Juan Agudelo

#17

AGE: 23

COUNTRY: United States

POSITION: Forward

CLUB: New England Revolution

YEARS PRO: 7

Juan Agudelo | 24 Under 24 - https://league-mp7static.mlsdigital.net/images/Agudelo_0.png

EA SPORTS FIFA 17
Player Rating

Now in his seventh year as a pro, Agudelo is still only 23 – and still trying to establish himself as a full-time starter. He was solid for New England in 2015, scoring seven goals and notching three assists in 32 regular season appearances, 20 of which were starts. He bagged one of the goals of the year in the Revs’ Knockout Round loss at D.C. United, scoring a jaw-dropping bicycle kick to give New England the lead in their eventual 2-1 loss.

The one-time Stoke City and FC Utrecht player has had a slightly more difficult time getting on the field this year. The midseason arrival of Kei Kamara pushed the Colombia-born, New Jersey-raised striker down the depth chart, but Agudelo moved into the starting XI at the beginning of September and scored two goals while adding two assists in league play and also grabbing a brace in the Revs' US Open Cup final loss.

SCOUTING REPORT:

"He's very good in the air, and he can strike balls out of the air, especially from various angles."

"He's a mystery, I can't believe he's still under 24. He's been around forever. Since [New England] went to two up front in the diamond, he's been a beast … Nobody's ever doubted his ability, both athletically and technically – now it's putting full games together, games on top of games."

"You can see that he's got big potential – the league is still trying to see, what is he going to get out of it? I know they've tried him in different positions, but I believe when he's confident and he's holding up center backs and laying it off and keeping the team in possession, that's his biggest quality."

"He was doing well in New England and then he went over to Stoke and the whole work permit stuff didn't work out for him – I think mentally that's probably set him back a little bit. He goes back to New England, the way they were set up in the 4-3-3 [was for] little runs off the shoulder, tactically savvy runs, which is why they were better with Charlie [Davies], because that's sort of his bread and butter, and not a big strong target that's going to battle and spin you with the ball. And then he's been bounced around as a center forward and a winger, trying to find some stability. So I think that's been the issue for him a little bit – getting a position and saying, 'This is our guy at this position, let's go with him.'"

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