International Break Helps US Players Improve Stock Abroad 🇺🇸

The embers of excitement stoked by the USMNT's third-straight CONCACAF Nations League title have now cooled, meaning fans and players can focus on club football once more.

A number of our top players — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson, Sergino Dest — are already secure in their club standing, starting regularly for some of the top sides in Europe. But for a fair few other players, the U.S.' wins against Jamaica and Mexico were a chance to show their clubs abroad that they may be worthy of greater roles than they’re currently serving.

Here's a look at the players whose performances over the international break could serve as wake-up calls to their clubs across the pond (or south of the border).

Gio Reyna 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (21; Bedford, NY) ... The English newspaper headline says it all, "Nottingham Forest have a player with 'amazing talent' ready to help their survival push". Such was the bold-face type seen in the Nottingham Post, running atop a story about our own Gio Reyna, printed before the 21-year-old took the pitch Sunday against Mexico. With his subsequent goal in the final, it would now seem Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo will face some pressure to improve on the 38 total minutes Gio has played since joining the Premier League strugglers during the January break. As Nottingham Post commenter Eddie Pedan said, "The place we are in leaves us no choice we have to go for it put Reyna on at the start along with Hudson and Elanga if he is half as good as they say then he will work well with them and we will get what we need POINTS". Eddie Pedan for Nottingham Post football columnist, says us.

Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Wappingers Falls, NY) ... Tyler's situation is different from Gio's, in that he had just returned from injury prior to his national team call-up, making his first-ever league appearance for Bournemouth on March 13. But after seeing the banger Adams served up in Big D — as well as his confident demeanor on the pitch — one would think Cherries boss Andoni Iraola would be more inclined than ever to increase Adams' workload in his South Coast midfield.

Matt Turner 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (29; Park Ridge, NJ) ... Despite being named Best Goalkeeper of the tournament, Turner may not have done quite enough to have changed Espirito Santo's mind about his role as Matz Sels' backup at Forest — he was only required to make four saves over the two wins — but his confidence and leadership abilities were on full display over the break, the exact qualities one craves in their keeper when facing a relegation dogfight, as Forest is. Should Sels slip up, it would be no surprise to see Turner back between the sticks once more.

Tim Weah 🇮🇹 (24; Rosedale, NY) ... Weah looked pacey, skilled, and attack-minded in his two starts at right wing over the break. Having made just one start (with nine substitute appearances) over Juve's last 10 matches, perhaps Timmy will get a rare start for a side that's winless in their last three matches.

Haji Wright 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (26; Los Angeles, CA) ... For Wright, his play over the break likely didn't improve his standing at Coventry City, where he's already a highly-regarded starter, if not club legend. Chances are that after his Jamaican brace, which came on the heels of that glorious FA Cup winner, there will be Premier League sides out to sign him once more this summer should the Sky Blues not get promoted themselves.

Cade Cowell 🇲🇽 (20; Ceres, CA) ... The California kid lashed in the equalizer for the U23s impressive 2-2 comeback draw with France, the same team they will face in the opening match of the Olympics. While Cowell hasn't scored in his last three starts for Club America, his play over international break certainly can't hurt in his quest to hold on to that first-team spot.

Griffin Yow 🇧🇪 (21; Clifton, VA) ... Like Wright, Yow is already a highly regarded contributor for his Belgian club. And also like Wright, after scoring the U23s' first goal in France, there's every chance that Westerlo could be hard pressed to hold on to the productive 21-year-old winger this summer.

Cole Campbell 🇩🇪 (18; Houston, TX) ... Three weeks after making a one-time international switch from Iceland to the U.S., Campbell dropped a brace on England in the United States U19s' 3-2 win over the Baby Lions. The performance may not be enough to push Campbell into a regular role for Borussia Dortmund, but it could put some pressure on Edin Terzic to give Campbell his senior debut this season. ... A bit more on Campbell; it turns out Aron Johansson was one of the main reasons he made the switch to the U.S. "We were playing against the team that Aron Johansson played for (in Iceland). After the game was over, he came over to me. I had never met him before and he was like you're Cole, right? I was like, yeah. Then he told me I’ve got to consider playing for the US. I was like, really? And he said it's such a great opportunity. It's such a big, big thing. He said he would do it all over again if he could. It kind of got me thinking.” Definitely worth reading Brian Sciaretta's excellent feature on the emerging talent when you have a moment.

News and Notes:

• According to Norwich City boss David Wagner, Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; O’Fallon, MO) should play on Friday against Plymouth Argyle. "We are expecting him to be part of the matchday squad, yes. They were in the treatment room more or less the whole international break. He has trained a few sessions this week, not all of them, but we are used to it in recent weeks and months. We have to deal with the situation." 💛

• Man City have now agreed to terms with the Philadelphia Union to sign 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan 🇺🇸 (14; Philadelphia, PA), according to The Athletic. The move would keep Sullivan with the Union for the time being; wonderful news for Philly fans, as the teen sensation served up a beautiful match-winning assist in his debut for Philadelphia Union II on Sunday.

Parting Shots:

What a week for the Yohannes family. On the day Ajax teen star Lily Yohannes (16) received her first USWNT call-up for the SheBelieves Cup, Lily's father told Men in Blazers that middle son Jayden (18) was also invited to join Dutch club Telstar’s U21s. Meanwhile, oldest son Aethan (20), a former US youth international, is training with Den Bosch while recovering from an ACL injury. The family moved from Springfield, VA to the Netherlands in 2017, seeing the siblings enter the world of Dutch youth football. In the country famed for Total Football, they are thriving.