US is the more attractive option, especially for a player born and raised there, unless he thinks he can't consistently make the team which is doubtful. He'll get paid well if he simply makes USMNT rosters/benches.

Regardless it is most likely he will be cap-tied by Italy within a year or so.

[Obinna]

2 hours ago, Canadian Chuck said:

There isn't such a big gap between the USMNT and CanMNT players. But there is a clear gap between the federations' competence and finances (or lack thereof). The US is the more attractive option, especially for a player born and raised there, unless he thinks he can't consistently make the team which is doubtful. He'll get paid well if he simply makes USMNT rosters/benches.

Regardless it is most likely he will be cap-tied by Italy within a year or so.

That is only true best on best 11 vs 11. After that there is a very significant gap.

Koleosho neatly fits into our best 11. Who do you drop to fit him into the USA best 11?

I agree he's likely gone to Italy, but if he wants to switch would it be to a team he needs to fight to get into or a team he can walk into? Nobody knows of course but hoping for our sake it's the latter.

[Shway]

11 minutes ago, Obinna said:

That is only true best on best 11 vs 11. After that there is a very significant gap.

Facts.

I think the gap is actually bigger in the starting XI comparison. If we made a combined 11, I think only 3 Canadians make it in - Davies, David, and Staq.  
(Mexico is 11 v 11 comparable.)

But the USA is building a team with some great depth that could make some serious noise at their WC26. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

He won a trophy with Italy, didn't he? The most logical path is to stay on the one you are on, and that means moving up the Italy ladder. If I had to bet, I'd say he'll stay with Italy as long as they want him for this reason.

Thing is, they have not qualified for the Olympics, next summer so that takes something interesting off the schedule. The States does go. 

I think that will be the critical tournament. Will the US try to lure him for that, and will he cut loose from his Italian path for that tournament? Or will he hold on and stay with the team that he has done most with internationally?

I think Canada is currently a distant third.

[Bigandy]

12 minutes ago, Shway said:

Facts.

I think the gap is actually bigger in the starting XI comparison. If we made a combined 11, I think only 3 Canadians make it in - Davies, David, and Staq.  
(Mexico is 11 v 11 comparable.)

But the USA is building a team with some great depth that could make some serious noise at their WC26. 

4-2-3-1 
Turner
Davies Ream CCV? Dest
Adams/Staq/musah/mckennie
Pulisic reyna weah
David 

You could make the case that staq doesnt make the 11 either. However, you could make an argument for buchanan over weah.   

I think staq brings more to CMNT than any of the other 3 options would, but in the hypothetical 11, I think its a toss up between the options. 

[frmr]

Koleosho getting all sorts of praise against United. Bye bye Luca, it was fun while it lasted.

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, frmr said:

Koleosho getting all sorts of praise against United. Bye bye Luca, it was fun while it lasted.

FotMob gave him 6.1, tied for lowest of all starters on both teams

https://www.fotmob.com/match/4193513/matchfacts/burnley-vs-manchester-united

[Shway]

7 hours ago, frmr said:

Koleosho getting all sorts of praise against United. Bye bye Luca, it was fun while it lasted.

I'll admit, I think this loss will hurt more, because there's the "what if" aspect.

But we move on, the next one is somewhere out there.

[gigi riva]

45 minutes ago, Shway said:

I'll admit, I think this loss will hurt more, because there's the "what if" aspect.

But we move on, the next one is somewhere out there.

in all honesty i did not think he would commit to us anyway

[RojitoTO]

I don't think Italy is a shoe in. The Italians have much less commitment to players who play outside of Serie A kind of like how England prefers players in the Premiership. A player would really have to play at a high level in a foreign league to supplant domestic players that are playing at an equal or even slightly inferior level. Tomori is the prime example of this. If Luca wants to stay in England then this could be something he takes into consideration. I think the US would be in pole position if they show interest in him. The next international window is gonna be huge to determine how things pan out.

[blueseeka]

7 hours ago, RojitoTO said:

I don't think Italy is a shoe in. The Italians have much less commitment to players who play outside of Serie A kind of like how England prefers players in the Premiership. A player would really have to play at a high level in a foreign league to supplant domestic players that are playing at an equal or even slightly inferior level. Tomori is the prime example of this. If Luca wants to stay in England then this could be something he takes into consideration. I think the US would be in pole position if they show interest in him. The next international window is gonna be huge to determine how things pan out.

I think unless he get an Italy call (doubtful right now) i think he just puts off his decision. He is in no hurry to make a decision now with the WC 3 years away while he starts in the Premier. This one will drag for a while

[dyslexic nam]

32 minutes ago, blueseeka said:

This one will drag for a while

Oh good. 

[Shway]

9 hours ago, gigi riva said:

in all honesty i did not think he would commit to us anyway

He committed to a couple camps. 
That's the "What if"

[toontownman]

Absolutely tearing it up against Newcastle. Burnley knew what they were doing when they bought him. Snip at the price. 

[Footyeh]

8 hours ago, toontownman said:

Absolutely tearing it up against Newcastle. Burnley knew what they were doing when they bought him. Snip at the price. 

But someone on here said he won't play and he'll be back in a 2nd tier team once they get relegated...😅

[narduch]

Was he injured? He was subbed out at 58.

[toontownman]

1 hour ago, narduch said:

Was he injured? He was subbed out at 58.

Just managing his minutes given his age and likely fitness acclimatizing to the league. He was fading. In comparison Anderson, arguably Newcastles best player in the first half, was also subbed out a minute or two later for the same reasons.

[Unnamed Trialist]

I realize Burnley is dire but his assists and goal participation is low still. I don't expect they should be demanding more from him. 

He has talent but if he can't be productive or effective they'll look for other options to stay up.

If a teen is playing in top flight they still have to deliver, especially if they're starting.

I still hold Burnley will relegate, Espanyol will promote, and he'll be just where he transferred out not to be .

[Dominic94]

Is this a guy who can be a lot better than Buchanan?

[VinceA]

25 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

Is this a guy who can be a lot better than Buchanan?

I mean he's playing in the Premier League as a winger while Buchanan is doing okay in the Belgium League as a FB. And he's 5 years younger.

Edited October 1, 2023 by VinceA

[DeRo_Is_King]

6 minutes ago, VinceA said:

32 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

Is this a guy who can be a lot better than Buchanan?

I mean he's playing in the Premier League as a winger while Buchanan is doing okay in the Belgium League as a FB. And he's 5 years younger.

For sure. It's still very early in his career, but he looks like the real deal and has a promising trajectory.

I just wish we didn't have that whole Panama-friendly debacle now. He was at that camp. Maybe we would have had a chance if things went more positively. 

[Soccerpro2]

36 minutes ago, DeRo_Is_King said:

For sure. It's still very early in his career, but he looks like the real deal and has a promising trajectory.

I just wish we didn't have that whole Panama-friendly debacle now. He was at that camp. Maybe we would have had a chance if things went more positively. 

He was never going to cap tie himself to us at such a young age.

We didn’t/don’t have a chance. People forget that he’s an American raised in America.