Tyler Adams’ 2019 transfer to RB Leipzig felt like a formality the moment he became a regular starter with the New York Red Bulls as a teenager in 2017. Player movement between affiliated clubs has become commonplace in the modern game — used to promote a player ready for better competition (Red Bull Salzburg transferring Naby Keita to then-Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig) or to expose loopholes within soccer’s economic minefield (Mix Diskerud’s transfer and City Football Group’s shady business moves).
Beyond the Reb Bull affiliation, though, Adams’ move to RB Leipzig made perfect sense to two reasons. First, he reunites with former NY Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch, who gave Adams his senior debut and oversaw the majority of his development on the first team. Marsch is now an assistant manager at Leipzig; hey, this sister-club deal benefits coaches, too. Second, and I’ve mentioned it before here, Leipzig plays to Adams’ strengths. They’re an aggressive team that prioritizes dynamism in the midfield. It’s exactly what the 20-year-old center midfielder was great at in Major League Soccer, and early signs indicate he’s fortifying those strengths in the Bundesliga.
As you can see, Adams has found his comfort zone at RB Leipzig; or rather, with the Red Bulls’ German big sister, he hardly had to leave his comfort zone. Die Bullen are undefeated in the games in which Adams has appeared (five wins, three draws), and he will get a chance to extend that record Saturday against Schalke 04, the club of fellow American phenom Weston McKennie.
McKennie has over 30 more Bundesliga appearances than Adams, but his status at his respective club has been in flux. McKennie, also a box-to-box center midfielder by trade, has played as a right winged-back, attacking midfielder and striker this season. Former manager Domenico Tedesco, whom the club fired on Thursday, hoped to make use of McKennie’s athleticism, size and endurance wherever Schalke needed it. The experimentation has yielded glimpses of success; the 20 year old has shown positive signs in more advanced positions and is tied for the club-lead in Bundesliga assists (4). McKennie quite possibly has a future as an attacking midfielder. But I’m burying the lede here: Schalke have been a müllcontainer feuer this season… that’s German for “dumpster fire.”
The Royal Blues showed signs of life at the start of 2019, but now they’re mired in a five-game losing streak, with their latest defeat being a 7-0 Champions League humiliation against Manchester City on Tuesday. Schalke enter their game against RB Leipzig four points clear of the relegation zone. Tedesco was continuously experimenting partly because he was desperate to keep the Royal Blues — and his job — afloat. That desperation ends up hurting McKennie the most. The Texan has made five league starts at center midfielder this season (that number goes up to eight when including appearances in attacking and defensive roles). McKennie is averaging just 31 passes per 90 minutes, according to WhoScored, completing 21.4 of them; for a kid the U.S. men’s national team hopes is its midfielder of the future, those numbers are a concern.
There’s no way of predicting where — or if — McKennie will take the field Saturday. RB Leipzig, on the other hand, would be foolish to leave Adams off the pitch. His ability to close down opponents and turn defense into attack with speed gives the team a vital foundation for creating goalscoring opportunities. While McKennie throws around his thick, 6-foot frame to unsettle opponents and win aerial 50/50s (he’s winning an impressive 5.1 aerial duals per 90 minutes, a huge increase from last season), Adams sports a wiry, 5-foot-9 figure and a keen eye for the ball, slithering a foot in to win tackles and make interceptions. A great example being his perfectly timed snatch-and-pass against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Optimally, Adams will begin to supplement his talents in the combative side of the game with some development on the ball and in the attacking third. Adams scored only two goals in his MLS career and had eight assists. He already has an assist with Leipzig and is averaging far more dribbles per 90 than he ever did in America. If all goes right, he could become the club’s successor to Keita, a jack-of-all-trades midfielder who’s equal parts ball winning and chance creation.
Adams, fortunately, has to look no further than his American peers for inspiration in the Bundesliga, specifically Werder Bremen’s Josh Sargent, Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic and, of course, McKennie. Adams and McKennie rose through the U.S. youth ranks together, becoming close friends in the process. The duo will be representing the USMNT together a few days from now during the international break, and there’s a great chance we’ll get to see them both operate in the midfield triangle of coach Gregg Berhalter’s 4-3-3 (ironically, Berhalter has also spoken of Adams’ potential at right back, whereas McKennie will almost certainly play as a central midfielder).
On Saturday, though, Adams and McKennie — the crown jewels of USMNT’s future — will be opponents. On the field, one will appear to be much more adapted to Bundesliga life than the other.