Though bound for Premier League, phenom keeps leveling up in MLS
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
By TOM BOGERT and THOM HARRIS / THE ATHLETIC
Cavan Sullivan did not take a break this summer, even as his Philadelphia Union squad enjoyed a much-needed few weeks off for the World Cup.
The first half of the season had been a disaster. The Union went from first in 2025 to 30th in 2026, and coach Bradley Carnell was fired as the team went its separate ways for the summer.
Having won a starting spot in the first team, the 16-year-old Sullivan told the Union that he wanted to keep playing and asked to keep training with the second team.
Sullivan, who has been followed with a spotlight since he was 13 at academy and youth national team games and who has a transfer to Manchester City already settled for when he turns 18 in two years, asked to go back to the second team instead of training alone or taking time off.
“During the World Cup, he was an animal in the way he trained,” Jon Scheer, the Union sporting director, told The Athletic.
The Union II had a match lined up against Ivory Coast, which was based in the area for the World Cup. Sullivan asked to play in that, too, and excelled. He even posted a compilation of his highlights on social media.
Since the team returned to training, with the second-team head coach, Ryan Richter, elevated to interim boss of the first team, the Union have taken off. They have won all four of their MLS games with Sullivan playing a central role, including two assists in last Sunday’s 3-2 win over New York City FC.
Sullivan has leveled up from a promising young talent to a key contributor in all facets of the game — not just his dazzling skill and intentionality on the ball, but off it, too, in a pressing, high-energy team.
“That’s what I’m most proud of with Cavan: He’s happy when we win, and when we lose, no matter how he plays, he’s not happy,” Scheer said. “That’s a really good sign for years to come.”
It does not take long watching Sullivan play to get swept up in the excitement.
Game time is coming more regularly now for him, having racked up almost 50% of his senior career minutes since the start of May. It is giving Sullivan more opportunities to impress, and Richter has already seen enough to suggest that he trusts Sullivan to make a difference in the final third of the field.
Every time the play moves toward Sullivan, it feels as if something could happen. He is refreshingly direct, a zippy winger who has no fear when it comes to taking on defenders, able to dip left and right with short steps and devastating bursts of speed.
“He’s played with a lot of intent and confidence,” Scheer said, reflecting on his recent success with the first team. “He’s earned everything he’s got so far and is hungry for more.”
In a recent comeback win over Atlanta United, for example, he picked up a pass from fullback Kai Wagner and instantly squared up to his man. His first touch was positive, and he did not hesitate before dropping a shoulder and darting to the byline, happy to rely on his pace to get around the defender. His path was blocked, but he faked out his defender and chopped inside to fire a pass to Jovan Lukic on the edge of the box.
Barely five minutes later, he peeled off into space on the opposite flank, shimmying both ways before cutting in and driving a low shot toward the far corner.
Sullivan has yet to score from outside the box in senior soccer, but the early signs are that he can pack a punch from a distance, striking the ball consistently well. He is not shy about taking on those shots either.
Sullivan’s natural enthusiasm catches the eye. He will drift all over the field to find fresh opponents to take on. He is equally happy to run at defenders from either flank and will eagerly take them on.
Sullivan’s close control in tight spots makes him tricky to tackle, capable of receiving passes under pressure and wriggling his way away from outstretched legs.
In another example from that Atlanta game, he carried the ball straight into a crowd of players, slinking away from three separate challenges before eventually being dispossessed. Although Sullivan could not carry the ball toward the byline himself, the fact that he engaged four opponents still led to a half-chance for his team.
Given his positivity and youthful enthusiasm, Sullivan is understandably prone to mistakes.
He is desperate to leave an impression, and that bears out in the statistics: Around 1 in 4 of Sullivan’s passes are considered progressive — a pass that moves the ball at least 25% closer to the opposition goal — while almost 9% of his carries include a take-on.
So much of what he does carries the intention of attacking the opposition, which can lead to overplaying and forcing the issue at times.
At one point against Atlanta, he held on to the ball a little too long down the flank early in the first half, ignoring the overlapping run and giving up possession as he attempted one step-over too many. Against Seattle, he caught the ire of his teammate and older brother Quinn Sullivan, 22, at the back post after opting to go alone, taking himself too wide and ending with his effort easily saved.
Cavan Sullivan’s decision-making can be worked on, but it is always worth giving talented players like him the freedom to make an impact, particularly at such a young age.
“I’m really happy with what Ryan and the staff have done,” Scheer said. “They’ve allowed Cavan to be different and special in moments of the game while still having standards and expectations of him within the team, whether it’s against the ball, whether it’s some structural positioning with the ball. But we want Cavan to be Cavan.”
Given his natural dribbling ability and powerful strikes on goal, meaningful attacking contributions should soon begin to surge.
“As well as he’s playing for such a young player, he’s got more in him,” Scheer said. “And he knows that. He wants to get better.
“Cavan just wants to be the best he can be — that’s how he approaches every training session and game, no matter who he’s with. That’s going to take him a long way.”
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