Sam Golan is headed to England. The teenager signed a two-year scholarship deal with English Football League side Brighton & Hove Albion. Golan will play with Brighton’s U18 squad to start with as he eyes a spot on the first team in the future. 

Golan said he is most likely to feature at center back with the club as that is where he has trained while over in England. The Brighton & Hove training was not his first trip to England. 

“My first trial was at Derby County in April of 2014,” Golan told TopDrawerSoccer. “I returned to Berby two more times in August of 2014 and November of 2014. Then I had a trial at West Bromwich Albion in February of 2015. Finally, I had two trials at Brighton in May and July of 2015.”

The teenager has learned quite a bit from his time training across England and in front of a number of coaches. 

“To just be myself when I play and don’t get too nervous,” Golan told TopDrawerSoccer about the best advice he’s received. “As long as I stayed relaxed and played the way way I normally play, I would be fine.”

His play with Brighton & Hove impressed the coaching staff enough to offer him a spot in the academy. Golan was able to skirt past those pesky rules in England about foreign players thanks to holding German citizenship in addition to his U.S. citizenship. 

Beyond the dual-citizenship, Golan holds another distinct as a player who has not played in the Development Academy recently. Golan starred with Loudoun Soccer 98B Red squad at the club level as well as playing with his high school team. 

“I had a six-month stint with an academy when I was younger that didn’t work out,” Golan said when asked about not playing in the Development Academy. “I felt like being on a squad with 25 players and not playing in a ton of games wasn’t helping me progress as a player. My Loundon 98B Red team that I have been on has been just as competitive and we have been able to play in a lot more competitive games than most academy teams. I felt like making that switch has really helped me improve as a player.”

Brighton & Hove Albion U18 is 1-1 start the season after a 6-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday. The Seagulls take on Leicester City this weekend. 

Scotland Odyssey 

Taner Dogan used his connections to test his mettle this summer with a training trip to Scotland. 

“I received the opportunity to train with Dundee FC through a connection from coaches at my club, St. Louis Scott Gallagher,” Dogan told TopDrawerSoccer. “Pieter Lehrer and the coaching staff at Harvard also has some connections in Scotland and they put me in contact with St. Mirren FC.”

This was the first time Dogan, St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri U16’s leading scorer last season, has trained with European clubs. 

“The feedback from the coaches at both clubs were very positive,” Dogan said. “At both clubs I trained with the U20 teams (also known as ‘the reserves’ or development squad) and felt like I did very well,” Dogan said. “At Dundee FC, a few of the reserve training sessions were by the first team manager Paul Hartley. This was a great experience in addition with the U20 manager Eddie Johnson on more of a daily basis.”

Although Dogan was not able to play in games due to proper registration, he still made an impression on both clubs. 

“After talking with both clubs, I’d have the opportunity to come back and train in the future,” Dogan said. “At St. Mirren, I received some great feedback from David Longwell (U20 manager and Head of Youth Development) and an open invitation to come back and work with the club further.”

For the immediate future, he is training with Saint Louis FC of the USL, which gives him the chance to play in a professional environment consistently. He’s also one of the top recruits for the Harvard class for 2016.

By Scott, He’s Back

Chelsea U21 midfielder Kyle Scott announced on twitter on Tuesday that he is joining the U.S. U20 MNT camp, which will be at the end of the month in Europe. Scott’s first camp with the U.S. came nearly three years with the U15 age group. He’s been progressing with the London club since then, but has not been into many camps over the past year.