Hamid, Kitchen, Birnbaum and Trapp on USMNT January camp roster

Jurgen Klinsmann has begun to put together his preliminary roster for the United States' January camp and the names on it are beginning to leak out. According to Steven Goff, Bill Hamid, Perry Kitchen and Steve Birnbaum are all on the list, Columbus Wired is reporting that Wil Trapp has also made the cut.

January camp does not fall on a FIFA international date so clubs are not required to release their players. That means the team will be made up of almost exclusively MLS players. Generally, the U.S. manager uses the camp as an opportunity to bring young players into the team or, for the few players who are national team regulars, grow their roles and give them more responsibility.

The call-ups of Hamid, Kitchen, Birnbaum and Trapp would fit with how managers usually treat that camp. Hamid has been a regular with the U.S., but usually as the third goalkeeper so this is an opportunity to be the No. 1 and lead the defense. Neither Kitchen, Birnbaum nor Trapp have a cap to their names, but they had excellent seasons in MLS and figure to be among the youngsters who will push for a first team place in this World Cup cycle.

The full January camp roster should be released in the coming days. Camp will get underway before long at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA, and run through February 8, when they play Panama. The camp will also include a trip south to Chile, where they will play a friendly on January 28.