As we all attempt to recover from our depression over the USMNT’s awful start to the Hex, there comes some potentially very exciting news out of Italy. United States youth international, Josh Perez, will join the Fiorentina first team for the first time and travel with them for their away match at Empoli on Sunday morning according to their official site.
Josh’s uncle and USMNT legend, Hugo Perez, confirmed the news on Twitter:
Congratulations to my nephew Josh for being called up to the fiorentina first team for tomorrow's game
— Hugo Perez (@hugoperez_07) November 19, 2016
Perez, 18, officially signed with the Serie A stalwarts in February when he finally was eligible per FIFA’s international transfer guidelines. He had been training with the club before then for several years in anticipation of the move.
He is a tricky left-footed winger who is usually deployed on the right side of the field as an inverted winger.
Following in the footsteps of his U.S. U-17 teammates Christian Pulisic, Matthew Olosunde, and Haji Wright, Perez made the jump to a big European team’s academy. If Perez gets on the field, he’d join Pulisic as the second player from that talented class to appear for a top club. Fingers crossed.