CARSON, Calif. – Three LA Galaxy youngsters began a European excursion on Monday.
Bryan Gaul, Charlie Rugg, and Kenney Walker began training with Swedish Superettan side Hammarby this week as they look to gain European experience. The trio has been used sparingly by LA this season and the opportunity to train in Europe provides them with a different type of experience for their young careers. Rugg and Walker have already begun their training and can be seen here training with the club on Tuesday alongside new signing and former New York Red Bulls forward Luke Rodgers.
I spoke to LA Galaxy club President Chris Klein on Sunday prior to the club’s 2-0 victory over FC Dallas about the move. Klein currently sits on the board of directors at Hammarby and also played alongside former Galaxy center back and current Hammarby head coach Gregg Berhalter.
My conversation with Klein is below...
LA GALAXY INSIDER: (On your thoughts on the three players training with Hammarby…)
KLEIN: “I think from a general standpoint, we're always looking to do more with [Hammarby]. We feel that it’s a good place for our players to develop. I think if you look at MLS and you look at where Hammarby is in Sweden, it becomes ripe for someone like Kenney Walker, Bryan Gaul, and Charlie Rugg to get valuable experience. The three of those players are in positions of need for Hammarby, but initially, [they're] going over to train. They’re going over so Gregg can take a look. We're constantly looking to get a better idea of how the level over there compares to the level over here, so we can do more stuff with them in the end.”
LAGI: (Is this a trial?)
KLEIN: “I wouldn't say that it is a trial. It’s a trial for us more than it is specifically for those three players. Gregg knows them, he’s seen film on them, but yeah, in the end, it’s a good opportunity for these players to get a new experience for a couple of weeks and see how they do.”
LAGI: (Would you explore the possibility of a loan…)
KLEIN: “That’s the conversations that we're going to have at the end of two weeks - if there is a possibility possibly to loan one, two or all of those players there where they can get better minutes and move themselves along to further their development. From a Galaxy standpoint, we don’t feel that just playing in MLS Reserve League games as they are right now, is enough to move our players along. Possibly next year if we have a USL team that is playing on a regular basis with a little extra pressure there, but this is a team that is fighting for promotion at Hammarby. There’s pressure there, we feel the level is very high, we know the coach, and we can montior the progress of these players. From Hammarby’s point of view, they need a little bit more quality in the team and [they're] constantly searching for that quality. They signed a forward that used to play in MLS to play at Hammarby [Rodgers], so they're looking to get a little more quality at a few different positions, which specifically Bryan, Kenney, and Charlie play.”
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