Preseason Positivity
USMNT Burner Week Recap/Preview - 7/30/26 - Vol. 69
The U20 team is uninspiring.
Fresh Starts
The transfer window is well and truly in full swing, and we’ve seen a fair bit of movement for our yanks abroad. However, there still remain question marks over the heads of a few players that we would like to see new horizons before the shut of this window. We’ve hand selected three guys, broke down why we think they need to move on and where we would like to see them land.
Rokas Pukstas - Hadjuk Split 🇭🇷
Rokas’ situation at Hajduk Split is not one where he needs a new horizon to flourish. It’s fairly evident that he has outgrown the Croatian league, and if he has national team aspirations for this cycle, he needs to move up a level. The 21 year old has been a mainstay in Hajduk’s midfield since he broke through in the 2022-2023 campaign while putting up an average match rating of 7.2 over that timeframe. He’s a physically dominant force and ranks incredibly high in defensive contributions and aerial duels won while still having offensive output where he ranks in the 70th percentile among other central midfielders in the Croatian league. He has been heavily linked to newly promoted Premier League side Hull City, but we see his skillset translating well in the Bundesliga or Serie A. In Italy, we like the way he matches up with Fiorentina and Lazio systematically and with their midfields being somewhat unproductive, we think his industry could help bring some two-sided presence into the fold. In Germany, the obvious choice would be Borussia Dortmund given their track record with Americans and an opportunity to find rhythm with other high level players like Felix Nmecha and Jobe Bellingham.
Gavin Beavers - Brondby IF 🇩🇰
Every now and then it feels like Gavin Beavers is primed for his breakthrough at historic Danish side Brondby. But every time we think he’s on the doorstep, the opportunity seems to pass him by. This is a guy who needs new pastures to kickstart what could be a more-than-promising career. Brondby kicked off their 26/27 campaign against AGF, where Beavers found himself playing second fiddle to a keeper two years his younger and making his professional debut. Not a great look. When called upon last season, Beavers had been more than capable, saving 9 of the 10 shots he faced between his two matches. But it’s time for him to begin getting regular minutes. The two best options in our opinion is to stay in the Danish top flight to replace a keeper who is massively underperforming or move abroad to a league like the Polish league. Sonderjyske in the Danish top flight is also home to American Matthew Hoppe, and their keeper is not very good. If Beavers moved there he would likely see regular minutes along with regular reps as a team that would be fighting to stay in the division. Polish side Rakow started a 17 year old in goal for their season opener in which they lost. Their goalkeeper department is extraordinarily thin and particularly young, and Beavers is a guy who would fit right in and potentially see a big role.
Yunus Musah - AC Milan 🇮🇹
2022 World Cup veteran Yunus Musah needs a reset. He needs a club that will love him like we do and he needs a change of scenery to almost reinvent himself. Which is why we think Venezia would be a lovely landing spot for the central midfielder. Venezia are newly promoted and should be looking to reinforce with higher caliber players than the median that got them promoted. They’ve moved on a handful of midfielders which leaves a glaring hole in the middle of the park, and with Musah’s familiarity with Italian soccer, it should be a no brainer. Another key factor is the renaissance of fellow American and now-captain of the Venetians Gianluca Busio. A midfield duo of Busio and Musah should be key in keeping Venezia in Serie A as well as provide Yunus with some much needed confidence going into a new national team cycle.
Curtains Close on the Weekend and Done Deals
Zane Okoro scored for his new club Tranmere Rovers 🏴 in a friendly
Jalen Hawkins scored for ADO den Haag 🇳🇱 in a friendly with Lommel 🇧🇪
Andres Jasson has a 70’ assist for Aalborg 🇩🇰 in the Danish second division and was named Man of the Match
Damion Downs scored in a friendly for Southampton 🏴 against Braunschweig 🇩🇪
Matko Miljevic had a goal and an assist for Racing 🇦🇷 against Gimnasia in the Argentinian league and was named Man of the Match
Mathis Albert opened the scoring for Dortmund 🇩🇪 in their friendly with Fortuna Dusseldorf 🇩🇪
John Brooks scored a first half goal for Altglienicke 🇩🇪 against Erzgebirge Aue in a Regionalliga Nordost match
Terrence Boyd scored a 31’ goal for Waldhof Mannheim 🇩🇪 in a friendly with Triglav 🇸🇮
Samuel Adeniran scored a 70’ goal for LASK 🇦🇹 against Kalsdorf in the first round of the Austrian Cup
Aboubakar Keita scored a first half goal for Kalmar FF 🇸🇪 against Mjallby in the Swedish first division
Keegan Ancelin had an assist for Drogheda United 🇮🇪 against Sligo Rovers in the Irish Premier Division
Luca Koleosho assisted Burnley’s 🏴 equalizer against Ajax 🇳🇱 in a preseason friendly
Giles Phillips left Hornchurch 🏴 and signed for Eastbourne Borough 🏴
Dylan Vanney left Ventura County FC to join Real Betis 🇪🇸 on loan
Matthew Healy scored the 12’ opener for Shamrock Rovers 🇮🇪 against Ararat Armenia 🇦🇲 in their second leg Champions League qualifier
Giles Phillips scored on debut for Eastbourne Borough 🏴 in a friendly with Tonbridge
Enzo Zamorano signed for FC Cartagena 🇪🇸
Christian McFarlane has signed for Leicester City 🏴 on loan from Manchester City
Aidan Stokes joined Brentford B 🏴 on a season long loan from Red Bull New York
Konrad de la Fuente joined Sporting Gijon 🇪🇸 from Lausanne 🇨🇭
Amet Korca has signed with FC Cartagena 🇪🇸 on a free transfer from NK Dubrava ZG 🇭🇷
Sebastian Berhalter joins fellow American Aidan Morris at Middlesbrough 🏴
Rumor Mill
Neil Pierre is being tracked by FC Barcelona 🇪🇸. Nothing concrete at this stage, just monitoring his progress (🗞️ Manu Vaquero)
Kristoffer Lund is reportedly on Birmingham City’s 🏴 radar (🗞️ footballleagueworld)
Haji Wright has been linked with a move to West Ham 🏴 from Coventry City (🗞️BBC)
Clubs are reportedly willing to pay "up to €15 million" for Dortmund 🇩🇪 and USYNT gem Mathis Albert (🗞️ BILD)
Strasbourg 🇫🇷 is in talks to sign USMNT midfielder Gio Reyna from Borussia Monchengladbach 🇩🇪 (🗞️ Tom Bogert/Paul Tenorio)
Burner’s Star of the Week
⭐️: Landon Emenalo - Chelsea (vs Western Sydney Wanderers 🇦🇺)
A new name to some USMNT fans, Landon Emenalo looks set for his breakout seaosn at Chelsea. He has been included on Xabi Alonso’s preseason roster and started their first match against Western Sydney Wanderers. Chelsea are yet to formally replace Marc Cucurella who left for Real Madrid after the World Cup. Emenalo has been tasked with filling his void during preseason and has impressed Chelsea fans. Emenalo was born in Arizona and has repressented the US at U17 level but is provisionally cap-tied to England after playing with their U19’s in UEFA U19 Euro Qualifying. He even did an interview recently where he was wearing a US Soccer t-shirt. It’s the little details that we notice the most. Emenalo can play center back, left back, and central midfield and was a key figure in Chelsea U18’s league winning campaign. Now, being thrust into the first team, Emenalo seems to be grabbing this chance by the horns. Chelsea have a few more preseason games for Emenalo to impress in which could solidify a spot in the first team if everything goes well. Landon, lets get you some tendies for your potentially beating the loan army of Chelsea FC!
Red Lights, Stop Signs, I Still See Your Face in the White Cars
Perry Kitchen, and your 39 game stint at Hearts of Midlothian in Scotland, we will never forget you.