A prolific goalscorer throughout the youth ranks at Real Salt Lake, Brooks Lennon earned himself a move to the famed academy of Liverpool FC in 2015.
After a few years abroad, Lennon returned to RSL ahead of the 2017 season, starting 15 games and scoring three goals. RSL made Lennon's loan a permanent deal last December, but 2018 has brought a new role for the U.S. youth international.
This season, Lennon has become the team's primary right fullback after playing across the front line his whole career. He has started 28 of RSL's 30 games this season, adding five assists, as his team sits on the right side of the playoff line after heartbreak in 2017. Head coach Mike Petke said it didn't take much convincing of the player who just turned 21 earlier this month.
âThere was no selling,â Petke told Yahoo's Doug McIntyre. âHeâs 20 years old, heâs a kid, I told him this is where you are going to play. Brooks is smart enough to know that if he wants to get on the field, this was his best opportunity.â
Petke has been impressed with his young fullback and went as far to say he has the ability to play there for the U.S. men's national team.
âHe has a great work rate and heâs gotten better every game,â Petke said. âHe hasnât even gotten forward as much as I want him to. Iâm waiting for him to really embrace attacking from the outside. In my opinion, and Iâve talked to some other coaches and GMs around the league, Brooks can be a U.S. national team right back if he sticks with it and continues to fine-tune some things. He can do that for sure.â
Right back is a crowded position in the USMNT pool. DeAndre Yedlin has long held the role and is just 25. Shaq Moore, 21, has earned a handful of caps with the likes of Keegan Rosenberry (24) and Reggie Cannon (20) on the cusp of getting an opportunity at the national level.
Read McIntyre's other 22 thoughts in his weekly "23 Thoughts" column
