Alphonso Davies has come in at No. 4 in MLSsoccer.com’s annual 24 under 24 list, highlighting the league’s best 24 players under the age of 24 years old.
Atlanta United FC midfielder Miguel Almiron topped the list, followed by FC Dallas midfielder Kellyn Acosta at two, New York City FC midfielder Jack Harrison at three, Davies at four, and Orlando City SC striker Cyle Larin at five.
Davies, who was born on the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana before settling in Edmonton, Alberta with his family as a young child, has four goals and three assists for Vancouver Whitecaps FC in all competitions after making his first-team debut in June 2016.
The 16-year-old Whitecaps FC Residency product also has three goals in six appearances with the Canadian senior men’s national team and is the youngest goalscorer in Canadian national team, CONCACAF Champions League, Canadian Championship, and United Soccer League history.
What the technical staffers say (courtesy of MLSsoccer.com):
“He hasn’t been intimidated by the spotlight or the situations he’s been put in. The biggest strength that he has is that he’s consistent with what his skill set is. He wants to run at you.”
"Athletically, running at players with the ball, he’s really dynamic. He’s an absolute threat and a menace to play against."
"That is a bottle rocket full of potential. He shows flashes – as anyone his age with his athletic ability – he shows flashes well beyond quite a few guys in the league with more experience. The thing for Davies is harnessing that consistency in his performance. There is no doubt, in his level of talent, that it is a matter of time before he shows the rest of us that he’s ready to do that on a weekly basis."
2017 MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24:
1. Miguel Almirón, Atlanta United^
2. Kellyn Acosta, FC Dallas
3. Jack Harrison, New York City FC
4. Alphonso Davies, Vancouver Whitecaps FC^
5. Cyle Larin, Orlando City SC
6. Yangel Herrera, New York City FC^
7. Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders FC
8. Héctor Villalba, Atlanta United^
9. Paul Arriola, D.C. United^
10. Tyler Adams, New York Red Bulls^
11. Yamil Asad, Atlanta United^
12. Alberth Elis, Houston Dynamo^
13. Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders FC
14. Carlos Gruezo, FC Dallas
15. Albert Rusnák, Real Salt Lake
16. Ronald Matarrita, New York City FC
17. Erik Palmer-Brown, Sporting Kansas City
18. Justen Glad, Real Salt Lake
19. Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla, Montreal Impact^
20. Jesse Gonzalez, FC Dallas
21. Luciano Acosta, D.C. United^
22. Jefferson Savarino, Real Salt Lake^
23. Kekuta Manneh, Columbus Crew SC
24. Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution
Homegrown Player
^Player making his first appearance on the list
Evaluation Criteria:
All MLS players aged 23 or younger before Oct. 22, 2017, were eligible for consideration. The final list of 24 players was determined by a panel made up of top soccer media members and the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff. The panel ranked the eligible players based on the following criteria:
- Technical: first touch, dribbling, shooting and heading
- Soccer IQ: positioning, reading game, situational understanding and tactical awareness
- Physical Attributes: balance, agility, speed, endurance, strength and vertical leap
- Personality: attitude, marketability, media savviness, charisma and intangibles
- Potential: improvability, ceiling, national team potential and potential transfer value
Voting Media Members:
Matt Pentz, freelance journalist
Alexi Lalas, FOX broadcaster
Will Parchman, TopDrawerSoccer.com/MLSsoccer.com
Sam Stejskal, MLSsoccer.com contributor
Bobby Warshaw, former player/MLSsoccer.com contributor
Patrick Leduc, former player/Réseau des sports (RDS)
Cole Grossman, former player
Kristan Heneage, freelance journalist
Steve Davis, FourFourTwo.com
Paul Tenorio, FourFourTwo.com
Thomas Floyd, Goal.com
Kyndra de St. Aubin, Minnesota United FC broadcaster
MLSsoccer.com voters:
Andrew Wiebe, Senior Editor
Ben Baer, New Media Editor
Matt Doyle, Senior Writer
David Gass, ExtraTime host
Alicia Rodriguez, Contributing Editor
Charlie Boehm, Contributing Editor
