Haji Wright agrees to deal with Schalke

Haji Wright will finally get to live out his European dream in March when he joins Schalke. The American attacker has agreed to a deal with the Bundesliga club and will sign with them officially when he turns 18 in the spring, according to the Metro.

Wright has had interest throughout the Bundesliga for a couple years. He came up in the LA Galaxy academy and was a star for the United States U-17 and U-18 national teams, but never showed much interest in joining MLS. He wanted to make the move to Europe, only FIFA rules prevent him from doing so until his 18th birthday. Instead, he signed with the New York Cosmos last season and played the second half of the season in NASL, but the two sides parted ways in December, as expected, and now Wright is free to sign with Schalke.

Schalke have been the favorites to sign Wright for a bit now. He trained with the club last year and reportedly was very good. The problem was that they, and anyone else outside the U.S., couldn't sign him until his 18th birthday. Now the deal has been agreed to and will be made official in March, when he turns 18 and FIFA rules allow him to make the switch. In the meantime, he will probably head over to train with the Bundesliga side.

It will be interesting to see how Wright does as Schalke. He's an extremely talented player, but he can struggle with his decision-making in the final third and doesn't always fit in the team's shape especially well. Those are problems common with young players and it would be right in line with typical development if he improves in both areas over the next year or two, but it will be worth watching. If he can sort that out, he can be a star because he is good with both feet, very quick and, above all, has great instincts.