When Mauricio Pochettino names young players for the September and October international windows, you’ll quickly notice that there’s a defender missing from the ranks. Augsburg centre-back Noah Kai Banks was called up to the USMNT squad during September’s international break but did not feature and was left out of the subsequent training camp as he works towards representing Germany or the United States. But with the Germany Under-21 squad announced in the same window, Banks has also been included in the country’s squad as Jurgen Klopp looks to turn things around after a disappointing World Cup campaign. This means that once he submits a one-time transfer request, he will be permanently ineligible to enter the United States.
Banks, who was born in Hawaii to an American father and a German mother, is eligible to represent both countries but has so far only represented the U.S. youth team. The Augsburg man went on to say that he is undecided about his future, and while Pochettino admitted that United are being contacted by Banks, he also added that as he is such a young player it is important to give him time.
Interestingly, although Klopp sent more than 40 players to the German team’s four friendly matches during this window, Banks did not enter the national team, although the central defender position is the weak position of the German team. At just 19 years old, Banks has become a regular starter in the Bundesliga and represented the United States at the U-17 World Cup, so if he does feature for the youth teams, it would require a one-time move to represent Germany. The time spent with Marko Mitrovic and the youth team has also had a major impact on his career so far.
It’s unclear if he has submitted that application, but Germany’s youth teams have an important window of their own, with European U-21 qualifying underway. They will face Latvia, Malta and Georgia in the competition, which will provide a competitive test for Banks and other players who have been called up. On the other hand, Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi was a player that the Italian team wanted to call up, but he also chose to stay in the German youth team, which can be traced back to the top player of the national team. With Jurgen Klopp, Germany now have one of the strongest dual-citizen recruiting tools of any country. Players have always wanted to break through for Klopp, and if you were 50/50 between decisions, Klopp’s charisma could easily swing that in Germany’s favour.
Even without Banks on the team, the U.S. National Team will still have a talented teenage center back in the Philadelphia Union’s Neal Pierre. After returning from a loan spell at Lyngby, Pierre has become a mainstay in the league’s lineup, which has maintained a 10-game unbeaten run in Major League Soccer (MLS) since the World Cup break, during which he also scored four goals. There will always be players who fall out of the U.S. youth system, but for U.S. teenagers, the future has never been brighter, even if they represent Team Germany.