Cal Jennings was missing from FC Dallas training today and according to Coach Luchi Gonzalez won’t be offered a first-team contract. “We don’t have a contract for [Jennings] at the first team. There is some potential, maybe, for professionalism with the second team.”
For now, Jennings is apparently exploring his options which include signing in a foreign country or signing with a USL club. FCD holds Jennings’ MLS rights, so any MLS team wishing to acquire the striker would need to work a trade with Dallas.
“We support him in looking for opportunities,” Gonzalez continued. “I do think he has a lot of tools to potentially be in this league, maybe now, or later. He’s a young man and he had a great college career, I don’t see why he can’t play professional soccer and take steps to be in MLS sooner than later.”
Over the course of spring camp, it became clear to observers the FCD coaching staff didn’t feel Jennings was an ideal fit for Luchi-Ball as he’s not used to pressing and isn’t, at least now, ready to play any wing.
But the bottom line was probably playing time. With Zdenek Ondrasek returning as the starting striker, any backup minutes are going to go to Homegrown Ricardo Pepi and that’s even before the arrival of Franco Jara from Pachuca this summer. Not to mention Homegrown Jesus Ferreira has the ability to play as a 9, as does Fafa Picault.
Perhaps, in the end, it was just about the numbers.
