7th Inning Stretch
USMNT Burner Week Recap/Preview - 5/13/25 - Vol. 7
New Pope? Chicago? Bald? Gregg Berhalter, we are familiar your game.
Should I Stay or Should I Gio?
As we wrap up the European football season, there are various Americans who need to find moves away for their current employers. We have grouped them into three categories: merit based transfers (those who have performed well and need a step in quality), to get saved (those who need to get a move to a new team because of lack of playing time or needing to take a step back in level), and the we don’t really know category (players who could use a move but their current situations are up in the air).
Merit Based:
Charlie Kelman: Fans of the Burner will know Kelman’s lore by now but for those unfamiliar, Kelman just finished the League One season as the golden boot winner, netting 21 goals. To make things even better, he just grabbed a brace to help Leyton Orient to a 2-2 draw with Stockport County in the League One promotion playoff semi finals. In total he has 27 goals and six assists in 59 games across all competitions this season.
Kelman is on loan with Leyton Orient from Championship side QPR. If Leyton Orient can scrape through the playoffs and get promotion to the Championship, The O’s might be able to bring him in permanently. However, we think the perfect move could be for him to join up with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham. The Welsh side just earned promotion back to the Championship for the first time since 1982 and will be desperate to cement their spot in the league. Charlie could be the guy to bang in the goals for the Dragons.
Antonee Robinson: Jedi Robinson has just had the best season of his career and was probably the best left back in the Premier League. Robinson provided a team-high 10 assists this season. Fulham looked set to return to European football earlier this season, however, a serious slip in form has knocked them all the way back to 11th in the table with just two games to play. Robinson has been one of Fulham’s best and most consistent players for the better part of 3 years now, it is time he made a move to a higher caliber team.
Linked with Liverpool in the past, the former Everton Academy graduate would surely have mixed feelings about moving to the red half of Mercyside. Jedi has also seen his name appear in the British tabloids with the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United. It's tough to say where we want him to end up. Anywhere but Manchester United, Jedi. Save yourself from the hell hole.
Diego Luna: The reigning MLS Young Player of the Year is off the flying start in MLS this year. At the time of writing, he has scored four goals in his last three games for a total of seven in the first 11 games of the MLS season. He has scored over half of Real Salt Lake’s goals this season. Luna has looked confident as ever after making his USMNT debut in a start against Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League. Luna also recorded the assist on the lone US goal of that match.
A former trialist at Anderlecht, Luna will have no shortage of suitors should he continue this form. However, it will be interesting to see, if a suitable bid comes in for Luna, if Real Salt Lake will sell their star man in the middle of the season. If not now, then we will see Luna leave in January. We have always pushed the idea of Belgium as a starting point for Luna in Europa, Anderlecht to be specific.
Caleb Wiley: It's been an odd year for Caleb Wiley. After joining Chelsea in the summer, he was immediately loaned to their sister club Strasbourg in France. He made six appearances, providing one assist, before picking up an injury and thus being sent back to Chelsea to rehab. In January, Wiley joined Championship side Watford on loan from Chelsea. However, he was still hurt when he joined the Hornets and would not make an appearance until March. Wiley strung together eight consecutive starts in Tom Clevery’s side as they won just two of their last 12 games to drop down to a 14th place finish in the Championship.
Wiley looked like he would end up at Watford again next season, however Cleverley was fired at the end of the season. Thus, Wiley’s future is in the air again. He's a worthwhile punch for a Championship team. Especially one that has a realistic shot of jumping up the Premier League. One thing Cleverly did with Wiley was play him at left back. He is able to play as a winger, which he did in France more often than not, but his best position is left back.
Griffin Yow and Bryan Reynolds: Both Bryan Reynolds and Griffin Yow arrived at Westerlo during the 2022-23 season. Reynolds was immediately thrust into the first team, establishing himself as the team’s best right back. However for Yow, he was in and out of injury and only really featured in the final few games of the year. Fast forward to now, Yow has produced back-to-back 10 G+A seasons and Reynolds still has the right back position on lock. Westerlo have recently revealed they are having some financial issues and will probably look to sell players this summer, of which they are looking to offload their two Americans who carry some of the largest transfer values in the squad.
It might be time for Reynolds to try a top-five league again. The Roma experience was a failure, he only played eight games for the club in total and never looked ready to play at the level of the Serie A. But now, he has seen god and been baptized by fire, it's time to try and force his way into the eyeline of Mauricio Pochttino. Think France or Germany could be good places for Bryan to take the next step. For Yow, he might not be ready just yet for a top-five league. We do think he needs to take a step up and we are leaning for Portugal or the Netherlands.
More who have earned a move:
Chris Brady
Quinn Sullivan
Josh Sargent
To Be Saved:
Gio Reyna: Need we say more about Gio? We have already been through his current situation (read the article in Vol. 2) but things have only gotten worse since we last touched on it. Reyna has played just a measly NINE minutes in Borussia Dortmund’s last nine Bundesliga games. His nine minute cameo against Hoffenheim was actually the only time he has gotten off of the bench in those games. It's time for Gio and BVB to call it quits. It's like the friend you have that has a toxic ex. They just need to call it over and never speak again, for everyone's sake.
For Gio, it is time to take a step down. Go somewhere you will play and somewhere you can impact the game. Ball out for a year and get a move back to a top-five league. But for now, he needs to take that step back and rebuild his reputation as one of the most highly rated young players in Europe. Think a top-five team in the Netherlands would suffice. He just needs to play.
Ethan Horvath: If Ethan Horvath can not find a Championship team to take him in after he got relegated with Cardiff City, he can call it wraps on his USMNT career. When Horvath can develop a solid run of games, he can be a solid goalkeeper. We saw that when he helped Luton Town get promoted to the Premier League. However his time at Cardiff has been much less fruitful, playing less than half of the available games this year for the Bluebirds. A move toa 1st division outside of England or somehow finding his way back to the Championship are his only options.
John Tolkin: Tolkin joined Holstein Kiel in January as reinforcement to help them battle relegation. However, Kiel were too far gone at that point and their 2-1 loss to Freiburg on the penultimate matchday confirmed their relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. Tolkin was good, if not great, for Kiel as they tried to claw their way to survival. Tolkin provided two assists in his 10 games for the club and became the clubs starting left wing back. Tolkin is too good to be playing in the 2. Bundesliga next year, it would not surprise us if a bottom half Bundesliga side signed him at a cut rate price. We think he could be a major contributor for a side like Werder Bremen or Wolfsburg.
Diego Kochen: Diego Kochen just needs gametime at this point. Yes, he got some with Barcelona Atletic (Barca’s B team) who play in the Spanish fourth tier. But, it's time he got serious first team action where he is the out and out No. 1. This season he split time between the first team and second team, mostly riding pine as the third string keeper for the first team. Maybe a third or second division team will take a chance on the 19-year-old.
Others that need to be saved:
Rokas Pukstas
Lennard Maloney
Gaga Slonina
We Don’t Really Know:
Paxten Aaronson: Paxten is a tough case because he is currently performing very well on loan with FC Utrecht in the Netherlands. Utrecht is reportedly going to try to sign him permanently at the end of the season. However, it is unclear what Eintracht Frankfurt’s plans for him are. If he does return to Frankfurt, will he have a role? Will that role be in his new found position as a box-to-box midfielder? Hopefully he gets the move to Utrecht.
Josh Wynder: Wynder made his first team debut for Benfica in the Portuguese Cup earlier this year and has been one of the standouts for Benfica B who play in the Portuguese second tier. Most importantly, he is healthy again. A full preseason with the first team this summer could help him break into the first team more often next season. If he doesn’t break in by December of this year, maybe it’s time for a loan. Could Wynder take a step up? We think he could if he was able to join a mid table Liga Portugal (1st division in Portugal) side. We think a loan to a side like Rio Ave would be a good next step for Wynder. However, we also believe he will be fine if he doesn't move. He can keep playing well for the B team and wait his turn with the Benfica first team.
Kristian Fletcher: Once a very highly thought of prospect within the USMNT spaces, Kristian Fletcher’s stock has dropped over the years as his development has stagnated. Fletcher is back with DC United after spending time in the Swansea City academy and the Nottingham Forest academy. Forest decided against offering him a contract following the conclusion of his loan just last month. Now he's back at DC United and they do not seem to have a plan for him. Fletcher was being targeted by Chicago Fire but their offer was not sufficient enough for DC United to part with the player. Fletcher is stuck in limbo for the time being.
Curtains Close on the Weekend
Total production is winding down as season’s approach their endings.
Nils Froling doubled Hansa Rostock’s 🇩🇪 lead in the 74’ over Unterhaching to stay in contention for a 3. Liga promotion playoff spot.
Agustin Anello scored Boston River’s 🇺🇾 lone goal in the 7’ in a 5-1 thrashing to Argentine side Independiente in the Copa Sudamericana.
Justin Rennicks scored for AC Oulu 🇫🇮 in the Finnish Cup.
Eric McWoods scored a 90’ goal for Cliftonville (NIR) to give them a 2-0 win over Glentoran.
Matko Miljevic had a brace of assists in the 41’ and 55’ on his way to a Man of the Match performance for Huracan 🇦🇷 against Uruguayan side Racing in the Copa Sudamericana.
Christian Pulisic put AC Milan 🇮🇹 on his back yet again. The Hershey PA native provided the assist for the first goal and scored the second himself in a 2-1 win over Bologna.
Charlie Kelman scored both goals for Leyton Orient 🏴 in their 2-2 draw against Stockport County in the first leg of the League One promotion playoff semi final.
Aaron Heard scored the 119’ winner for Leverkusen U19 🇩🇪 to send them to the U19 Bundesliga championship game.
Kristian Shevchenko scored a 41’ goal for Watford 🏴 in the U18 Professional Development League semifinal.
Adam Delplace recorded an impressive shutout for RC Lens B 🇫🇷 after contributing several impressive saves.
Ethan Kohler scored the opening goal for Werder Bremen II 🇩🇪 as they stormed to a massive 8-1 victory over SSV Jeddeloh.
Weston McKennie recorded a 51’ assist to Kolo Muani to open the scoring for Juventus 🇮🇹 against Lazio.
Mark McKenzie provided an assist just after halftime for Toulouse 🇫🇷 as they eventually drew with Lens.
Mael Corboz provided a 51’ assist for Arminia Bielefeld 🇩🇪 to push his side to top of the German 3. Liga with one match to play
Julian Green assisted in the 33’ for Greuther Furth 🇩🇪 before they later fell to Hannover 96 to end their promotion playoff hopes.
Benji Michel scored for HJK Helsinki 🇫🇮 against FF Jaro.
Burner’s 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
In hockey, they give the ‘three stars’ to the three best players in a game. Rather than break down the entire team of the week, the burner has taken this concept and tweaked it to showcase our opinions on the best 3 players of the match week.
⭐️ Charlie Kelman - Leyton Orient 🏴 (vs Stockport County)
In a season where he has earned every superlative and just about every award a player can win (except being included in the League One team of the season), Charlie Kelman just keeps scoring goals. He continued by bagging yet another brace against heavy favorites in the promotion semi-final, Stockport County. Both goals were from relative short range, but Kelman continues to drag Leyton Orient over the finish line and keep their Championship dreams alive like he had done so many times before during the regular season. The twenty-three year old plays the second leg of the semi-final on Wednesday afternoon with a trip to Wembley and a trip up a division on the line for the O’s.
⭐️⭐️ Matko Miljevic - CA Huracan 🇦🇷 (vs Racing)
Get ready to learn CONCACAF Gold Cup, buddy! Last Thursday, Matko had yet another stellar performance in continental competition for Argentine side, Huracan after providing two assists in a 3-1 victory. These were inclusive in the six total chances he created, fourteen passes into the final third, four completed crosses, and eight long balls completed. He has shone as a playmaker so far in 2025, and has almost pretty much guaranteed a spot with the USMNT this summer. He also hasn’t been booked in thirteen consecutive matches, so maybe he’s mentally locked in now that international soccer is within his grasp!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Christian Pulisic - AC Milan 🇮🇹 (vs Bologna)
AC Milan has been largely underwhelming in Serie A play, but don’t let that discount Pulisic’s output. Against Bologna, he provided a goal and an assist in their 3-1 victory, even combining with Santi Gimenez on his first of the evening. Bologna saw Pulisic as a threat and fouled him repetitively throughout the match, but Pulisic was able to contribute to a completed cross, two successful dribbles and a 100% tackle success rate push the Rossoneri to three crucial points as they look to keep playing European competition next season. Christian, YOU are our Raising Canes Player of the Week!
Roll on the Weekend
AC Milan vs Bologna
Two USMNT regulars will battle for a trophy this weekend as Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah will play for the Coppa Italia against Bologna on Wednesday. The club are looking for the first Coppa Italia title since the 2002-03 season. Milan will face Bologna, who they just defeated 3-1 over the weekend, with Pulisic grabbing a goal and an assist in a man of the match performance.
Milan have had a troubled season and currently sit 8th in the Serie A table, three points off of a spot in the Conference League. However, a Coppa Italia title would be some sort of consolation for a poor league season.
Game Details:
🆚 AC Milan vs Bologna
🏆 Coppa Italia - Final 🇮🇹
⏰ Wed, May 14 - 3:00 PM EST
📺 CBS Sports Network/Paramount+
📍 Stadio Olimpico - Rome, Italy
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
In England’s FA Cup final, Chris Richards and Crystal Palace will try to win their first FA Cup in club history and their first piece of silverware since winning the 1993-94 Championship title. Palace will not have an easy test in front of them as they face Manchester City in the final.
When Palace and City last met in the league, Chris Richards scored to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. However, City would end up scoring five unanswered goals to run out 5-2 winners. With that being said, the magic of the cup is alive and anything can happen in the final. It would be very fun to see Richards and Palace slay Goliath and get their hands on the FA Cup for the first time.
Game Details:
🆚 Crystal Palace vs Manchester City
🏆 FA Cup - Final 🏴
⏰ Sat, May 17 - 11:30 AM EST
📺 ESPN+
📍 Wembley Stadium - London, England
Lore Moment of the Week
Tylor Golden is a burner favorite. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native has been plying his trade in England for the entirety of his professional career, and burner staff was fortunate enough to collab with him while he was with FC Halifax Town at a match they played away at Gateshead.
Now at Altrincham, this season, we took our support to the next level and sponsored the right back for the 2024-2025 campaign. Tylor was very appreciative!
Red Lights, Stop Signs, I Still See Your Face in the White Cars
One canon event in every man’s life is sitting around a table drunkenly naming random sports players. Trying to one up your friends as you take turn yelling random player names. This is a burner favorite but we often do this with forgotten USYNT players.
El Yam Kancepolsky, we still think about you. Fun fact: El Yam means “of the sea” in Hebrew. Which really is perfect when you learn El Yam was born in Hawaii to a family of surfers.
Life Isn’t ALL About the Footy
Some music the Burner has been listening to recently along with some interesting reads:
Real ones know this summer is a #MyloSummer.
TV shows the Burner has been indulging in:
Yellowjackets
White Lotus
Suits LA