ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced on Friday the club had acquired United States youth international Nathan Worth via transfer from fellow USL Championship club FC Tulsa. Per club policy, terms of the transfer were not disclosed.

Worth will be available for selection in the Rowdies’ contest against Birmingham Legion FC at Al Lang Stadium on Saturday night.

Worth signed a multi-year contract with Tulsa ahead of the 2023 USL Championship season. The 17-year-old earned nine starts in 17 total appearances for Tulsa during his first season with the club and netted his first professional goal in Tulsa’s regular-season finale against Hartford. This season, Worth has appeared in four matches for Tulsa.

“We’re really happy to have Nate with us,” said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. “We think we can give him a good platform to develop, play meaningful minutes, and hopefully move forward in his career. We’re trying to bring more young American talent into the team and trying to develop them. We’ve got a fantastic training facility here. We want to maximize it by helping to develop young players and hopefully get them into the team.”

A native of New Jersey, Worth developed through the academy system of New York Red Bulls. At 15, he made his professional debut with New York Red Bulls II in the USL Championship. Internationally, Worth has made a handful of appearances for the U.S. U-15 and U-16 squads. He scored his first international goal while captaining the U-15s in a match against Portugal in May of 2022.

“I was really excited when I heard Tampa Bay was interested,” said Worth. “I’ve played here before on the other side of things, so I know it’s a great atmosphere at the games and a great area to live. From just arriving this week, I can already tell the club has a great environment within the locker room. I’m really excited to be here and now I’m just eager to get to work. Coach Robbie told me I’ve got to work hard and earn my spot on the team. I’m ready to do that.”

Analysis

Tampa Bay’s addition of Nathan Worth to its midfield corps not only adds depth but both continues the trend of the Rowdies acquiring notable talent from elsewhere in the league via transfer and the willingness the club has shown to offer opportunities to young talent within its more established veteran presences. With Tampa Bay’s ball-dominant style, Worth’s qualities in tight spaces in the midfield should be a fit alongside the likes of Lewis Hilton and Danny Crisostomo as he continues his individual development as a player.

Beyond that, Worth’s position as a young talent that has trained this offseason with top-flight clubs in Europe makes his long-term pathway one the Rowdies will be aiming to spotlight with a potential move overseas in mind. That could see more opportunities for minutes than he was receiving at Tulsa, where he had seemingly fallen down the pecking order behind veterans Justin Portillo and Edwin Laszo following the changes at the club this past offseason, resulting in only sporadic appearances so far this campaign.