Aberdeen manager Stephen Glass’ knowledge of the ‘untapped’ American market gives him a huge advantage over his Scottish Premiership rivals.
That’s the verdict of former Caley Thistle star Nick Ross, who has just joined Sacramento Republic from rival USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive.
The Dons last week snapped up elite American college midfielder Dante Polvara and he follows in the bootsteps of US international forward Christian Ramirez, who was signed from MLS outfit Houston Dynamo, and Jack Gurr, who arrived from Glass’ former club, Atlanta United.
Glass has strong knowledge of US leagues
Ross, part of the Inverness Scottish Cup-winning team of 2015, reckons Glass has the edge with his knowledge of all Stateside leagues.
He said: “I’m sure the players Aberdeen are taking in will do well there. I wouldn’t be surprised if more of that happened.
“It’s an untapped market – but that beginning to change and Aberdeen have realised that.
“There are a lot of good young players coming through. Stephen Glass, who was Atlanta United 2, also worked with a lot of youth teams, so he would know of a lot of boys in this league (USL), as well as the MLS.
“He’s got a strong knowledge of players in all the leagues here, while not many others do, so that’s a big advantage for Aberdeen.”
Germany calling for American aces
Dons legend Willie Miller wrote in his Evening Express column this week there are many gems still to be unearthed in America.
And 30-year-old playmaker Ross explained German clubs in particular are making their move to snap up starlets from the USA.
He said: “There are a lot of good players out here and we don’t know much about them in Scotland.
“People know all about the MLS, which was all about David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard coming over for the last few years of their careers.
“That’s totally changed and a lot of young players have arrived. There are actually a lot of boys right now going from America to Germany.
“German clubs are really keen on signing young American players because they are cheap, yet technically they can be very good. The academies really help on that front.
“We had a boy called Diego Luna, who is 18, and he came to us at El Paso when he was 17. He’s probably the best young player I have ever seen. He has been on trial at a lot of European clubs and there has been a lot of interest. He’ll have a big career.
“He was at the Barcelona Academy in Phoenix. They take players in young, they go to school and train twice a day.
“They have so many players and they get decent moves. We’ve played against them a couple of times. They’re young, but are a really high standard.”
Ross flies flag for Scottish players
Ross is one of the only Scottish players in action in America right now, although a few from this country have been there in recent years.
The Inverness-born player added: “Alex Cooper was at Fresno for a while before moving to Ireland. Rob Kiernan, who’s an Englishman, played for Rangers (and) was at Orange County.
“Last year, we played against Indiana, and Nicky Law and Cammy Smith were playing. Cammy returned to Scotland and is with Partick Thistle now, while Nicky signed up again over here.
“There are a lot of English and Irish players, but not many Scottish players right now.”