Charles Renken Signs With 1899 Hoffenheim

Soccer by Ives has reported that former Scott Gallagher player Charles Renken has signed with German-side 1899 Hoffenheim

Two of the best players in the U.S. national team youth system will be taking their development to Europe.

ESPN.com’s Justin Rodriguez is reporting that Charles Renken and Joseph Gyau will be joining the 1899 Hoffenheim youth academy. The story mentions multi-year contracts for both, but it should be noted that FIFA bylaws do not permit players younger than 18 to sign binding professional contracts outside of their home countries.

The agreement will mean that Gyau and Renken will split time between the Hoffenheim academy and the Vancouver Whitecaps residency school for the next year.

Gyau, 16, and Renken, 15, are two of the best players on the current U.S. Under-17 national team and have been hotly pursued by several European clubs.

Charles, pictured above playing in Springfield as part of the 2006 Missouri State Cup, was a 12 year old playing as a member of the U14 State Championship squad in 2006 that included Skyler Russell, who is a senior at Kickapoo and will play at Syracuse next year AND Jordan Pitts, a senior goalkeeper at Glendale. Skyler is center row, 3rd from left while Jordan is top row, far right.