Mike Grella's unheralded climb to MLS stardom should get him a US national team callup.
That was the opinion expressed by ESPN commentator and veteran MLS watcher Brian Dunseth in the pregame show ahead of Sunday's #NYderby between New York City FC and Grella's New York Red Bulls.
"I really, really like this player," said Dunseth, himself a former MLS standout during his own playing career. "He's a guy that's been a difference-maker over the last two years in Major League Soccer."
Noting that Grella has scored more goals in MLS over the past two seasons (15) than any other US-born player save Chris Wondolowski, Dunseth urged Jurgen Klinsmann to call in "Grelladinho" when the USMNT stage their 2017 January camp, the program's annual winter gathering of new faces and out-of-season prospects in Southern California.
"He's given [RBNY] a different perspective in the attack," said Dunseth of Grella, who has shown composed finishing, smart passing and reliable workrate on the left wing in New York's 4-2-3-1 high-press system. "Bradley Wright-Phillips has been phenomenal, and consistent, but Grella dipping in underneath has been a difference-maker.
"I think Mike Grella deserves a look for the US men's national team in January."
