Pro Prospects: American trio signs abroad

by Travis Clark

February 21, 2018

Brian Iloski first made waves across U.S. Soccer five years ago, when he made the last 16 in Nike's "The Chance" competition.

Emerging as a finalist from a field that started around 100,000, Iloski had the opportunity in 2013 to travel to Barcelona and compete against some of the top up-and-coming talent.

After finishing that, Iloski spent the last five years at UCLA, where he battled through injuries in the earlier part of his career, before finishing relatively strong as a redshirt senior in 2017.

Picked in the third round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by the Colorado Rapids, Iloski instead elected to pursue opportunities abroad, where he signed a contract last week with Legia Warsaw in Poland.

"Brian is a young, talented player whom we found in the United States. He was one of the best players in the UCLA Bruins for the last few years. We think he can develope in the future. During his tests, we saw him improving his skills every day. The biggest impression on us was the fact that when he came first to the pitch with us, he didn't have any fears playing against more experienced players. We see a lot of quality in him and we believe in his future. We didn't expect results immediately but maybe he will surprise us soon" Ivan Kepcija, technical director of Legia Warsaw, said in a press release.

Sargent turns 18, signs pro contract

While hardly breaking news, U.S. youth international Josh Sargent officially signed his contract with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on Wednesday, February 20.

Due to FIFA regulations, Sargent had to wait until he turned 18 to join the club, despite the move being announced earlier in the year.

“All the formalities have been completed and Josh has now signed his professional contract with us. We’re really happy that he has decided to take this next step in his career at SV Werder Bremen. He has really impressed us since the beginning of this year and has gathered experience in first team training as well as some games with the Under-23s,” Sporting director Frank Baumann said in a press release.

Sargent joined Werder Bremen for its winter training camp, and suited up for the U23s earlier in the year. He will become eligible for the Werder Bremen first team during the 2018/19 season.

Jones to sign with Schalke

The American contigent at Schalke will add another player later in the year, as former Atlanta United standout and U.S. U17 international Zyen Jones will join the club when he turns 18.

Jones, part of the U17 MNT qualifying team last year, missed out on a spot at the World Cup in India, and will turn 18 on August 25. He is slated to join the U19 Schalke team for next season.

The forward is the No. 14 ranked player in the 2018 Boys IMG Academy Top 150.

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