Tag: Caden Clark

U.S. U-20 midfielder Clark to join Minnesota United from RB Leipzig

The midfielder departs RB Leipzig without making an appearance

Minnesota United has announced the signing of midfielder Caden Clark from RB Leipzig.

Clark has signed a two-year contract with the MLS club, which he’ll join in January after completing a half-season loan with Danish second-tier side Vendsyssel FF.

“Caden Clark is a talented, young footballer who is excited to be joining our club,” head coach Adrian Heath said of the 20-year-old.

“He’s a Minnesota kid, which is another big plus for us, he’s coming home. We know what he is capable of and we’ve seen his talent here in Major League Soccer. We are really thrilled to get him beginning next season and I know our fans will be excited as well.”

Clark made his professional breakthrough with the New York Red Bulls in 2020, emerging as one of American soccer’s brightest prospects and earning a transfer to the Red Bulls’ sister club RB Leipzig in 2021.

The Minnesota native went on consecutive loans back to the Red Bulls, first for the second half of the 2021 season and then for the entirety of the 2022 season. Clark had a difficult 2022 campaign back in MLS, as injuries and form limited him to just 16 total appearances.

Clark returned to RB Leipzig for the second half of the 2022-23 campaign, but didn’t see the field despite making the team’s matchday roster several times. The midfielder departs the Bundesliga club without making an appearance.

At the international level, Clark has earned 11 caps with the U.S. U-20 side. He was a part of the team that won the 2022 U-20 CONCACAF Championship, but did not make the roster for the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

[lawrence-related id=16504,27344,27316]

USMNT players in UEFA Champions League 2023-24

11 U.S. players are in the world’s biggest club competition

There was once a time where a U.S. men’s national team player being on a Champions League squad list — even if they might have no shot at playing in any actual games — was a very big deal.

It’s safe to say those days are gone, with no fewer than 11 U.S. players on the books for clubs that qualified for this year’s competition.

Sure, in some cases the player in question is probably a major longshot to even dress on gameday, but between Christian Pulisic’s sublime start to life at AC Milan and a USMNT trio at PSV, USMNT fans are likely going to be watching games on multiple screens just to keep up.

Here is the complete list of U.S. men’s players to make it to this year’s Champions League proper:

RB Leipzig coach hints at Caden Clark loan next season

The U.S. youth international could make his RB Leipzig debut this weekend

RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has hinted that Caden Clark may be sent out on loan next season to get more first-team minutes.

Clark returned to Leipzig in January after spending the entirety of the 2022 MLS season on loan with sister club New York Red Bulls.

Pro Soccer Wire reported in January that Leipzig was looking to loan Clark out for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, with interested clubs in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, but a move never materialized.

Clark has made the bench regularly for Leipzig since then, but is still looking for his club debut. That could come on Saturday against Borussia Mönchengladbach, as Leipzig navigates injuries to Christopher Nkunku and Xaver Schlager.

Though Clark could make his debut this weekend, Rose hinted that the club would once again look to send the U.S. U-20 attacker out on loan next season.

“We might think about giving him playing time at another club,” Rose said in quotes published on Tag 24.

“He’s doing well, but we need patience. He’s a great footballer with good basic technique who recognizes a lot of things. But when it comes to decision-making there’s still a lot of untapped potential, and we’ll work on that with him.”

Clark appears likely to make the USMNT roster for the U-20 World Cup, which will kick off in May. The location of the tournament is currently unknown after FIFA stripped Indonesia of hosting rights on Wednesday.

[lawrence-related id=8666,16412]

The Americans Abroad Five: Knock knock knocking on the USMNT’s door

The USMNT has to be feeling pretty good about its depth right now

The U.S. men’s national team has to feel pretty good about its depth right now.

All across Europe, a host of players who didn’t make the World Cup squad are showing they have what it takes to feature for the USMNT, which was again apparent this weekend.

The striker position, which has been a concern for years, has a (very theoretical!) savior possibly en route in the form of Folarin Balogun, but Daryl Dike and Ricardo Pepi keep showing this season they should be in the USMNT mix as well.

That duo, along with some other names who could be coming soon to a U.S. roster near you, features in this week’s Five, along with a coach who could someday be leading them.

The Americans Abroad Five: Leeds is in big trouble

Could the Leeds America era end as quickly as it began?

Saturday was the kind of game that Leeds should have been up for.

Facing relegation rival Everton at Goodison Park, Leeds needed to show some kind of sign it can turn around the ever-worsening tailspin this season is becoming.

Instead, Leeds was lifeless. Everton wasn’t brilliant either, but it didn’t need to be. One gritty performance and one lighting-bolt of a goal from Seamus Coleman sealed a 1-0 win for the Toffees.

Leeds is now 19th after a damaging weekend that also saw fellow strugglers Southampton and Bournemouth win. The club’s decision to sack Jesse Marsch a couple weeks ago wasn’t necessarily wrong, but doing so without having a potential replacement has been disastrous.

After being turned down in embarrassing and repeated fashion, the club is still being led by the caretaker trio of Michael Skubala, Chris Armas and Paco Gallardo. The Everton performance has, apparently, made Leeds hierarchy reconsider the wisdom of letting that trio continue much longer.

Leeds has become appointment viewing for American fans, but that may not last if things continue down this road.

Let’s explore that and a few other pressing topics in this week’s Five.

USMNT U-20 attacker Caden Clark set for another loan after RB Leipzig return

The U.S. Under-20 attacker will return to RB Leipzig, but likely won’t be staying long

Caden Clark’s loan spell with the New York Red Bulls has ended, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be staying at parent club RB Leipzig when he returns to Germany.

Clark was originally acquired by Leipzig last June, then loaned back to the Red Bulls for the remainder of the 2021 MLS season. Ahead of the 2022 campaign the teenager was sent on another loan to Leipzig’s sister club in MLS, this time for the entirety of the season.

But Clark played just 475 minutes for the Red Bulls in 2022, tallying one goal and two assists spread across 16 appearances (three starts).

A league source tells Pro Soccer Wire that Clark will be returning to RB Leipzig in January, but he is set to head on another loan. Teams in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands are eying a January move for the 19-year-old attacker.

Following the Red Bulls’ ho-hum loss at home in the playoffs last Saturday to FC Cincinnati, Clark posted a video to social media indicating he was leaving MLS again.

“It’s been a pleasure, thank you NY! Onto the next,” Clark said on Instagram.

Clark emerged as one of the top young talents in MLS after making his debut in 2020, earning a senior USMNT call-up last December.

In 47 league appearances (23 starts), Clark has seven goals and seven assists. But setbacks — including having his appendix removed last summer — have seemed to set Clark’s development back a bit.

Clark played a major role for the U.S. U-20 side this summer as it won the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, qualifying for the 2023 U-20 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics in the process.

[lawrence-related id=8648,8643,8605]

USMNT prospects: Aaronson breaking through in MLS, Fletcher scoring in USL

While Brenden Aaronson is turning heads in the Premier League, his younger brother, Paxten, is breaking through in MLS

U.S. fans are understandably abuzz projecting the 2022 World Cup roster and debating the best hypothetical XI for Qatar. But there are reasons beyond the upcoming World Cup to get excited about the USMNT’s future.

After the World Cup, the U.S. will compete in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, followed by the 2024 Summer Olympics in France.

The 2022 World Cup is — of course — the most notable tournament, and it’s on deck first. But we can’t help but look ahead to the next generation, so we’ve started a series tracking USMNT prospects to watch.

Here’s our first installment of sporadic check-ins with some of American soccer’s up-and-coming prospects for 2023 and beyond.

Alabama Morning Drive: ‘Bama hoops adds impactful transfer Mark Sears

The latest news and notes involving the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday morning.

Good Friday morning ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to another edition of Alabama Morning Drive where we strive to bring you the latest news and notes involving the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Today we are going to look at the addition Alabama men’s basketball made via the NCAA transfer portal, the pair of football players that hit the transfer portal, as well as get you ready for the baseball and softball weekend matchups.

Let’s roll!

First…baseball and softball weekend matchups…

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4

Report: Alabama tight end Caden Clark enters the transfer portal

An Alabama tight end has entered the transfer portal per one report.

On Thursday it was reported that redshirt freshman tight end Caden Clark entered the transfer portal.

He didn’t see an in-game action during the 2021 season and now is on his way out of Tuscaloosa. Clark was buried on the depth chart during the 2021 season that ended in another CFP championship game appearance. He was listed behind Jahleel Billingsley (now at Texas), Cameron Latu, and Major Tennison (graduated).

Heading into the spring, it wasn’t likely that Clark would be able to move up the depth chart at a crowded position for Nick Saban and company. He will now look for another opportunity in the transfer portal.

Clark signed on with Alabama as part of the 2021 recruiting class. The three-star tight end was ranked as the No. 11 player from the state of Ohio. It would be a situation where he is looking to get closer to home.

Prior to signing on with the Crimson Tide, Clark held offers from Cincinnati, Michigan State, Ohio State, and LSU.

[mm-video type=video id=01fzxrn1wnbz9d5hdwtx playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fzxrn1wnbz9d5hdwtx/01fzxrn1wnbz9d5hdwtx-ba34cfa186e83c543b1b99245064a71a.jpg]

[listicle id=48882]

[vertical-gallery id=48851]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Patrick on Twitter @PatrickConnCFB.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!