On Dec. 17, the Red Bulls signed United States Men's National Team (USMNT) U-20 Midfielder Daniel Edelman a two-year homegrown contract with an option for 2024 and 2025.
During the 2021 USL Championship season, midfielder Daniel Edelman had an outstanding year for a rebuilding Red Bulls II team and now he will have the opportunity to prove he can do the same in Major League Soccer (MLS) next season.
Super happy to get started with the @NewYorkRedBulls! Excited for what’s to come🔴🐂🙌 https://t.co/xXis9wYr9W
— Daniel Edelman (@DanEdelman24) December 18, 2021
Edelman grew up in the Somerset County town of Warren, New Jersey. In Mar. 2021, Edelman was interviewed by the Red Bulls communications staff where he said that as a young boy, "he had the opportunity to attend Red Bulls home matches." The 18-year-old New Jerseyan went on to describe that childhood affection as something that "kept giving me reasons to become a professional soccer player." Now, Edelman can become a first team player like other Homegrown Red Bulls players like Sean Davis and John Tolkin did before him.
The head coach of the New York Red Bulls is Gerhard Struber.Struber discussed what his promising 18-year-old prospect who captained the Red Bulls II in 2021.
Daniel is a top prospect at the midfield position. He is an aggressive central defensive midfielder who can do well in our system. His ability to defend and get forward are key attributes for his position.
In addition to the successes Edelman had with Red Bulls II this season, the defensive midfielder earned his first call up to the U-20 United States Men's National Team (USMNT) squad in November and appeared in two games while accruing 104 minutes at the inaugural Revelations cup that the U-20 USMNT participated in from Nov. 10-16 in Mexico.
What Edelman Showed with Red Bulls II
Daniel Edelman did it all for the Red Bulls USL-affiliate in 2021. The 18-year-old played the second most minutes on the team (2,486) and made the second-most appearances (30). Edelman was not just a very durable player; he led the Red Bulls II in stats that showed the range of abilities he has.
According to the Red Bulls website, Edelman led the Baby Bulls this season in interceptions (54), Tackles (87), Tackles won (59), duels won (182) and passes (1,350). All of these stats cover areas of a midfielder's game that are important, from distributing the ball to his teammates to winning the ball and taking it away.
Here is what former Red Bulls II head coach John Wolyniec had to say about his captain in 2021.
He played a ton of minutes for us, was a real stable force in the field and covered ground. One of the things we wanted to work on early in the season was forward defending. He brought that into his play really quickly, and then started adding some things along the way. He took on all the challenges that we presented for him and showed an ability to take on challenges and conquer them.
- Former Red Bulls II Manager, John Wolyniec
Edelman was that outstanding player who was able to soak in all the information he could from his coaches in his first full season of Pro Soccer. As a result, he has grown into a highly valued prospect within the Red Bulls system. Of course, the young midfielder may have shown he can be a very good player in the USL, but he still is yet to play in Major League Soccer.
It is hard to predict how well a defensive midfielder will do in MLS, because there are not many who have made jumps from USL-MLS in recent years. According to MLS Soccer's website, the top defensive midfielders in 2019 all had at least four years of MLS experience such as Jonathan Dos Santos, 31 and Haris Medunjanin, 36.
Before Edelman joined the Red Bulls Academy in 2019, he captained his U-15, U-17, and U-19 teams with the Players Development Academy (PDA) which is based in New Jersey. Here is how he described how he has grown mentally and physically during his first full season as a professional soccer player.
Last year for me with Red Bulls II it was tough to go out with an injury and miss the rest of the season, and it was important for me this year to get in a bunch of games so I can develop. I really matured this year it was just super helpful for me and beneficial so I can prepare for what’s to come for me in the future.
It's very impressive to see a player who was not on anyone's radar as far as being a hot prospect in 2020, completely turn his fortune around in 2021. Now Edelman will join another New Jersey-native and forward, Omar Sowe and goalkeeper, AJ Marcucci as the three Baby Bulls that the New York Red Bulls signed to play with them in 2022.
Grew up in the shadow of @RedBullArena, Omar Sowe is ready to make his impact on the pitch at @RedBullArena. pic.twitter.com/gZEeWVSuDA
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) September 11, 2021
Surely, competition will be fierce for three players who except for Sowe who has played about 30 minutes of MLS soccer, have no MLS experience, but the positive for each Baby Bull is that they showed that they can overachieve in the minors, so let us not rule out that Edelman can be the next Dax McCarty or Sowe the next Bradley Wright Phillips if they work hard enough.
- PWHL New York Eliminated from Playoffs with 5-2 Loss in Montreal - April 24, 2024
- PWHL New York fall in heartbreaker at Prudential Center - April 20, 2024
- Seton Hall Triumphs over Indiana State in NIT Championship - April 5, 2024
