Update [Monday, May 21, 4:30 pm CT]: MLSSoccer.com has come out with a story stating that FC Dallas would field their USL team in USL III.

Last week at training, FC Dallas Head Coach Oscar Pareja mentioned the upcoming USL team the club is going to field. While it's not exactly been a secret (I've literally had about five different front office people mention it in passing, including Technical Director Fernando Clavijo with whom I've talked to about it quite a bit) this was the first mention in front of a microphone.

Much remains to be determined about an FC Dallas USL team. Questions about a name, colors, kits, stadium venue, and even which league the team will play in, USL or USLD3, have yet to be answered.

But in the meantime, there is much we can talk about in terms of how the team will be constructed. One fact we do know, this team will be FCD's USL affiliate, ending the current agreement with the OKC Energy.

First off, all the talk from FC Dallas, official or unofficial, is that this USL team will be focused on player development. The goal here is not to create a USL team in another location with a different brand attempting to turn a profit. This USL team will train at Toyota Stadium during the week. Integrated completely, or perhaps partially depending on the day, with FCD's senior MLS side. In unofficial ways, it will be like one giant 50 man roster fielding two teams each weekend.

Newest FC Dallas homegrown Chris Richards is a likely candidate to see large amounts of playing time with FCD's forthcoming USL side. (Collodi Photography / Dallas Cup)

On the stadium front, Toyota Stadium is certainly the most likely venue for this FC Dallas owned USL team. One goal of this team will be to have the expenses as low as they can be. Limiting game-day expenses to the bare "opening the stadium" costs will help that. Paying a lease at another venue doesn't seem to be in the cards.

There has been some speculation of a small stadium like the Dr. Pink field outside Toyota stadium being constructed on one of the grass fields, but that seems the less likely option as low overhead is, I'm sure, preferred.

The kits will, I imagine, be the same as FC Dallas wears. Perhaps we'll see only the FC Dallas name being changed slightly to indicate the USL level, along with a slight badge tweak. FC Dallas II would be the obvious option. (I'm personally hoping for FC Frisco, but I'm not holding my breath)

As I said, the primary focus is going to be player development and not specifically winning, just like it is for the Academy teams. Don't get me wrong, FCD will try and turn a profit with this team and winning games will help that. But FCD isn't making a USL team to win the USL, they are doing it to win MLS Cups, US Open Cups, and the Concacaf Champions League.

As for the team itself, here's where we can get into some real technical aspects of roster building.

The senior MLS side will be looking to loan players to its own USL team for the season, and well as use loan/callbacks for young senior players when they aren't in the 18 man MLS squad. So we can expect a team constructed in the following manner.

Perhaps 10 or so players will be signed outright to the USL team just as any USL team will sign players. There should be a core signed of ex-FCD Academy players just graduated or perhaps with a few years of college play under their belt. These will be players who aren't up to MLS standards, yet. Perhaps they will be signed with an eye on late developing and maturing youngsters.

A few may be players who just don't see the college game as the right path and want to pursue a professional, USL level career. But I don't think you will see many late 20s USL veteran types unless they are locals who really want to continue a USL career in Dallas and don't mind MLS homegrowns being the priority.

You will also see a group of players signed by FC Dallas MLS but specifically for its USL affiliate. Carlos Avilez, who signed out of the Academy last year, is already one of these players. There is a rule about how many such players can be signed in this fashion. I believe the limit is four, but as of this writing, I can't document that online.

The distinction between these above two groups is that in the latter case FCD will maintain the MLS rights to the player. These players belong to the MLS club. In the former group, the player only belongs to the USL club and would have to be "signed via discovery" or "loaned" to the MLS side from the USL side if they were wanted.

Noah Franke, #36 in blue, a 2018 SuperDraft pick of FC Dallas, playing for OKC Energy in a preseason scrimmage. He is defended by another FCD draft pick Amer Sasivarevic. (2-8-18) (Buzz Carrick / 3rd Degree)

These above two groups are also where you will see players land who are drafted by FC Dallas in the MLS SuperDraft and don't get an MLS offer. If they will take some form of USL offer instead, that is. This last winter this could have been players like Chris Lema, Amer Sasivarevic, and Noah Franke.

On top of these two groups of players, you will see FC Dallas loan homegrown signings, Generation Adidas players, or other young players to the USL side for either the season or for short-term loans and recalls.

Some players, probably the youngest homegrowns, will be loaned for the year like Adonijah Reid has been with the Ottawa Fury. While some of the slightly older players might be loaned and recalled over and over again like Jordan Cano has with OKC Energy and Brandon Servania and Jesus Ferreira most recently were with Tulsa Roughnecks.

Keep in mind the very youngest homegrowns could still get plenty of play in the FCD Academy teams as well. Which team you might see some of these young men play for might change week to week. But there is an excellent chance you could see 15 and 16-year-olds playing in the USL for FC Dallas like they do for LA Galaxy.

This new FCD USL side won't necessarily preclude loan deals with other USL clubs like OKC Energy and Tulsa Roughnecks either. Good relationships remain with those clubs and playing time may come there just as it does now. But it will diminish the odds of such a deal a good bit.

So here's the basic structure of FCD's future USL side I think you will see.

10 players or so signed by the USL side directly.

4 players signed by FCD for the USL side (like Avilez).

2 to 4 MLS players assigned on season-long loans.

4 to 6 players on single-game loans when not in the MLS game day 18 man roster.

That gives FCD USL a roster of up to 24 players on any given game day to pick an 18 man USL side from. Priority will more than likely be given to the MLS players getting playing time.

If nothing else, it's certainly going to give us a whole lot more FC Dallas stuff to report on and talk about.