RSL youngsters heading to European clubs during offseason

HERRIMAN — Real Salt Lake announced plans Monday to send 15 of its younger players to five of the European clubs within the ownership group of David Blitzer, part-owner of RSL along with Ryan Smith.

"For the most part, it's a lot of young guys that didn't get a ton of minutes," RSL general manager Elliot Fall said. "And we want to continue their development that way."

The group is highlighted by five players currently signed to MLS contracts with RSL, while the other 10 are members of the Monarchs developmental team and RSL Academy.

Goalkeeper Gavin Beavers will travel to London to train with Premier League club Crystal Palace, while defenders Zack Farnsworth, Bode Hidalgo and Jaziel Orozco will all train with SK Beveren in Belgium. Midfielder Jude Wellings is the final of the five and will train at FC Augsburg in Germany.

"There's a great opportunity at a lot of different levels in those European clubs," Fall said. "And we're taking advantage of that and giving those guys an experience that will both improve the overall network and give those guys an opportunity to really improve as well."

All five of the RSL youngsters mentioned above saw first-team minutes this season with the exception of Beavers. Hidalgo has the most MLS experience with six games under his belt, followed by Orozco with four. Farnsworth and Wellings both played in RSL's Leagues Cup Showcase friendly against Mexican club Atlas in September.

While technically the rawest of the bunch, Beavers might have the most promise. The 6-foot-4 teenager was a basketball player up until he was recruited by Real Monarchs goalkeeper coach Mirza Harambasic to come to the RSL Academy in Herriman.

The departure of David Ochoa caused the keeper depth to thin, and suddenly Beavers found himself as the starting keeper for the Monarchs after Tomas Gomez became the first-team backup behind Zac MacMath.

The highlight of his year came in the Monarchs' win over Chelsea's U-20 squad in July, when he won Real the game in a penalty shootout.

"It kind of, I feel like, propelled us this season and kept us going," Beavers said of the Monarchs' win against Chelsea. "It got us on the right track."

The Monarchs went on to win four of their last eight matches after that, including a 1-0 shutout for Beavers on Aug. 26 against Tacoma. Now Beavers looks to take the next step in his development by training with a top-flight European club for most of November.

"It's gonna be a great opportunity, a great experience," Beavers said of his training stint with Palace. "I've never been over there, so super excited."

Orozco — an 18-year-old 2022 graduate from the RSL Academy — got his chances with the first team in Sandy early in the year when injuries decimated the team's depth, especially in the defense. He started three games in April and helped RSL to a pair of draws.

His last taste of first-team action was not a good one, however, starting the team's 6-0 loss in New York on April 17 — the worst loss in club history.

"It was a little disappointing. It was a tough, tough spot to be in; tough score," Orozco said of the NYCFC loss. "But at the end of the day, I took that all in, took all the games that I played, all the chances that Pablo (Mastroeni) gave me, and tried to translate it with the Monarchs. I think that gave me a good boost to become a better player."

Orozco will now try to make a similar leap to the one Hidalgo made at the end of the season to establish himself as a first-team player. Hidalgo, like Orozco, is a graduate of the Academy and the Monarchs. Now 20 years old, Hidalgo came on strong at the end of RSL's season by scoring a goal in the regular-season finale and even got in at the end of the playoff game in Austin.

"Although we didn't achieve what we wanted, I still felt like for me personally, it was a good step in the right direction," Hidalgo said. "And getting those minutes just makes me look forward even more to next year and coming in and picking up where I left off."

Hidalgo and Orozco will join Cedar Hills native Farnsworth in Beveren, where former RSL midfielder Everton Luiz currently plays.

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