After setting the league points record and winning the Supporters’ Shield, the future of the Red Bulls’ midfield will once again lie on the club’s own roster. Cristian Cásseres Jr., the 18-year-old from Venezuela, is officially in the spotlight.



After signing last offseason, the plan all along seemed to be to hand him the deep-lying midfielder’s role when Tyler Adams inevitably departed for Europe. Now that that’s happened, the Red Bulls will depend on Cásseres to fill perhaps the most influential role on their team.



“Tyler is a great player. I have learned a lot from him and wish him all the best in Germany,” Cásseres told The Athletic from Venezuela, where he is with his country’s U-20 national team as they look to qualify for next year’s World Cup. “Everybody knows how important he was for us, but here (it) is all about teamwork, no one player is bigger than the team. I am ready to...