Seattle Sounders FC 2 will reportedly sign another St. Vincent and the Grenadines national team player. Oalex Anderson's national team strike partner Myron Samuel is set to join S2 for the remainder of the 2015 USL season. At 22 years old, Samuel has played for the SVG senior national team since 2008, when he scored his first international goal at the age of 15 in qualification for the 2008 Caribbean Cup.
At the age of 18, Samuel joined the Sounders in 2011 as a trialist and played in a couple of games for the Sounders Reserves. At the time, Dave Clark had the following to say about Samuel:
Myron Samuel was much stronger on the ball, and still put himself in good places. He didn't get up to speed as often, and still looks like a project. I would love to see him among the U-18s.
In the second half, Samuel showed that he is much more raw, with a few sloppy passes backwards that were intercepted and generated opportunities for the Vancouver Whitecaps. He was fast, had very strong runs while struggling in the air (he's small) and could use some work passing. Readers think that he's a project more than a certainty.
Technical: 5.2
Tactical: 6.4
Offense: 6.6
Defense: 5.2
Physique: 6.6Compared to Sounders wingers -- though he played forward last night paired with Pat Noonan -- Miguel Montano and Sean Okoli he was a Montano or David Estrada type talent. Raw, promising and if retained a solid Reserve player who could become something more.
The consensus in the gamethreads at the time was that Samuel has good speed and made good runs, but his passing needed work. Had S2 existed at the time, he probably would've been signed to a USL contract.
The Home of Caribbean Football also shared some thoughts on Twitter:
@meeker253 A good player is Samuel. Very fast and knows where the net is.
— Caribbean Football (@caribbeanftbl) August 4, 2015
@meeker253 Know bits and pieces, nothing truly comprehensive. His goals helped fire Vincy Heat to the WIMT title in May.
— Caribbean Football (@caribbeanftbl) August 4, 2015
@meeker253 He had a trial with Seattle reserves in 2011 but the move never developed. He's played in his homeland most of his career.
— Caribbean Football (@caribbeanftbl) August 4, 2015
@meeker253 The fact that the Sounders 2 coach is a compatriot will surely aid his adjustment to life in the US. And that Oalex is there.
— Caribbean Football (@caribbeanftbl) August 4, 2015
Additionally, Twitter user @skarcha99 confirmed that Samuel is already in Seattle.
@caribbeanftbl yea man he's already up there pic.twitter.com/DYNiuKvDyy
— Mr Cool Bagga (@skarcha99) August 4, 2015
Samuel has spent his entire professional career playing in the SVG domestic league. Data from that league is almost impossible to track down, so all we have to go on right now is his time with the national team and his brief trial with the Sounders in 2011.
With the national team, Samuel has scored 17 goals in 46 appearances, including a goal against Guyana that helped send SVG to the third round of World Cup qualifying. In May, he scored 4 goals in 3 games to lead SVG to the 2015 Windward Islands Tournament title. In total, he has scored 5 goals in 6 matches for his national team this year.