American Players Abroad

Barcelona have completed the signing of United States full back Sergiño Dest from Ajax for $24.70 million plus five more in variables, the LaLiga side said on Thursday.

Barca's statement added that Dest, 19, had agreed to sign a five-year contract with a release clause of $470 million. Dest, who broke into Ajax's first team from their academy last season and has played three times for the U.S., will be officially presented on Friday.

LONDON — Manchester United earned their second win over Brighton & Hove Albion in five days as they booked a place in the League Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday.

It was much more comfortable for United than Saturday's dramatic last-gasp 3-2 league victory, Scott McTominay heading in the opener shortly before halftime before Juan Mata and substitute Paul Pogba scored in the second half.

Christian Pulisic has been sidelined for over a month with a hamstring injury that he suffered during the FA Cup final. Chelsea and USMNT fans alike have been eager for the return of the Blues’ new No. 10. The latest Pulisic injury update is a good one and it comes from Captain America himself.

Christian Pulisic: “I’m feeling very good and very ready to play.” pic.twitter.com/yD91i7hEV9

ROME — Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal of the night rescued a 2-2 draw for 10-man Juventus away to AS Roma in Serie A on Sunday, after Jordan Veretout had twice put the capital club in front. Veretout and Ronaldo netted penalties after both teams were penalised for handball, and the French midfielder then struck his second of the night in first-half stoppage time.

The Schalke-Werder match has lost a bit of luster from an American perspective since Weston McKennie joined Juventus on loan. Indeed, David Wagner’s side has been miserable since losing his American midfielder to the Italian giants, having opened the season with an eight-goal defeat to Bayern Munich.

But there was still one American featuring in Saturday’s Schalke-Werder match, and he made himself known. 

Josh Sargent, the 20-year-old Missourian striker, set up Werder Bremen’s first goal with his sparkling red head to help his side to a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

Alex Morgan didn’t get on the field in her first match at Tottenham. The USWNT striker was an unused substitute as Spurs lost to North London rival Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the FA Women’s Cup. But Morgan did get a front-row view of the gorgeous Jordan Nobbs goal vs Tottenham that sent Arsenal on its way to a 4-0 win.

BERLIN — Bundesliga title hopefuls Borussia Dortmund suffered a blow in a 2-0 defeat at Augsburg on Saturday, surrendering without a fight as Daniel Caligiuri set up the first goal and scored the second in his 300th league game.

Despite Dortmund having close to 80% possession for much of the first half, it was Augsburg who scored when Felix Uduokhai connected with a Caligiuri free kick in the 40th minute to nod in from three metres with their first chance of the match.

Alex Morgan, having apparently eschewed any quarantines like Tobin Heath and Christen Press underwent, is set to make her debut with Women’s Super League club Spurs in the coming days. So we thought we’d provide some photos of the USWNT superstar training with her new club, plus provide details on how to watch the Alex Morgan Tottenham debut.

On Dec. 11, 2018, Manchester City and the Columbus Crew agreed on an estimated $7 million transfer fee for American goalkeeper Zack Steffen. After 653 days, the Pennsylvania native can now officially say he has played for Manchester City. The monumental Zack Steffen debut that us American outlets hyped up ended up being a quiet occasion.

It’s been a challenging couple weeks for Americans keeping tabs on Yanks abroad. With Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Sergiño Dest making headlines, Zack Steffen’s new role as understudy to Ederson at Manchester City has been largely overshadowed.