Having written recently about the sad disappearance of American influence around Craven Cottage, I stand corrected: I forgot that there is, indeed, still an American in performance mode at Fulham. And he’s one U.S. fans have a right to be excited about.
Emerson Hyndman is the 16-year-old grandson of FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman. His Fulham FC bio is here.
He first attracted attention from abroad about four years ago when Dennis Wise, then with Newcastle and visiting Texas for the annual Dallas Cup, spotted the 12-year-old. The family flirted with the notion of uprooting and moving into northern England but ultimately shelved the idea. Emerson, meanwhile, trained with FC Dallas in some portions of the pro team’s practices. Physically, he was among giants, but tactically and skills-wise the tiny young man was not out of his element.
Emerson Hyndman is at Fulham now and causing quite an excited ruckus. His hat trick in FFC’s under-18 win over the weekend has people on both sides of the Atlantic talking.
Even in a lopsided win, three goals is not bad work for a central midfielder during just 65 minutes of action.