Report: Chivas USA Academy's Ben Spencer on Trial in Norway

J.R. Eskilson of youth and college soccer website Topdrawersoccer.com tweeted out this evening that Chivas USA Youth Academy U18 player Ben Spencer is currently on trial with Molde FK in Norway. The announcement comes as something of a surprise, but isn't completely unexpected as Spencer has been weighing his options for months. He committed to UC Santa Barbara, but has always seemed likely to see if he could get a pro contract without going the college route.

Molde is an interesting club for Spencer to trial for, as they are the two-time defending Norwegian League champions, with former Manchester United player Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer as their manager. Perhaps more intriguing, Molde has two young Americans on their books, recent U.S. Men's National Team debutante Josh Gatt and Sean Cunningham, who is currently on loan with Stabaek. Both Gatt and Cunningham hail from the same part of Michigan, but with Spencer's trial, perhaps the club is branching out to find more young American talent.

Obviously, the trial could ultimately lead to nothing tangible for the striker, but given the success of Gatt at a team that has won the title two seasons running means the club is willing to use American players and give them playing time. At the very least, getting a chance to show his skills in a high-pressure situation should be useful for the junior Goat and USYNT player. But if Spencer ends up getting a contract with a pro team in Europe, will Chivas USA rue losing another Youth Academy product for the first team? We will let you know any developments in this story.

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