North Texas SC has signed FC Dallas Academy midfielder Alejandro Urzua for the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season.
“It’s great for us to have one of our Academy players sign with North Texas SC,” said North Texas SC General Manager Matt Denny. “We are really excited for him to continue his journey here at the organization.”
The 16-year-old Urzua joined the FC Dallas Academy in July 2017 and made his North Texas SC debut as an Academy player last season on June 11. The midfielder logged 200 minutes in five appearances for NTSC throughout the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro regular season.
3rd Degree’s Take
Terrific signing. Urzua has been on my high-grown lists for a while now. So in pure talent terms, this is a terrific pickup. Expect him to play the entire season for NTXSC while getting lots of first-team training time.
Urzua is the first 2006 to sign with FCD/NTX from the Academy.
A Hybrid Contract?
One interesting detail is the press release only mentions the 2023 season. It seems quite unlikely to us that a kid this talented would give up his college option for a one-season MLS Next Pro deal. That leads us to believe the chatter we hear that Urzua signed a “hybrid” contract with the organization.
A hybrid deal is what Antonio Carrera signed last year before his spring training so impressed the club that they tore it up and gave him a straight homegrown contract. The hybrid contract is meant to replicate the pathway Ricardo Pepi took – start at North Texas and move to FC Dallas – under one contract. The idea is to lock up the best teenage talent without eating up Homegrown spots on the first-team roster with a player that won’t contribute for a couple of seasons.
So in this case, it seems likely to us that Urzua has signed a deal with some kind of combination of years with NTX and FCD.
TRANSACTION DETAILS
Full Name: Alejandro Urzua
Pronunciation: ah-le-HAN-droh urh-ZOO-ah
Connect with Alejandro: Instagram
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: April 3, 2006 (16)
Birthplace: Dallas, Texas
Nationality: American
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 145 lbs.
Last Club: FC Dallas Academy
Transaction: North Texas SC signs FC Dallas Academy midfielder Alejandro Urzua to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract for the 2023 season.
“Urzua is the first 2007 to sign from the Academy”. He’s a 2006, as you note further down. Also the first Academy 2006 to sign, to be fair.
Yeah just a typo,