Report: Caden Clark close to pre-contract agreement with RB Leipzig

A new report from The Athletic yesterday has further confirmed New York Red Bulls attacking midfielder Caden Clark will complete a transfer to the sister club RB Leipzig of the German first division following the conclusion of the 2021 MLS season, marking the conclusion of a quick move up the ladder for the 17-year-old former Barcelona Arizona academy pupil since joining New York training camp on trial last spring.

Clark will enter the new MLS season riding the momentum of a breakout 2020 campaign. Though just 17 years old, he burst onto the USL scene with Red Bulls II notching three goals and five assists in just nine games and quickly began to garner national attention when he was called up to the first team and scored a pair of impressive goals in his first two games.

The ownership of Clark’s contract rights have been the source of a winding narrative since the first team’s interest in him was first reported by Once A Metro last fall. The Red Bulls were forced by league rules to pay 75k in allocation money for the attacking midfielder’s “MLS rights,” which were owned by Minnesota United - a club that didn’t yet exist in the top flight when Clark last kicked a ball in his home state.

One will expect Gerhard Struber to make considerable use of the German-bound starlet in the upcoming season. As the departure of the club’s principal creative threat Alejandro “Kaku” Romero appears inevitable, it seems that Clark will be next in line to step in and create chances for a Red Bull attack that at times struggled for both rhythm and form last year.