New York Red Bulls' Alex Muyl snubbed by MLS 24-under-24

Mlssoccer.com spent much of the last week conducting a jaunty run through its annual list of the top 24 players in the league under the age of 24.

Sean Davis made an appearance on the list at #22. Anatole Abang was shortlisted but clearly not going to make the cut because he has hardly played in MLS all season and seems to be on his way out of RBNY and the league altogether. That left Alex Muyl as the New York Red Bulls' other contender for some attention from the 24-under-24 tastemakers.

The rookie Homegrown player has had quite a debut season: forcing RBNY legend Lloyd Sam out of the lineup and eventually out of the club, accumulating two goals and five assists in 26 appearances (so far) in all competitions. He won't turn 21 until the end of September, and he is already clearly a favorite of head coach Jesse Marsch.

But Muyl was crowded out of the final 24. He received the consolation of inclusion on a subsequent list of "biggest snubs". Simon Borg wrote some nice things about RBNY's young winger:

...exactly the type of player MLS needs its club academies to develop more regularly: an all-around pro’s pro, who does all the little things right.

Inclusion or exclusion from the 24-under-24 list will, of course, make not the slightest difference to Muyl's prospects or career. And if he continues his current trajectory, he might outgrow MLS before he ages out of contention for future editions of the 24-under-24 rankings.