It's up to Jordan Morris to decide at which club he will begin his professional career, United States Under-23 coach Andreas Herzog has told FOX Sports.
The 21-year-old Morris is set to join Bundesliga club Werder Bremen next week during their winter training camp in Turkey, the club confirmed on Tuesday.
The 2015 NCAA College Cup winner with Stanford announced on Twitter that his time as a Cardinal has come to an end, and he has decided to "pursue a professional soccer career."
While he is eligible to join Seattle Sounders on a homegrown deal after spending time with the club's youth programs, he first wants to explore his options in Europe.
Speaking exclusively to FOX Soccer on Thursday, Herzog, who recommended the U.S. forward to his old club in Germany, says the choice is all his.
"He has two great options," Herzog to FOX Soccer. "Sigi Schmid is the coach in Seattle and I played under him [with LA Galaxy in 2004]. I know that Seattle is, every year, always close to winning the championship, winning the title. It would be good for Jordan.
"On the other side, every player is an individual," Herzog told FOX Soccer. "Maybe for one it is better to go to another country to start. For the other one, maybe he needs the surroundings, the family around him, the friends around him. That's a huge interest. That's important for everyone. It's important for Jordan that he feels confident and that he starts his professional career right now in the best shape possible because it's important for our men's national team and the Olympic team, too."
The 21-year-old has already earned seven international caps for the U.S. and coach Jurgen Klinsmann has said Morris "obviously has to" go pro.
Goal.com reported this week that he was "in advanced negotiations" with the Sounders for his first pro contract.
But the striker will first explore his options in Europe as he joins Werder Bremen for training on Monday in Belek, Turkey.
Morris' U.S. teammate Aron Johannsson is already a member of the Bremen squad but has been out since September with a hip injury.
Morris is a key figure on the U.S. Under-23 team that faces Colombia in March for a chance to qualify for the Olympics, and he will join the senior national team for training camp later this month.