Najar to train with Tottenham Hotspur
On a team littered with talented young players, Andy Najar is widely considered to be D.C. United's brightest young prospect. The 2010 MLS Rookie of the Year is an emerging star in MLS, and after a successful sophomore campaign others have started to take notice.
Like teammates Bill Hamid and Perry Kitchen, Najar is heading to Europe this offseason to enhance his game. Najar is following in Hamid's footsteps by traveling to England, only instead of West Bromwich Albion, the 18-year-old winger is en route to North London's Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
- Premier League
- Harry Redknapp, Manager
- Founded 1882
- 8-time FA Cup winners
- 2-time UEFA Cup winners
- tottenhamhotspur.com
Najar departs this evening for the English capital, where he will begin training with Tottenham on Monday, November 28. The Honduran will be in London through Saturday, December 10. Aside from experiencing one of the most competitive soccer environments in the world, Najar will be on-hand for Spurs' Europa League match against PAOK Salonika on November 30, and the club's Barclays Premier League fixture with Bolton on December 3. Both matches are at White Hart Lane, Tottenham's home ground since 1899.
Said United General Manager Dave Kasper of Najar's training stint with Tottenham, "We are pleased to finalize Andy's stay with Tottenham. I think this experience will be tremendous for him. He will come away from this as a better player, and we look forward to having him back with us shortly."
Kasper continues, "It's great for our players to get into a different environment and have a different experience. We feel it's good for their continued development. It's certainly aligned with the philosophy that Jurgen Klinsmann has made public, which is that our offseason is too long and our players need to continue training."
With three of the club's top young prospects now gaining experience abroad during the MLS offseason, Kasper hints that there may be other members of the Black-and-Red heading to Europe's top leagues for experience. "There could be some other players going to do some offseason training abroad in the coming weeks," said United's GM.
One of England's strongest clubs, Najar will train for two weeks alongside some of the world's finest players at Tottenham. The team's roster boasts the likes of reigning PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale, Dutch attacker Rafael Van der Vaart, strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe, and American goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
Currently Harry Redknapp's side is third in the Barclays Premier League on 25 points, trailing only Manchester United and Manchester City. Under Redknapp, Spurs have experienced a flurry of success in recent years, qualifying for the 2010-2011 UEFA Champions League, falling in the quarterfinal round to Real Madrid after a dark horse run in the competition. Tottenham finished the 2010-2011 Premier League campaign in fifth place, securing the club a position in this year's Europa League.
Najar is coming off of a stellar 2011 campaign, where he matched his Rookie of the Year goal total in MLS (5), while adding six assists to United's attack. In total, Najar played in 31 matches for United (28 starts), racking up 2,522 minutes of play. He was second only to 2011 Rookie of the Year finalist Perry Kitchen in minutes played during the season. Internationally Najar was recognized in 2011, making his long-awaited debut for Honduras on September 3 against Colombia.
ALSO TRAINING IN EUROPE:
Related:
|
|
|
|
Comments