The Jalen Neal move makes sense

Cash, playing time and a shop window

I was not expecting Jalen Neal to be moved this winter. The young center back – already capped a half-dozen times by the USMNT, and with two more likely coming later this month – was the crown jewel of the LA Galaxy academy’s recent history. That’s a guy you build around, not a guy you trade.

And yet:

Like just about everyone else, my initial reaction was “ugh, disappointing.” Like just about everyone else, I’m waiting for the Galaxy to really open the faucet on that academy of theirs, to start tapping into the local talent pool and creating a pipeline directly to the first team. North Texas, South Florida, the DMV, Chicago and Philly metro have all made significant strides in the past 10-20 years, but SoCal and North Jersey are still 1A and 1B when it comes to talent hotbeds in the US. The Galaxy (and LAFC) have, in other words, been sitting on a gold mine for years, and have mostly refused to grab a shovel and dig.

Neal’s presence in the first team was supposed to be an indicator that things had changed. They would develop him, and get him minutes, and eventually sell him – preferably to a big club.

Reality, though, can get in the way. And the reality here is layered:

1. Neal was good last year. Emiro Garcés, however, was better. Once he became the full-time starter with four games to go in the regular season, the Galaxy’s npxG allowed dropped from 1.46 npxG per 90, which was 21st in the league (i.e., pretty bad!), to just 1.05, which would be a top-five mark over the course of an entire season. They became a championship-caliber defense when that personnel move was made.

2. In order to get sold for big bucks to a big team, Neal needs to start. He wouldn’t have this year for the Galaxy – he’d be third choice at best (he’s not a good fit next to Garces, who needs an aerially dominant veteran partner). Keeping him would only see his value drop. Thus, he lands in Montreal – a team that has carved out a proven pathway to Europe for their high performers over the past few years – for a decent chunk of GAM, that international roster slot and a sell-on fee (which I’m guessing will be about 25%, though we’re still waiting on Tom to report that out).

Is it a perfect outcome if you’re a Galaxy fan? No. A perfect outcome would’ve been Neal playing a starring role last year and getting sold for eight figures after this coming season.

But the perfect shouldn’t be the enemy of the good, here. And so what we’ve landed on is a good move that makes sense for the player, who will get his 3000 minutes in the shop window, and both clubs (Montreal get a starter and potential future income; the Galaxy get the budget flexibility they so badly need and that potential future sell-on fee). Those are all short-term wins.

Long-term, it is an easy argument for LA CSO Will Kuntz to make to future academy prospects: “Look, we’re not going to hold onto you and put you in a bad spot. We’re going to get you playing time one way or another, and if you’re good enough, that’s a path that leads both to the national team and to Europe.”

The Galaxy are still sitting on that pile of gold. Kuntz has grabbed a shovel, and they really are starting to dig.

NOTE: I’ll be back to work cranking out columns for MLSsoccer.com this week. Just had this one rattling around in my head today after Tom broke the news and wanted to get it all down on paper rather than just spamming the group chat with my thoughts.