USA's Josh Sargent Turns 18, Signs His Contract With Werder Bremen

Josh Sargent had reached an agreement with Werder Bremen months ago but wasn't eligible to sign his deal until he turned 18.

U.S. men's national team rising star Josh Sargent is officially a Werder Bremen player.

Months after agreeing to join the Bundesliga club, Sargent became eligible to sign his contract with the team on Tuesday, when he turned 18. 

“All the formalities have been completed and Josh has now signed his professional contract with us," Werder Bremen sporting director Frank Baumann said in a statement. "We’re really happy that he has decided to take this next step in his career at SV Werder Bremen. He has really impressed us since the beginning of this year and has gathered experience in first team training as well as some games with the Under-23s."

​Sargent joined up with the club in September to begin his initiation on an unofficial level, and he'll be able to play for the first team starting in the 2018-19 season.

Hear why new signing @_joshsargent_ chose to join #Werder to start his professional career from 2018 🇺🇸 👇 pic.twitter.com/XutentSxj3

— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) September 20, 2017

Sargent joins a growing list of young Americans at top-flight German clubs. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie have made waves at Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, respectively, while Schalke agreed on Monday to sign 17-year-old Zyen Jones, who will join Americans Haji Wright and Nick Taitague at the club. 

Sargent, a Missouri native who will team with fellow U.S. international Aron Johannsson at Werder Bremen, broke out with the USA in 2017 at both the U-17 and U-20 FIFA World Cups and reportedly chose Werder Bremen over the likes of Dortmund and Bayern Munich. He was called in by interim USMNT manager Dave Sarachan for last November's friendly vs. Portugal, but he sat out the match with a minor injury and is still seeking his first senior cap. It could come as soon as the USA's friendly vs. Paraguay next month.

“We have been keeping tabs on Joshua for a long time and so it isn’t a great surprise to us that his brilliant performances have attracted attention on an international scale. Therefore we are extremely happy that despite the numerous offers from other top clubs in Europe, he was convinced by our philosophy at SV Werder and that we can now oversee his development as a player and support him along the way. He has a great understanding of the game and he is one of the most promising talents of his age in the world,” Tim Steidten, Werder Bremen's head of scouting, said in September, upon his arrival.