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Christian Pulisic, Johnny Cardoso, and the PSV trio — A USMNT in Europe progress report

NBC Sports
·5 min read
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The number of American players in Europe has to be at an all-time high, and the impact of the USMNT and would-be USMNT stars has been felt in more than a couple of nations.

With Copa America and the Olympics coming this summer, there are going to be several big opportunities the Yanks to make a dent on the national team stage.

[ MORE: Crystal Palace hire new manager ]

And while the biggest name in the USMNT game is still leading the way in terms of impact and renown — and we'll start with Mr. Christian Pulisic and his Italian adventure — there are plenty of notes worth considering as the traditional club season nears the 2/3 mark.

Let's dig into them.

Christian Pulisic’s durability, advanced numbers are reason for excitement

We've been following Christian Pulisic's debut season at Milan with great enthusiasm thanks largely to the performances we've seen from a healthy and settled 24-year-old.

The winger's goals and assists had cooled off prior to Sunday’s two goal contributions at Monza, but it's oh-so-clear that Stefano Pioli loves Pulisic and favors him despite a robust and fun group of menu items for the three players beneath his center forward.

And for good reason. According to our pals at Fotmob, only 10 players in all of Serie A have performed better than Pulisic this season. a group that includes Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Pulisic should set his career bests for goals this season — he needs three more — and he's got an outside shot at his assist mark — 13, he's at 6 — if Milan make a long Europa League run, but what's more interesting is how valuable he's become in other areas. He's much better defensively and when it comes to crossing, he's losing the ball to 1v1 tacklers at a career-best rate, and most of his advanced attacking numbers are back where they were during his best seasons at Dortmund and Chelsea.

It's genuinely exciting to wonder what he'll look like when he brings his early prime to the red, white, and blue.

Best of the rest for Americans Abroad — USMNT in Europe

  • Josh Sargent, Norwich City — This kid + the Championship = The ginger Dwight Gayle. Sargent scored thrice in four matches to start the season, missed almost four months, then came back like a dad who took a nap between 1v1 driveway hoops games against his kids, scoring seven times in nine games despite just over half of those appearances lasting over an hour. Sargent scored twice at home to Cardiff City on Saturday to stretch his goal streak to four games. Sargent's one goal away from the Championship's top ten this season and he missed more than half the games so far.

  • Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis — Johnny Cardoso would arrive in USMNT camps while starring as a youngster in Brazil with Internacional and the collective reaction outside of Brazilian Serie A monitors when he left was a bit like Will Ferrell in "Wedding Crashers" looking back for his mother, "I never know what she's doing back there." Brazil's top-flight is great but runs January-December with night kickoff times with MLS and Liga MX also going in American TV markets. So when Manuel Pellegrini saw Cardoso as a $6 million man, it felt like an excellent opportunity to get a better feel for his trajectory. It seems terrific — After debuting over 73 minutes in a loss to Barcelona, Cardoso has played the full 90 at defensive mid over five-straight games in which Betis has conceded just two goals. For a player in a position of need when it comes to depth and not yet in his prime, the all-action Cardoso has our attention.

  • Chris Richards, Crystal Palace — The center back turns 24 next month and... we should probably be asking Gregg Berhalter if it's a center midfielder turning 24 next month. His passing numbers aren't any reason to call home, but Palace rarely have the ball and he's been a monster in the air while working well to break up play. How will Oliver Glasner use him, and should that matter when we've mostly considered him as an option to pair with someone at center back in the USMNT set-up? Richards has been back on the back line for three of his last four appearances — the defensive mid move only taking hold until Palace could buy Adam Wharton in January following the injury to Cheick Doucoure — but we're sure it's been bookmarked by Berhalter.

  • Auston Trusty, Sheffield United — The Blades have been terrible for two managers this season, and very few players — Vini Souza, Oliver Norwood, maybe James McAtee — have stood out in positive ways, but the Arsenal export has been trusted by both Paul Heckingbottom and Chris Wilder. How will this experience affect him when he comes to a team that, in CONCACAF, is rarely under the duress faced by Sheffield United this season?

  • The PSV Eindhoven Trio — Saw them open for the Manchester Orchestra. Great show. In case you're wondering, PSV is still unbeaten in Eredivisie at 20W-2D and heading into a winnable Champions League last 16 tie with Borussia Dortmund this week. They out-attempted Heracles 39-3 this weekend in a 2-0 win and Ricardo Pepi took eight shots. It was a rare start for Pepi, but he's made 17 appearances off the bench and has five goals. Malik Tillman has started eight times and subbed in eight times to compile five goals and four assists. And Sergino Dest is a regular with 1,406 minutes out wide (1 goal, 4 assists). This experience together is awesome, and combines with the USMNT's other club combos (Musah and Pulisic at Milan, McKennie and Weah at Juve, Robinson and Ream at Fulham) to breed some good communal vibes for when they come together in national team shirts.

  • Boston Benjamin Billups, FK IMT Novi Beogrard — Normally we're not dropping a line about a teenager making a Serbian SuperLiga debut for five minutes, but this Oregon-born 18-year-old has a name that rolls off the tongue. Good luck, triple-B.