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USMNT January Camp Player Watch: Charlotte FC's Patrick Agyemang, RSL's Diego Luna, and more

By Ryan Donahue

On January 6, the USMNT announced its winter January roster which will feature in fixtures against Venezuela and Costa Rica happening in Florida.

Mauricio Pochettino’s roster is deep in MLS experience with no current European league players expected to report to camp. The window will allow Pochettino to work with a fresh group of players and identify some prospects from US Soccer’s domestic league. Ahead of the US fixture against Venezuela, our team examined players to watch throughout the next two games.

Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake)

Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna is the most likely of any younger MLS prospects selected for this window who could jump to more regular competitive USMNT call-ups. The young attacking midfielder is coming off a career-best season with RSL with 16 GCs (8g/8a) in MLS play.

Luna has a competitive edginess to him which if harnessed correctly by Pochettino could be an asset to the USMNT in years to come. The most recent example of this was when he got snubbed from a call-up to the 2024 US Olympic team. After hearing the news he was not on the Olympic roster, Luna declined the alternate spot that the US squad asked him to take and then returned to Salt Lake where he proceeded to put up four goal contributions (1g/3a) in a 5-2 victory over Atlanta United.

Luna’s personality and style are different from many of the other players currently in the USMNT player pool. If Pochettino can figure out a way to let him express himself on the field he could be unleashing a very special player for the US for many years to come.

Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC)

Charlotte FC’s homegrown Patrick Agyemang received his first international call-up to the national team. The 6’4” goalscorer for Charlotte capped off a very competitive first full season in MLS with 13 goal contributions (10g/3a) across 34 appearances. Agyemang’s most notable strength is his ability to take players on 1v1. He is also able to hold up play and win 50-50 balls. As the season progressed his distribution to teammates during attacking build-ups improved adding more layers to his game. His size, strength, speed, and relentless drive to push forward made him a handful for defenders throughout 2024.

With Jesus Ferreira departing for his new club the Seattle Sounders the door for significant minutes during this camp is opening for the young Charlotte FC striker. Agyemang brings a significantly different profile to the front line than any of the forwards selected. A bit of individual brilliance and tenacity can often decide whether a team wins or loses in international competitions and Agyemang’s strengths give Pochettino an option to find some of that either off the bench or from the start.

Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman (Charlotte FC & Nashville SC)

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Charlotte FC and Nashville SC’s battle of the man bun’s US soccer partnership could be re-established with Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman reporting into camp. In the 2022 World Cup, Ream was a late addition to the World Cup roster but after consistently strong displays with Fulham, Ream ended up coming into camp and partnering with Zimmerman. While Ream has continued to feature consistently throughout camps, Zimmerman has received fewer call-ups due to injury and selection however with the second most senior call-ups it would be a surprise not to see him start at least one of the matches alongside Ream.

Miles Robinson also received a call into camp and was originally the partner to Zimmerman until an achilles injury ended his 2022 World Cup dreams. Robinson who has performed regularly for FC Cincinnati this season and is comfortable in both the back two and back three could partner either Ream or Zimmerman or potentially line up alongside both if Pochettino opts for an altered formation or uses Ream at left-back. During Charlotte FC Head Coach Dean Smith’s presser this week, he stated that Ream will only participate in the first USMNT as he will then leave early for Charlotte FC’s preseason training.

Matt Freese (NYCFC)

The American goalkeeper received his first senior international call-up this January on the back of a strong season with NYCFC where he played in 41 matches throughout the campaign. Freese also was a regular starter in MLS NEXT Pro for the Philadelphia Union featuring in 31 games in 2022. The 6’3” homegrown international gained valuable MLS experience with NYCFC this past season not only helping them to an Eastern Conference Semi-Final but also finishing sixth in the East and picking up six clean sheets in 34 appearances.

At 26, Freese still has his best years ahead of him and with a senior international call-up, could be one to watch this window if Pochettino opts to mix things up although it would still be most likely that Zach Steffen (Colorado Rapids) starts one of the fixtures. Freese is also reportedly getting international interest from Dutch and German clubs.

Final thoughts

While the starting lineup won't be known until Saturday, fans of Charlotte FC will want to tune into the matches to see how Agyemang’s first stint in a US Camp goes along with who partners Ream in defense. Even if both players don’t feature for the full 90 minutes in either game, it will be a positive for Charlotte fans to see multiple players from their squad feature.

USMNT and MLS fans will have an opportunity to see several players from around the league make their debut at the international level as 10 players currently called up have yet to earn a cap for the USMNT.