Real Salt Lake is bringing in a Lennon from Liverpool.
Former RSL Academy product Brooks Lennon will be loaned from Liverpool FC to RSL for the next season, the team announced Monday.
The 19-year-old midfielder/forward got the English club's attention after scoring 31 goals for RSL's Arizona-based U-18 Academy team.
Now he's coming back to RSL.
“Brooks is another in a long line of great stories from our Academy," RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said in released statement. "They don’t all follow the same path, but we are proud to play a part in their development and get them on the field with Real Salt Lake. We’ve been following his development closely and to bring him back gives him a great opportunity to play first-team soccer.”
He'll join Danilo Acosta, Jordan Allen, Lalo Fernandez, Justen Glad, Jose Hernandez, Sebastian Saucedo and Ricardo Velazco as players who have graduated from the academy to the big club.
The move means a lot about Major League Soccer's ability to develop young players, Top Drawer Soccer, a U.S. soccer news site said.
"Indeed, Lennon’s RSL loan may well be a first in MLS history," Will Parchman said. "And it speaks well of MLS’s broadening reputation as a quality place to stash your youngsters while they develop."