
A leading worldwide evaluator of players’ transfer values this week assigned a noteworthy figure to Louisville City FC’s Josh Wynder.
In updating all 600-plus players across the USL Championship, Transfermarkt raised the defender’s number to a league-leading €1 million, a 185.7% increase from his previous value of €350,000. That figure also ranks Wynder in the top five of center backs born in 2005.
The local native out of the LouCity Academy is coming up on a pivotal year, as he turns 18 on May 2 and will become eligible for a European transfer when the summer window opens.
Transfermarkt’s Manuel Veth called Wynder a “super talent” when announcing the news.
“The 17-year-old defender is considered one of the brightest prospects in U.S. soccer and was a crucial player in Louisville’s run to the USL Championship Final,” Veth wrote. “…A dynamic playmaking center-back with a formidable physical presence, Wynder is a key player and has been heavily scouted by Major League Soccer and European clubs.”
Wynder saw his role grow dramatically in 2022, when he started in 21 of his 24 appearances, missing part of the summer due to injury. Along the way, he earned multiple call-ups and captained the United States’ U-19 national team.
Wynder’s imminent transfer will, at the club level, follow in the footsteps of outside back Jonathan Gomez, the 2021 USL Championship Young Player of the Year now with La Liga’s Real Sociedad. The league has sent a number of other young talents overseas during recent transfer windows, leading Sky Sports to speak in August to Mark Cartwright, the USL’s sporting director.
“I genuinely believe we have the next Virgil van Dijk playing in our league,” Cartwright said at the time. “He’s 17, playing week in, week out, and he is absolutely unbelievable — Josh Wynder, who plays for Louisville.”
“…I’ve spoken to some of the top teams in England and Europe about him, and they’re watching him. And his club are getting inundated with calls.”