The Verde Report: Is It Time for Austin FC to Become a Selling Club?
Promising young midfielders Dani Pereira and Owen Wolff drawing interest from abroad
By Eric Goodman, Fri., June 23, 2023
If you only kept up with the headlines, you might be fooled into thinking that Major League Soccer was a "buying" league. Sure, MLS has made waves over the years by attracting some of the soccer world's biggest names in the twilight of their careers, the latest and greatest obviously being Lionel Messi. But the less flashy reality is that, at its best, MLS is a bona fide, capital-S "selling" league. The American first division has for years provided the top leagues in Europe with young, exciting talent … in exchange for suitable transfer fees, of course.
Developing and eventually selling young players for profit has become a hallmark of some of the most successful clubs in MLS's recent history, since it enables clubs to maintain a financial upper hand despite the league's notoriously strict economic constraints. The Philadelphia Union, finalists in last year's MLS Cup, pocketed a combined $18 million in transfer fees for brothers Brenden and Paxten Aaronson, both products of the Union's academy. Defending champs LAFC made similar gains parting with 2020 MLS Golden Boot winner Diego Rossi. And with a list of graduates including Ricardo Pepi, Weston McKennie, and Chris Richards, FC Dallas' academy has become more prestigious than its senior team.
It's no secret that Austin FC intends to eventually join the ranks of prolific MLS selling clubs. The only question is when. To date, ATXFC has yet to turn a profit selling a first team player to another league, but that could change as soon as this summer. A pair of promising young midfielders – Dani Pereira and Owen Wolff – both project as strong candidates for imminent transfers abroad, and both have begun drawing serious interest, according to head coach Josh Wolff.
"There's been some contact from some clubs," the coach said of both his son and his club's first-ever draft pick. "Both of them have high quality and high potential … I won't be surprised if there are offers that come for both of them [this summer]."
Pereira, 22, and Owen Wolff, 18, have burst onto the international scene in the last month. Pereira made his first appearances with the Venezuelan national team in a pair of friendlies, while "Teen Wolff" notched a goal and an assist across five matches during the United States' run to the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Each profiles as the type of player likely to command offers in the low-to-mid seven figures, should a deal materialize.
"Obviously my goal is to go to Europe. I don't know where but just try to make it over there," Pereira said. "But for now, I'm just focused on Austin."
From the players' perspective, moves away from Austin this summer might make the most sense, since European clubs are in their offseason and more likely to sign players. But Austin FC can ill afford to see either or both midfielders walk out the door in the middle of what has already been a rocky MLS season. When healthy and available, both are first-choice players in the ATX starting 11.
"I think it's always keeping in mind what the players' wants are," Josh Wolff said. "We as a club have to be mindful of what it looks like if we want to keep them and obviously what it looks like when we sell them and the resources that that can give us."
What is clear is that both Pereira and Owen Wolff have futures brighter than what Austin and MLS can safely contain. In the long term, that should work to Austin FC's benefit.
