Former U.S. international Freddy Adu will join the Portland Timbers this week for a trial, a team spokesman confirmed to ESPNFC.
"He hasn't joined yet but he will be among a group that joins this week and will be training with the team," Chris Metz, the MLS club's vice president, communications, said via text message.
The 27-year-old Adu was the youngest American to sign a professional contract in a major team sport when D.C. United signed him at 14 in 2003, a record he still holds. He's also still the youngest player to appear for the U.S., having debuted in 2006 at 16 years, 234 days.
But the former phenom never realized his early promise.
Adu has played for 13 different clubs in less than 14 years as a pro, traveling from world famous clubs like Benfica and Monaco to obscure sides in European backwaters such as Serbia and Finland.
He hasn't played in MLS since 2013, the last of 2 ½ seasons with the Philadelphia Union, and was most recently a reserve with the second-tier Tampa Bay Rowdies, making just 12 league appearances in 2015 and '16. The last of his 17 U.S. caps came in the 2011 Gold Cup final.
Making Portland's roster would appear to be a long shot for Adu given that history, although the Ghanaian-born, Maryland raised midfielder has at least one thing going for him. Adu played for Timbers coach Caleb Porter when Porter was in charge of the U.S. U-23 squad.