Wigan Athletic. FC Nantes. NAC Breda.



These are not clubs that drive a hype train when a player joins them. They are answers to trivia questions, footnotes in the careers of great players, proof that even the best usually start somewhere small, like Dele Alli at MK Dons or N’Golo Kante at Caen. We reserve our excitement for names like Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and even smaller ones like Everton or Fulham.



But this is a strange time to be a USMNT fan, and that means placing hope in players and teams that those following U.S. prospects abroad might usually approach with more caution. Of course, it helps when those players are on loan, and the Manchester Cities of the world actually do own the contracts of those players. All that is to say, watching Antonee Robinson burn down the length of the pitch with the ball, beat two defenders, and send in a cross that leads to a goal is cause for celebration, even if he’s doing it in Wigan’s blue and...