New York City FC: New academy director announced
New York City FC has a new academy director in Morten Grahn.
One of the newer academies in MLS, New York City FC has turned some pretty good results in a brief amount of time, sending players to the first team and to Europe. In the hiring of Morten Grahn, there is the hope that this pipeline of young talent will continue.
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Grahn joins NYCFC’s academy with a good background in terms of player development. He was most recently the Head of Player Development at FC Copenhagen.
“It is very exciting for me to be appointed as the new Academy Director of New York City FC. The Club is part of the most interesting and innovative football brand in the world whose vision and ambition is unmatched. To be a part of City Football Group makes me feel humbled and extremely motivated to continue the good work that has been done here before. I am leaving a club that has been part of my DNA for a decade so it was important to me that my next move would be the right one,” Grahn said on Tuesday in a statement released by New York City FC.
“NYCFC has the ambition to be among the best academies in the world and I’m very aware of the success that NYCFC’s academy has had in a short period of time. Building a strong youth academy takes time, but I’m convinced we will continue to produce players capable of playing at the highest levels of world football, both in Major League Soccer and abroad.
“I can’t wait to be a part of that journey and together with all the amazing people at NYCFC.”
New York City FC already has a strong academy in place
The list of players he helped develop includes former New York Red Bulls forward Mathias Jørgensen.
Already, New York City FC’s academy has earned a good reputation despite being one of the newer set-ups within the league. James Sands, currently with the Untied States national team for this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, is certainly a big piece of the club’s first team and a rising star in MLS.
This past offseason, New York City FC sold Joe Scally to Borussia Mönchengladbach of the Bundesliga, their first homegrown player that they moved overseas. In addition, United States international Giovani Reyna, currently at Borussia Dortmund, spent considerable time in the New York City FC Academy prior to his move to one of the top clubs in Europe.
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