The 19-year-old got rave reviews after his first extended Bundesliga minutes
When Paxten Aaronson signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, the club made it clear they weren’t expecting much from the teenager this season.
“We’ve got a very clear plan for how we want to gradually and carefully build him up,” said Timmo Hardung, head of first team football at Eintracht. “And part of that is he’s coming to us in January to start getting used to everything here so that ideally he’s ready to hit the ground running in the new season.”
Things had pretty much been going according to that plan in Aaronson’s debut half season, as he made just two brief cameos before this weekend’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
But with Eintracht down a goal in the second half, head coach Oliver Glasner opted to hand the 19-year-old his first extended opportunity as he replaced Rafael Borré on 55 minutes.
The returns, early as they may be, were promising.
The younger Aaronson’s first real taste of Bundesliga minutes leads off this week’s Five.
Daryl Dike just can’t buy a prolonged run of good health.
The U.S. men’s national team striker went down with a non-contact injury late in the first half of West Brom’s 2-1 win at Stoke City on Saturday.
While there has not yet been an official diagnosis, manager Carlos Corberán says that the issue is with Dike’s Achilles tendon, indicating that the club expects the recovery to be seen in terms of months rather than weeks.
Dike stretchered off. Not sure if he smashed a mirror or something before he arrived at Albion but he has had some rotten luck #Baggiespic.twitter.com/8TlFUVQorj
In quotes published by the Express & Star, Corberán confirmed suspicions of an Achilles tendon injury, but said the club won’t know how severe it is until he undergoes further examination.
“It looks like an Achilles injury and they never really are good,” said the Spanish coach. “Achilles injuries are never easy to manage but still, we need to assess… we need to see how much damage appears and depending on this, we will know the months.”
Per BBC Radio, Corberán would go on to dedicate the win to Dike.
#WBA Carlos Corberan dedicates the win “to Daryl Dike, all of his team-mates and our unbelievable fans.” Dike has damaged his Achilles’ tendon. 😞💙 @WBA#Baggies Jayson Molumby needed a pain-killing injection to play. pic.twitter.com/Ky9QHChimt
Since joining West Brom in January 2022, Dike has suffered multiple significant injuries. After just two appearances for the club, a hamstring strain effectively ended his first season at The Hawthorns.
Coming through the summer with a clean bill of health, he played in WBA’s season opener on July 30, but then tore a thigh muscle in training.
He made his comeback with a last-second cameo against Stoke City on November 12, and since than has appeared in all but one match for the Baggies (an FA Cup replay in January against Chesterfield). Over that time, he produced seven goals and an assist, starting 14 times for Corberán.
The ex-Orlando City star will have a homecoming on Monday night
As Daryl Dike re-enters the fold for the United States men’s national team this week, so too does the 22-year-old striker return to the city where he started his promising pro career.
Dike figures to draw a warm reception in Orlando on Monday night as the U.S. faces El Salvador in a CONCACAF Nations League match. Selected by Orlando City with the fifth pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, Dike departed the club nearly 15 months ago in a $9.5 million transfer to West Bromwich Albion.
“I haven’t been at Exploria (Stadium) since I left to go overseas,” Dike said in a video conference with reporters earlier this week. “I know it’s a great place. I love the stadium, the fans and the city. Being able to come back and play in front of everyone is something that is so important to me. I’m obviously super excited.”
Dike helped Orlando qualify for the MLS playoffs in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons, netting 19 goals with four assists in 41 appearances for the club. In between, he shined during a 2021 loan spell at Barnsley, boosting the English side’s stunning but ultimately unsuccessful hopes for Premier League promotion.
Injuries, however, dogged Dike for the better part of the last 10 months. Hamstring and thigh problems forced the 6-foot-1, 220-pound center forward to miss 31 games for West Brom, totaling 150 days on the sidelines.
Those absences made Dike an afterthought as Gregg Berhalter selected his World Cup squad. He instead picked Jesús Ferreira, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright and rotated the trio in the No. 9 position.
“In terms of the opportunity, of course, I’m not going to take it for granted,” Dike said. “You always want to be the striker. You always want to come and play whenever you have a chance. You always want to be a part of the squad. You always want to be able to help guys and get called up to every camp.
“For me, throughout that time, it was obviously fuel to help me get back to where I am today.”
Part of the USMNT’s victorious 2021 Gold Cup squad, and with three goals in nine caps in his international career so far, Dike put himself back on the U.S. radar with a strong recent run of form for West Brom.
He’s been fit for each of the Baggies’ last 18 matches, going the full 90 minutes on five occasions. Dike scored and assisted in his second game back from injury, a 2-1 second-half rally past Sunderland.
In total, Dike has made 12 starts and produced seven goals with one assist — equating to 0.7 goal contributions per 90 minutes, per FBref.
“What he’s doing right now is so commendable. It’s so fun to watch,” SiriusXM analyst and former USMNT forward Eric Wynalda told MLSSoccer.com in January. “That diving header (against Reading on Jan. 2), to me, that’s just a striker’s goal. It’s a guy with a knack of where to be at the right time — can’t teach that. You can only screw it up, to be honest.”
West Brom are firmly in the Championship promotion race, sitting in ninth place at the international break. The Baggies sit five points behind Millwall for the final playoff spot with a game in hand.
Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images
Dike credits manager Carlos Corberán, hired in late October when the club was languishing in the relegation zone, with refining the tactical and technical aspects of his game.
“He keeps pushing me every single game,” Dike said. “He’s someone I love working under and, especially this young in my career, it’s important to have someone like that who is going to be a good stepping stone for the next games and the next part in your career.”
Dike rejoins the U.S. setup at a time of transition. Caretaker manager Anthony Hudson is in charge with Berhalter’s fate still undetermined following the federation’s investigation of a 1992 domestic violence incident with his wife, Rosalind. Additionally, there has been upheaval in the forward ranks: Ricardo Pepi has earned a recall after a productive spell at Groningen while the shadow of Folarin Balogun has loomed large over this camp.
“Coming into this camp, it’s just another opportunity for me to go and show what I can do, to help,” Dike said. “That’s all I have been looking forward to.”
The USMNT striker job is still very much up for grabs
The World Cup didn’t mark the end of the U.S. men’s national team’s search for an every-game starter at center forward.
The USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League roster saw some notable recalls and changes, but few caught the eye like interim manager Anthony Hudson bringing Ricardo Pepi and Daryl Dike in for a pair of games that he referred to as “must-win” while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“We’ve obviously not seen Ricardo or Daryl for for some time,” said Hudson. “We’re really pleased they’re both coming in. They’ve been away for a while, and we really believe that these two guys can help us in this camp.”
The choice to leave Pepi out of the USMNT squad at November’s World Cup was a surprise to many, with Gregg Berhalter calling on Jesús Ferreira, Haji Wright, and Josh Sargent instead. Dike, meanwhile, suffered a significant quadriceps strain in August that kept him off the field until three days after Berhalter’s 26-man roster was announced. None of that World Cup trio will be in the USMNT’s camp for March fixtures against Grenada and El Salvador.
At the World Cup itself, Wright was the only out-and-out striker to score (and it was one of the strangest goals of the entire tournament), Ferreira played just 45 minutes, and some of the minutes at the No. 9 position went to Gio Reyna.
Having to rely on Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah as the team’s chief goal threats isn’t by any means unworkable, but it’s no accident that the USMNT has kept the door open when it comes to forwards, whether the players are in the pool or not. Folarin Balogun would be a target for recruitment no matter how well things were going for the USMNT, but as long as no one has seized the starting job on a more regular basis, there’s added pressure to find a solution.
Club form for Pepi, Dike keeps Hudson’s attention
Pepi has been a menace in the Eredivisie, leading Groningen in goals and making the league’s February team of the month. For his part, Dike has five goals in his last 11 league appearances for West Brom, including three game-winners to help his side’s hopes of making the promotion playoffs in the Championship.
In other words, both have done what’s in their power to stay in the frame for the USMNT, and per Hudson — who said that he and other USMNT staff members had gone to Europe to watch both players in person — the recalls are exciting news.
“Ricardo, I understand the disappointment that he had missing out on the World Cup. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like, for a young player to go through that,” said Hudson on the Groningen striker. “He’s someone that we value. He did an amazing job for us in the last cycle… I think slowly now he is really finding form, finding confidence, and he’s been doing well. So we’re looking forward to him coming back in camp, and reintegrating him into the squad.”
Hudson said that Dike’s injury came at “an unfortunate time” last year, and said that his performances at both West Brom and his previous club Barnsley merit serious USMNT consideration.
“With Barnsley, I think when he went there, they were fighting relegation, and he had a massive part to play in scoring goals and getting them up to then pushing for [the promotion] playoffs,” explained Hudson. “He’s done really well, and then obviously he’s moved to West Brom. He had an injury, but again, he’s doing well.”
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 USMNT will announce its World Cup roster on Wednesday. Which strikers will make the cut?
The United States men’s national soccer team will announce its roster for the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday evening.
The striker position has been in flux for most of the year but with just two weeks until kickoff in, some clarity has started to emerge.
Before the roster is revealed, here’s the final edition of Pro Soccer Wire’s 2022 striker stock watch series, with players ranked 1-3 expected to make the flight to Qatar.
First, the USMNT will face Japan in Germany on Sept. 23, then it will take on Saudi Arabia in Spain on Sept. 27. With just two matches remaining for the U.S. until the World Cup begins, there’s not a lot of time left for experimenting or introducing new players.
With that being the case, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter has hinted that strikers who already have experience in the national team might have an advantage over guys who are still trying to break into the squad.
“What we’re trying to do [is] look at the profile who fits what we’re trying to do the best,” Berhalter said at a Nike event in New York last week, via Steven Goff of TheWashington Post. “It may not be the best forward … it’s just what we think fits our team.”
So, who fits the team best?
The latest installment of our USMNT striker stock watch series is dropping now ahead of the release of the September friendlies roster, with players ranked 1-4 considered the most likely candidates for call-ups this month.
Daryl Dike’s clothes have probably been smelling a bit strange since he arrived in England. On Friday he found out why and thankfully, he shared the answer with the entire internet.
The West Brom striker, currently sidelined with an injury, posted a video on his TikTok account that started with a frank admission: “Before I continue, yes, I know I’m an idiot!”
OK, intriguing. Go on!
It turns out that Dike “kind of thought that my washing machine was just crap” — that is, until he discovered the real reason his laundry experience in England hadn’t been going exactly as planned.
Dike recounts: “I come back home to my apartment and I look down at the bag I have … this is what I’ve been using! I have been washing my clothes with dishwasher soap since I’ve been here! I have lived in England for eight months! I’m an idiot! How do I even do that?”
Daryl Dike has been washing his clothes with dishwashing soap for eight months 🧼
Thankfully, West Brom’s social media admin quickly went to the store to purchase the correct detergent, with defender Taylor Gardner-Hickman completing the delivery to Dike in the dressing room.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I was actually on my way to go get some,” Dike responded.
And he wasn’t lying! Dike posted on Instagram shortly after that he had indeed found the correct product to ensure his clothes don’t smell like clean plates and silverware.
Pleased to report that Daryl Dike has found the correct product to put in his washing machine!
Which strikers will the USMNT take to the World Cup? Jordan Pefok and Brandon Vazquez are making strong cases
As the 2022 World Cup continues to draw closer, fans of the U.S. men’s national soccer team seem to have a pretty good guesstimate of a first-choice roster with one position in particular standing out as a question mark: striker.
Who will start at the No. 9 spot for the USMNT in Qatar this summer, and who will back him up? The position appears to be totally up for grabs, so we’ve been monitoring the stock of the notable U.S.-eligible striker candidates.
Stateside, the MLS playoff race is heating up, and in Europe, the 2022-23 season has kicked off, providing a good opportunity for a stock watch update.
A star has been born in Scotland, while some other USMNT players were less fortunate last week
Welcome back to the Americans Abroad Five!
This week we lead on the rise of Malik Tillman in Scotland. The USMNT forward would have hoped to settle well after his loan from Bayern Munich but without much senior action on his resume, there were plenty of question marks. But Tillman has passed his early tests with flying colors.
Elsewhere there were some unfortunate injuries to Americans in Europe, with the hard-luck duo of Richy Ledezma and Daryl Dike the headliners.
