Three New England Revolution youngsters will spend three weeks this winter training with Portuguese giants Sporting Clube de Portugal, the club announced on Wednesday.
Homegrown midfielder Zachary Herivaux, 22-year-old forward Sean Okoli and 24-year-old midfielder Donnie Smith will train in Lisbon with the current Portuguese Primeira Liga leaders from Nov. 29-Dec. 18 before returning to the US.
The Revolution and Sporting entered a multi-year strategic partnership in October 2014. Revolution head coach Jay Heaps and general manager Michael Burns will also travel to Portugal to spend time with Sporting.
“Sporting are known for their ability to develop young talent,” Burns said in a statement released by New England. “We feel these three players will really benefit from this opportunity to train at a high level during the offseason.”
Okoli made five regular-season appearances for New England in 2015, while rookie Herivaux, just 19 years old, and Smith both failed to appear in a league game.
