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LA Galaxy Sign Homegrowns: The Youth Movement Continues

CARSON, CA (March 2, 2017) – The LA Galaxy have added two more Homegrowns to their roster: midfielder Jaime Villarreal, the younger brother of Jose Villarreal and young defender Nathan Smith.

LA Galaxy Sign Homegrowns: The Youth Movement Continues

Villarreal joins his brother on the first team after being with LA Galaxy II since 2014. He played in 61 matches for Los Dos and had some good moments at times. He’s still only 19-years-old. While the winger core might have him at the bottom of the depth chart, he can still learn a lot training daily with the likes of Romain Alessandrini, Sebastian Lletget, and Emmanuel Boateng.

Villarreal could see playing time during international play if Lletget is called up to the U.S. Men’s National Team. Worst case scenario, he gets loaned down to Los Dos for an extended period of time and comes up when needed.

Nathan Smith is a bit more of an unknown. He played college soccer at UCLA after growing up in the Galaxy academy. The defender made 24 appearances for Los Dos in 2016. His signing gives Head Coach Curt Onalfo another option on a thinning back line.

“His signing with our first team is a testament to his continued growth on the field. We think he can continue to develop to contribute to our team at the MLS level,” said General Manager Peter Vagenas.

Like Villarreal, he’s probably at the point where he could be really good for Los Dos but also grow and progress if he were training with the first team regularly.

These two signings probably don’t move the needle for the Galaxy. But it does give them a few more depth options to try the kids out. Furthermore, it gets Onalfo two inexpensive and young players he knows well and can develop into pros.

Transaction: LA Galaxy sign midfielder Jaime Villarreal as a Homegrown Player

Name: Jaime Villarreal
Position: Midfielder
Number: 19
Height: 5-8
Weight: 160 lbs.
Born: 06/23/1995
Age: 21
Hometown: Inglewood, Calif.
Last Club: LA Galaxy II
Citizenship: United States

Transaction: LA Galaxy sign defender Nathan Smith as a Homegrown Player

Name: Nathan Smith
Position: Defender
Number: 16
Height: 5-10
Weight: 165 lbs.
Born: 10/18/1994
Age: 22
Hometown: Clovis, Calif.
Last Club: LA Galaxy II
Citizenship: United States

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