USMNT pressing Jesse Gonzalez to play for them instead of Mexico

Jesse Gonzalez became a darling of MLS this season, starring for FC Dallas in their run to the Western Conference final. The 20-year-old was born in the United States, but plays for Mexico's youth teams. The Americans aren't giving up on him yet, though. U.S. Soccer is trying to call him in, according to Goal.

"One player to keep an eye out for is FC Dallas standout Jesse Gonzalez. He is a Mexican Under-20 national team player, but sources tell Goal USA that U.S. Soccer has been in touch and a call up to the U.S. senior team could be enough to pique Gonzalez interest in playing for the country of his birth."

Gonzalez is an MLS starter at just 20 years old, which is notable for anyone, but especially for a goalkeeper. They don't usually develop until later in their careers so Gonzalez's ascent to not just a promising young goalkeeper, but a starter on a good team who has dealt with the pressures of the playoffs -- where he was generally good until Lucas Melano made a fool of him.

It's unclear just how committed Gonzalez is to Mexico. He parents are Mexican, but he was born in North Carolina and raised in Texas. Where does that leave him? He hasn't spoken on the matter. It's possible that he would flip to the U.S., or maybe he wants to stick with Mexico.

If Gonzalez accepts a U.S. call for January camp, it wouldn't mean anything permanent. All it would show is that he's open to the U.S. However, because he played for Mexico in the U-20 World Cup, Gonzalez would need to file for a one-time switch to play in a match for the Americans and that would tie him to the U.S. for good.

Landing Gonzalez would certainly be a huge boost to Americans' young goalkeeping corps. They already have Ethan Horvath and Zack Steffen, so it's not like they need young talent in goal, but adding Gonzalez would give them another strong option that could make his way to the senior team before long. With Tim Howard and Brad Guzan aging, not to mention far from stellar, young options are key for the Americans right now.