MLSsoccer staff

23. Tesho Akindele

Pos: F | FC Dallas | Age: 22

Last Year in 24U24: N/A
2014 Stats: Matches played: 22 | Goals: 7 | Assists: 3
Castrol Index (as of 9/24/14): #60

Leading all rookies in goals this year (7), the Colorado School of Mines product has been a revelation for FCD. Given an opportunity after Blas Perez was injured, Akindele has used his combination of pace and power to become a near ever-present in the lineup. When he scores, the side is 4-1-0. A career-first hat trick on August 3 earned him Player of the Week honors.

What the experts say: "He works hard and he scores goals. If you do those two things, you'll play in this league a long time. He could be in line for a sophomore slump as teams figure him out and start to focus on stopping him. His game is probably not varied enough to sustain the production level of this year."

What Opta says: Ranks fourth in chances created from open play per 90 (1.19) minutes among players under 24. He also ranks fifth in goals scored per 90 minutes among the same group (0.41).