WASHINGTON — After a turbulent period during which Conor Doyle wasn’t sure where he would end up after coming to the United States following his season with English club Derby County, the 21-year-old American forward is settling in with D.C. United.
Doyle trained with Colorado for nearly two months and thought he’d be signed by the Rapids, but because he’s a US youth international, he was subject to the lottery process. United swooped in and acquired him on loan.
“I heard quite a few different things. Training with Colorado, I heard I’d be staying there,” Doyle said following Friday’s training at RFK Stadium. “Then I heard about the whole lottery thing, then I heard that no one came in and I’d still be staying. Then I signed the official papers with the MLS and found out there were a few teams [interested in me] and I ended up here.”
“Here” is in the Nation’s Capital where he joins Luis Silva, Jared Jeffrey and Homegrown player Collin Martin as part of United’s recent influx of young, American talent. Doyle, who’s 6-foot-2, 172 pounds, is on loan with United for the remainder of the season.
“They’re giving young players a chance. It’s nice to see that. especially me being a young player,” Doyle said. “It’s nice. Obviously just being able to play soccer every day, it’s a dream, so you can’t really complain about it.”
Doyle played for the same youth soccer club in Texas as Jeffrey and said his first four days in D.C. have been positive. He’s available for selection Saturday for United’s match against New England at RFK Stadium (7 pm ET, MLS Live) and said he’s had a few discussions with Ben Olsen and his staff regarding his role on the club.
When Doyle was in England, he grew somewhat frustrated with his playing time, which is why he has been so quick to welcome a change of scenery.
“I wasn’t playing. I wasn’t getting games over there,” he said. “I felt like coming here would give me a good opportunity to do that. Hopefully I’m right in that sense and hopefully I can get the chance to show what I can do.”
