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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Nizaar Kinsella

USA set to poach ex-Chelsea and Aston Villa youngster Declan Frith from England

US Soccer are ready to poach former Chelsea and Aston Villa winger Declan Frith from England.

The 21-year-old is applying for a passport to play for the United States in March, with his grandmother's heritage making him eligible.

Frith has been tracked by US scouts since joining Chelsea from non-league Welling United in 2021, having been released by Charlton Athletic.

The forward, who has also played as a left-back, left Chelsea after just five months to join Aston Villa, where he scored 12 goals and got eight assists in his final season.

Frith joined Valencia this summer, and after a delay in processing his documents, he has two goals and one assist in his first two youth matches.

He has also made three appearances for Valencia B in the third division. The cash-strapped former Spanish giants increasingly rely on youth and will fast-track Frith into the first team in the coming months.

The United States will likely initially select Frith for the Under-23s but he could soon follow AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah, an English-born US international who used to play at Mestalla.

Jamaica's rumoured approach for Frith is understood to be a non-starter.

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