Cavan Sullivan is highly regarded as one of the best prospects to ever come out of the US, and he has been continuously in the spotlight of the media over the past year. Sullivan is a 14 year old attacking midfielder, playing for the Philadelphia Union academy. Recently he has been the focus of attention whenever he touches the pitch, shining in all competitions. He helped the Union academy to win their second consecutive Adidas generations cup, with his attacking contributions helping his team greatly.
Due to his outstanding performances, Sullivan has caught the eye of many top clubs in Europe, including Manchester City. Manchester City are arguably the most dominant team in Premier league history winning four out of the past five Premier league titles, in what is thought to be the most competitive league in the world. City are known for producing outstanding talents from their academy, such as Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, who are currently dominating the Premier league. Having the interest of a club with such a good academy while still at the academy level is a great opportunity to develop. Over the past month Manchester City have been negotiating with the Union to make a deal for Sullivan.
From the Unions point of view, City's interest in Sullivan is a bad thing. It means that Sullivan will not be able to develop and play for the first team with them if he does move to City. This is bad for two reasons. Firstly this means that they will not get to utilize a top quality player in their team, who could definitely improve their squad. The second reason is they will lose out on a lot of revenue that could be generated by this young talent through shirt sales and other methods. This means they cannot put the money the would have made into improving their squad.
For the MLS, Sullivan moving away is also a problem. For them it means that the league will get less attention and also generate less revenue as it will not receive the increased viewership money they could have made with him. This means they cannot improve the league with that money which is obviously bad for them.
For City, Sullivan is a top prospect that will definitely improve at the club and who has the capability to progress into one of the worlds best players. But overall he isn't as important to City as he is to the Union. City's ability to develop Sullivan into a better makes it a very good reason for City to make a move for him, as they are likely to get a quality player from it.
In the deal arranged by the two sides, the Union were keen to protect Sullivan as much as they could so they could keep him for as long as possible so they could benefit from the deal. The two sides agreed on a price of 2.1 million dollars upfront for Sullivan. The part of the deal that makes it worth it for the Union is the fact that they are able to keep Sullivan at the club until he turns 18 years old. This means that they are able to develop him and promote him to the first team which can generate shirt sales and also improve their squad. In the four years they still have him the Union will be able to make the most out of the opportunity they have. The upside of this part for City is that during the four years the Union will continue to develop Sullivan as player and give him much needed experience so he can acclimate to top level standards of soccer in Europe.
Overall, the deal has many pros and cons for each side, with both benefitting from the deal. This transfer will be a great opportunity for Sullivan to develop and gain experience which is also great for the USMNT as with many of their star players becoming older they will need a new leader soon, which can definitely be found in Sullivan. Now that the deal has been confirmed, only time will tell how it will turn out for all parties. This transfer can definitely make or break the future of the USMNT and also will decide whether Sullivan will progress into the player fans think he will be. This deal is very interesting as there are many factors that play a role in it, and it also effects many things. Sullivan is definitely a player to track, being one of the most exciting prospects right now, so expect to see more of him in the spotlight soon.
Colin Kirk
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