USMNT: Don’t forget about Tim Weah

The USMNT has a wonderful crop of young players emerging. But after a year out through injury, Tim Weah is often overlooked. However, he should not be forgotten amidst the many young talents.

The current crop of U.S. Men’s National Team prospects is the best the country has ever produced. Of course, there is Christian Pulisic, who moved for $73 million last year. He will not turn 22 until September this year. But even beyond the record-setting American, there is a group of young prospects that ranks among some of the best teams in the world.

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Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams are regulars in a top-five European league. Claudio Reyna is setting records in the Champions League as a 17-year-old and is at the perfect club for player development.

Richie Ledezma has just signed a two-year contract extension with PSV. Josh Sargent is emerging at Werder Bremen, while the likes of Paxton Pomykal, Brenden Aaronson and Jesus Ferreira are all playing regularly in MLS as teenagers — Pomykal has since turned 20.

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But while all of these players have attracted a lot of attention and headlines for their exploits in recent years, one of the leading talents that is often overlooked is Timothy Weah.

Son of former Ballon D’Or winner, George Weah, Timothy is not forgotten for futile reasons. The attacker has missed almost a year’s worth of action through injury, the latest of which is a hamstring pull which was scheduled to keep him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season, prior to the coronavirus-enforced postponement. In fact, his injury problems have been so extensive this year, Weah has played just three games totalling 84 minutes.

However, while the injuries are concerning, especially given their muscular nature, which is especially detrimental to a player who relies on speed and quickness, Weah is still extremely young and has only dropped off the radar because of problems beyond his own control.

This is someone who developed through the Paris Saint-Germain Academy, was highly thought of throughout his time there, which is extremely impressive given the size and stature of the club, trained with and learned from the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani, then went to Celtic on a six-month loan at 18 and scored three goals in 354 league minutes, and transferred to Lille for north of $10 million. These things all remain true, despite the injuries.

“You could throw him into a big game and a big scenario and he’ll always try and come out on top,” USMNT midfielder Adams said of Weah prior to his move to Celtic. “On the pitch, he loves to express himself and there’s a reason when he made that move to PSG everyone was confident that he would do well. He loves to attack and loves to go at you.”

Adams and Weah played together for five years in the Red Bulls academy. If there is anyone knows just how dangerous the attacker can be, it is the now RB Leipzig man. And this special talent has not dissipated due to one lost season. He has only just turned 20 years of age, is playing for a team that catapulted the likes of Nicolas Pepe, Eden Hazard, Lucas Digne, Dimitri Payet and now Eduardo Camavinga onto the world stage, and will get his chance to play once he shakes off his injuries.

It is easy to overlook Weah because he has hardly played all season. And in reality, he has not played much senior football whatsoever. But he is young, talented, highly regarded, and at the right club for his development. Amidst the many great talents the USMNT are developing, do not forget about Weah.