Each week, TopDrawerSoccer will provide a snapshot of some of the top Americans seeking to make the grade at clubs in Europe. This won’t be covering the bigger, more established players on first teams.

One of the most overlooked young players in Europe is former New York City FC Academy player Augustus McGiff.

Currently on the books with Reading FC, a team in the Championship, McGiff currently plays a significant role for his team’s Under-23 side as an 18-year-old.

The striker was amongst the goals over the past week, tallying once in a 2-1 win against Aston Villa U23s on Friday, September 25.

☝️⚽️ #readingfc pic.twitter.com/E5ntOk0OIk

— Augustus McGiff (@augustusmcgiff8) September 26, 2020

Damian Las backstopped Fulham Under-18s to a 2-1 win against West Ham on Saturday, September 26. He then was bumped up to the bench for the Under-23s on Monday, but didn’t see any action.

Wolverhampton U23s featured U.S.-eligible defender/midfielder Owen Otasowie, who started and played 84 minutes in a 3-0 win against Stoke City.

Action continues in Germany

The weekend marked a competitive debut for Evan Rotundo in Germany. After excelling from a statistical perspective for Schalke Under-17s in preseason, Rotundo started in played 80 minutes in a 1-1 draw against SG Unterrath.

Malick Sanogo was back on the score sheet for FC Union Berlin, tallying the first goal in a 3-1 win against Chemnitzer FC. It marked his fourth goal in two games for the B-Junioren squad.

Coming off the bench for Schalke Under-23s, Matthew Hoppe was unable to help his side overturn a 2-0 deficit, as the side from Gelsenkirchen were unable to complete its comeback. Nick Taitague wasn’t involved for either the Schalke first team or the U23s.

Former FC Dallas Academy center back Nicolas Carrera started and played 90 minutes for Holstein Kiel, which fell 1-0 against 1. FC Magdeburg in the A-Junioren Bundesliga Nord.

All three Americans at Wolfsburg were in the starting lineup for their respective sides. Kobe Hernandez-Foster slotted in as a defensive midfielder for the A-Junioren side, playing 77 minutes in a 3-2 loss against RB Leipzig. He completed 63% of 24 passes attempted. Michael Edwards started at center back and Bryang Kayo in central midfielder for Wolfsburg II, which blanked VFB Oldenburg by a 1-0 score. Both did relatively well from a statistical perspective; Kayo completed 96% of 25 passes attempted, and won 62% of 13 challenges in 65 minutes of work.

Bryang Kayo vs Oldenburg (9/26/20)

pic.twitter.com/VCALLftHX2

— Matthew (@false_fullback) September 28, 2020

Edwards went the full 90, attempting the most passes on the team (84) and completing 94% of those. He led the team with 12 interceptions.

Defender Mason Judge started and played 65 minutes for Eintracht Frankfurt Under-19s, which fell by a 2-0 score against Mainz. Fellow American Niklas Dossmann was on the bench and didn’t play for Mainz.

Trickle of action in Holland

Midfielder Alex Mendez started Jong Ajax’s game on Monday from the bench. He entered in the 66th minute and was part of his side’s third goal in a 3-0 win against Excelsior.

While Richie Ledezma wasn’t in the Jong PSV squad, Chris Gloster started on the bench in Saturday’s 2-1 loss against NAC Breda. He entered into the game in the 76th minute.

Auvray part of rampant Lille U17 performance

U.S. U17-eligible winger Kaile Auvray was back in action for Lille Under-17s on Saturday. It was a high-flying effort from Lille’s youth side, which defeated Boulogne by a 9-1 score. Auvray scored a goal and had two assists in the winning effort.