Players join the top flight of American club soccer the Major League Soccer (MLS) every season.
There is even a rave now Josef Martinez. The Venezuela international had a terrible time in Turin but has scored five goals in his first three games upon moving to the MLS.
Player regularly move from South America and Europe to form the bulk of the team in the MLS; happens every time! This year more players moved up domestically from the lower leagues to the MLS, according to reports.
NASL domestic star Christian Ramirez had scored 51 goals from 2014 to 2016 – the most for an American striker in the second division yet he was snubbed by scouts until expansion side Minnesota United signed him alongside Brent Kallman. In his 12 games in the top flight, he has scored seven times.
A few other sides have also admitted players from the lower leagues to the MLS. There is a poor perception of players from the NASL and USL. Even agents admit that talents in the lower leagues in Europe trump those in American lower leagues.
Ramirez’s exploits would go a long way in changing the perception about players in the lower leagues in America. Some young players have high upside that could help the MLS, which is wary of the quality of players as they are already far from the quality of their European counterparts.
One thing that could further the campaign is if franchises commit to an affiliation that develop players and have a second division team. The team could eventually get top flight action or not but at least they should be a pipeline for such.