Major League Soccer, like most pro sports leagues, is full of copycats.



A single success begets a trend and that trend evolves as each team brings its own ideas and perspective. This year, for example, a wave of young South American players are joining the league as teams search for their own Miguel Almirón.



Before there can be the copycats, however, there has to be an original idea. And as more attention is paid to the dearth of young American talent finding its way on to an ever-more competitive MLS playing field, there is a chance for some teams in MLS to be the first to open a new pathway for those players to play.



There have been only a few intra-league loans in the history of MLS. The Colorado Rapids sent Tony Cascio to the Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA acquired Eriq Zavaleta from the Seattle Sounders in 2014. Ryan Meara went on loan from the New York Red Bulls to NYCFC. Three years later, Minnesota United acquired Brandon Allen on loan from the...