Tracked and traced

Inter Miami CF were fast off the blocks when MLS’ secondary transfer window opened on July 7, bringing in USA youth international Indiana Vassilev on loan from Aston Villa.

It was Inter Miami’s first transfer window since joining TransferRoom, and they found immediate success.

The club ran a search for domestic US players overseas, and when Vassilev’s name - one the club had been tracking - appeared on TransferRoom, Scouting Director Mark Prizant immediately reached out to Aston Villa on the platform.

From player identification to signed contract, the deal for the 20-year-old was direct and fast.

Prizant told TransferRoom: “Indiana was a US based youth player that I had been tracking since he was 14 years old. In fact I have written reports on him dating back to April 2015 with the Youth National Teams. 

“I log onto TransferRoom twice daily to see what new players are made available for transfer or loan. When I saw he was made available to loan I immediately expressed interest on the platform. 

“Within 24 hours I was having initial conversations with Adam Henshall, the Head of Emerging Talents and Loans at Aston Villa. We established how both clubs envisioned Indiana’s role to determine suitability for a loan. 

“Once we agreed on Inter Miami CF being the right situation to help develop the player, the rest was really just ironing out the details. TransferRoom helped to make the initial connection, put us into direct contact and accelerated the process.”

Obvious attraction

Aston Villa were sure there would be wide interest in Vassilev when they made the decision about his availability for the 2021-22 season, and their confidence was well-placed.

Henshall said: “We registered Indiana’s availability on the platform early on in the transfer window as we knew that he would be a player of interest both domestically and abroad. Without having to use the pitch function in this instance, Inter Miami registered their interest to start conversations around securing the loan. The platform enabled both clubs to make contact and build a strong relationship moving forward.”

Getting over the line...finally

Vassilev, who has made four first team appearances at Aston Villa, will now spend the remainder of the MLS campaign in Miami. 

For Chris Henderson, Chief Soccer Officer and Sporting Director at Inter Miami, there was an element of relief to the transfer.

Henderson, who joined the club in January after 13 years as Sporting Director of Seattle Sounders, said: “I was close to a few deals on TransferRoom at the Sounders, so I was really pleased to finally get one over the line on the platform.

“It’s super helpful to go club-to-club. When we are discovering players, particularly when it is data driven versus agent driven, we can go straight into the portal and get direct access to the clubs. We are really happy using the platform.”