CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy are evolving under new head coach Curt Onalfo and on Friday, the club added another talented youth product to their first team.
The Galaxy announced the signing of Norwalk’s Hugo Arellano from LA Galaxy II on Thursday. The Galaxy Academy product spent the 2016 season with Los Dos and served as the captain of the U.S. Under-20’s at the 2015 U-20 World Cup.
A lifelong Galaxy fan, Arellano is ready to fight for a spot with his hometown club.
“It’s what I wanted from when I got to this club. I want to play at the highest level with the best players. It’s such a reward, and I want to continue to work for it,” Arellano told LA Galaxy Insider. “If I’m not with the first team, then I can keep my sharpness and continue to improve with Galaxy II. I don’t take any games for granted, and it’s all part of the process. “
The club’s newest Homegrown signing will join the first team during the preseason but is expected to move between the Galaxy and Galaxy II during the season. Arellano became a major contributor for Los Dos after being signed last July, making eight appearances for Onalfo’s squad.
“I’ve learned a lot from the guys with Galaxy II, and I’m improving,” Arellano said. “The game is a lot faster than in the youth ranks, and I’m starting to catch up every single day.”
The new Galaxy head coach admits that the young defender will face an uphill climb to compete for minutes right off the bat, but Onalfo believes he’ll be an important figure for the future.
“He’s a young left-footed defender who is in our U.S. U-20 national team pool. He’s a very good defender with great work ethic,” Onalfo said. “He’ll keep getting better every day. He’s got all the indicators of a player with a bright future. It was a natural fit to sign him and begin bringing him along and increasing his progress.”
As the Galaxy get younger under Onalfo’s stewardship, Arellano is excited to be part of a new generation of Galaxy Homegrowns.
“It’s good to see the younger players are evolving into the first team,” said Arellano. “It gives us younger guys more of an opportunity. We fight for them, and it’s good to see that we’re getting those chances.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
