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Why Konrad De La Fuente made a good move to Marseille

By Kristian Dyer

The USMNT will be among the host teams for the 2026 World Cup
The USMNT will be among the host teams for the 2026 World Cup /
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While the United States national team is looking towards next month’s Gold Cup, perhaps the biggest news of the summer to date for an American player has happened with Konrad De La Fuente making the move from Barcelona FC to Marseille.

The move for Konrad De La Fuente from Barcelona to Marseille puts the young attacker in a position to develop into a regular for head coach Gregg Berhalter’s squad ahead of World Cup qualifying this fall.

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Five reasons why this move is a good one for Konrad De La Fuente and the United States national team:

1.  Playing Time: Despite signing with Barcelona in 2013, playing time has been difficult for De La Fuente to earn, having been limited to just a pair of Champions League appearances with the first team. With Marseille, a team that has struggled to score in Ligue 1 (just 54 goals a season ago), De La Fuente’s pace and ability in 1 v. 1 situations can and will stand out.

With Barcelona, playing time was going to be sparse. Now with Marseille, he is walking into a situation where he should challenge for first team minutes and where there is a very obvious need for his skillset. This is a perfect match in this regards.

2. Quality of the league: While La Liga is often considered a top four league in Europe, it is a very top heavy league dominated by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Valencia. Ligue 1, while also dominated in recent years by PSG, is a bit more balanced in terms of top-to-bottom parity.

There are very good clubs in the top half of table, making this a true test for the teenager on a weekly basis.

As such, while few clubs in the world can rival Barcelona (if any), Marseille is a good environment in a very good league.  On a regular basis, De La Fuente will be tested. He can and will improve most by getting meaningful matches in an environment like Ligue 1. Young players are given the chance to develop, the league promotes attacking soccer and the standard is among the very best in the world.

With minutes hard to come by at Barcelona, this is one of the best landing spots for De La Fuente because…

3.  Continental Competition: Because of their fifth place finish, Marseille is in Europa League. While Champions League is the goal of every player, this is a pathway for more first team minutes for the young American. Marseille is a team that can and should make a good run in the tournament, exposing De La Fuente to even more continental competition (he made two Champions League appearances with Barcelona last year).

These circumstances means that league and cup minutes, (as well as Europa League minutes) will be there for the young winger. Certainly an ideal scenario for De La Fuente to improve and challenge his game.

4.  Marseille needs his help: Very few times does an American player step into a scenario where his skillset is directly needed. But as stated above, Marseille struggled offensively last year and has a need for attacking wide players.

De La Fuente can help immediately, even if it is off the bench. Whereas at Barcelona, his skillset was a dime a dozen, here with Marseille there is a clear and pressing need for wide help in the final third.

With the youth national teams, De La Fuente has regularly shown that his technical ability can break down opposing full backs and he is dangerous on the counter attack as well.

5. National team prospects: There is also the very selfish reason that the move to Marseille is a good one for Konrad De La Fuente. If he can get regular playing time with the Ligue 1 club, he can and should factor into World Cup qualifying this fall.

While the United States is deep with wide, attacking players, De La Fuente’s pace and ability on the dribble could be invaluable for the long grind that is CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. Whether coming off the bench or factoring into the starting lineup, he can and should be an important piece for Berhalter’s squad.

If he had been stuck at Barcelona, playing mainly reserve matches, then it is harder to justify a call-up for crucial matches to get this side to Qatar next year.

Of course, De La Fuente still has to earn minutes with his new club team and make an impact – there will be a learning curve for sure given the quality of Marseille and his new league’s overall depth. But this is a move that is tailor-made for a young player’s development and it is an exciting one for this ‘Yank Abroad.’

Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer

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