Football
ESPN staff 7y

Sporting Kansas City signs Gianluca Busio, 15, to MLS contract

Sporting Kansas City signed 15-year-old forward Gianluca Busio on Friday, making him the second-youngest player with an MLS contract after Freddy Adu.

At 15 years and 89 days, Busio is about 10 months older than Adu was when he signed as a 14-year-old with D.C. United in 2004.

Busio, born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, signed a homegrown contract with Sporting KC after joining the club's academy a year ago. He lives with a host family and attends high school in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.

"Since I was a kid, I always dreamed of being a professional soccer player," Busio said. "From the day I arrived in Kansas City, they have made me feel like part of the family."

Busio began playing for Sporting KC's under-14 team before moving quickly through the ranks, eventually earning playing time with the under-18 team and scoring in its regular-season finale.

That rapid rise caught the attention of scouts, and he began to hear overtures from Premier League clubs in Europe along with interest from several other MLS clubs. A few offered him contracts, but Busio decided to remain with one of the league's perennial powerhouses.

"Gianluca is a very talented player who has the opportunity to progress along our professional pathway from the academy to the first team," Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. "He fits our style of play, has great vision on the field and can score goals from several different positions."

Busio will likely spend the upcoming season with the club's under-17 programs, but he could join the senior team soon.

Sporting KC previously signed Erik Palmer-Brown as a 16-year-old, and he needed only nine months before debuting in Sporting KC's defense.

"As Gianluca continues to develop," Vermes said, "the structure of our club will allow him to take steps toward his objective of playing at the top level for Sporting KC in the future."

Busio's contract runs through 2020 with options for 2021 and 2022.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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