GOAL has tracked the progress of all of the key Americans in Europe throughout the 2023-24 season
For years, U.S. men's national team fans counted themselves lucky if they could watch one or two of their biggest stars shine in Europe. Now, any league you watch on any given day will have an American star on display.
It's a sign of the times, and a sign of the USMNT's growth. Each of Europe's top five leagues has at least one key American player. From England to Italy and seemingly everywhere in between, the USMNT has a presence.
This season, though, was a big one for those USMNT stars. The 2022 World Cup is now in the rearview mirror, but the Copa America is just weeks away. And then, the 2026 World Cup will be here before you know it, and that will be quite a spectacle on home soil.
This season, GOAL tracked all of the key Americans abroad as they made their way at club level – but who had the best campaign, and who had a year to forget?:
Getty36Erik Palmer-Brown (Panathinaikos) – 2/10 ⬇️
Palmer-Brown has been out since September with an injury, limiting him to just three league appearances for the Greek side. In general, the move hasn't been what anyone would have hoped due to that injury, which prevented the defender from seeing the field in the Europa League.
AdvertisementGetty Images35Tyler Adams (Bournemouth) – 3/10 ↔️
Just as Adams got healthy enough for his Bournemouth debut back in September, he suffered a setback that put him right back on the shelf. It was horrible luck for the midfielder, and for Bournemouth, who sure could have used him in the heart of their midfield for most of the season.
Adams did eventually come back, but he was never close to 100 percent, meaning his debut campaign was pretty much washed away.
Getty Images34Daryl Dike (West Brom) – 3/10 ↔️
A total nightmare. After coming back from injury, Dike was starting to find his feet again at West Brom. And then it happened again. Another year, another Achilles injury that will keep the striker out for an extended period of time.
It's horrible news for a really good player. For all of Dike's talents, he's lacking one key thing right now: a little bit of luck.
Getty Images33Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest) – 3/10 ⬇️
It was an awful season for Reyna. Playing time all but dried up at Borussia Dortmund and, for a while, it looked like his time at the club was done. Instead, Reyna made a loan move to Nottingham Forest in January, one designed to get him more playing time with an eye toward a Dortmund return.
It never happened. Reyna has been used even less by Forest than he was in Germany, as he almost exclusively made sporadic appearances off the bench. He could have gotten those at a better club in Dortmund, and one of the big storylines this summer will be Reyna's next move after a wasted 2023-24.