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Schaerlaeckens on Andy Najar's Honduras Debut And Possible Euro Interest

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Despite all the talk surrounding Andy Najar's decision (which was never realistically in doubt at any point), there was very little written following his debut for Honduras. However, we do have Leander Schaerlaeckens from ESPN focusing a whole piece on Najar. If for no other reason, you should read this because it the only eyewitness account of Honduras's 2-0 loss to Colombia that I've seen in English, and because Schaerlaeckens has a few quotes of note from Najar's agent Chris Megaloudis (who is also starting for the Puerto Rico national team against Dwayne De Rosario's Canada right as I type this). Megaloudis says Ajax and another Dutch club have shown some interest in Najar, while two unnamed English clubs are alleged to have been sniffing around as well. The Ajax interest shouldn't come as a shock considering the increased connection between them and United - right down to assistant coach Sonny Silooy - and the Eredivisie might not be the worst place for Najar to take his (inevitable) first steps in Europe. Schaerlaeckens also refers to Najar's 2011 season as "disappointing," which struck me as rather bizarre. Najar is roughly on track to match his goal haul from last season, and that's despite no longer being our best (only?) scoring threat as he was in 2010. Najar's 2011 might not be a step up to MLS Best 11-level play - which seems like a pretty unfair demand to put on a second-year player still in his teens - but he has improved some things while not losing any of the qualities that made him last season's Rookie of the Year. Thoughts on the piece? On Najar?

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