After spending a half-dozen years in Germany, U.S. U-20 national team defender/midfielder Ian Hoffmann (Wilton, Conn.) is back stateside and part of a youth movement in Major League Soccer.
Hoffmann, 18, signed a pre-contract with the Houston Dynamo on Monday that starts at the first-team level in 2021. Until then, he’ll spend the remainder of this season at Rio Grande Valley FC on the club's USL Championship hybrid affiliate roster.
Hoffman was on the U-19 team for 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC, but kept abreast of the rebuild Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos was leading with the help of assistant coach Omid Namazi.