Fansided

10 potential breakout players for the 2018 MLS season

By Harrison Hamm

FRISCO, TX - JUNE 27: FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon (22) looks to pass the ball during the game between FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids on June 27, 2017, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
FRISCO, TX - JUNE 27: FC Dallas defender Reggie Cannon (22) looks to pass the ball during the game between FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids on June 27, 2017, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, KS – AUGUST 09: San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill (14) before the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal between the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting KC on August 9th, 2017 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, KS – AUGUST 09: San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Jackson Yueill (14) before the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup semifinal between the San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting KC on August 9th, 2017 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, KS. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

8. Jackson Yueill, San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose are coming off one heck of a weird season. They endured the final months of Dom Kinnear’s 4-4-2-filled tenure early on before cutting the longtime manager loose in late June, replacing him with technical director Chris Leitch. With Leitch, they overcompensated from Kinnear’s conservative coaching nature, inserting all sorts of new attacking faces and at times playing what looked like a 4-2-4. It mostly worked, as the Quakes beat out a bunch of wacky Western Conference foes for the sixth playoff spot despite a minus-21 goal differential.

They proceeded to get shellacked in the postseason knockout round by Vancouver, losing 5-0 to the bunker-and-counter team.

For 2018, many familiar faces will be back with the team, including Leitch, although back as a technical director instead of manager. Mikael Stahre, a veteran coach from Sweden, took over, and while it’s unclear how much he’ll adhere to Leitch’s attack-first, keep-the-ball tactical approach, he has numerous pieces to work with in his debut campaign.

One of those will be 20-year-old Jackson Yueill, a UCLA product who can control the tempo in central midfield and cover ground as a No. 8. He impressed in almost 1,000 minutes last season, and he projects to (hopefully) earn a lot more in 2018.

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