Major League Soccer has slowly but surely transitioned into a league that exports talented, young players abroad, and these debutants could make their mark overseas in the coming years.
After the versatile Alphonso Davies made headlines for tearing up MLS defenses at such a tender age, clubs around the globe began to take notice at the league’s shift in how young players were integrated and also how they worked their way up through academies.
On September 30, New York Red Bulls academy player Julian Hall made his MLS debut in his team’s 1-0 loss to Chicago Fire. Red Bulls have high hopes for the youngster, with several European giants keeping tabs on the player’s development.
With that being said, here are the top-five youngest ever players to debut in MLS.
Several injuries to the Seattle Sounders squad opened the door for youngsters like Obed Vargas to make their MLS debut on July 22, 2021, in Seattle’s clash with Austin FC.
Vargas was 15 years and 351 days old when he earned his first appearance and start and has since made close to 50 appearances for the Western Conference team.
On September 10, 2022, DC United head coach Wayne Rooney gave homegrown player Matai Akinmboni his MLS debut and also his first start for the Black and Red against Real Salt Lake.
After the game, Rooney stated that the youngster was ‘excellent’ in training leading up the game, and because DC were eliminated from the postseason, Rooney wanted to see what he had in his young players.
The Bayern Munich star became the third-youngest MLS player on July 16, 2016 against Orlando City in a 2-2 draw, at 15 years and 257 days.
His electric pace and dribbling immediately put defenses around the league on notice, as the versatile Canadian totaled eight goals and 12 assists in 65 appearances before joining the German champions in 2018.
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In the 81st minute against Chicago Fire, Hall made his league debut for Red Bulls at 15 years and 190 days old.
Red Bulls hope to keep hold of him for as long as possible to oversee his development in MLS, and he is now the second-youngest player in the league’s history.
Most of the players on this list rose through the ranks within the past seven years or so, but not Freddy Adu.
Adu made his debut in MLS at 14 years old back in 2004 and was touted as a wonderkid in American soccer. Today, Adu remains the youngest-ever MLS player despite making his debut nearly 20 years ago. The Ghana native went on to feature for European clubs such as AS Monaco and SL Benfica.
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