Chris Armas
Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Red Bulls could break a major milestone this offseason by signing 18-year-old Mathias Jorgensen.

New Year, new signings for New York Red Bulls.

New York is on the verge of acquiring their first ever 18-year-old who played in the top-flight of a European league. Danish side Odense Boldklub forward Mathias Jorgensen is close to signing a contract with the club.

“I think as we’re trying to give him a chance, he’s taking a hard look at us,” Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas told Pro Soccer USA reporter Dylan Butler. “We’re just trying to see if it’s a good fit both ways.”

According to Transfer Markt‘s data, the closest NYRB ever came to bring in a teenager with top-tier European experience was in 2012 when they welcomed 20-year-old Victor Palsson from Scottish Premier League side Hibernian F.C. Palsson only stayed with the club for one season.

Jorgensen is a speedy 6-foot-1 striker. The teenager climbed up OB’s first team after tallying seven goals in four appearances with the U-19 squad. After joining the first team in the summer of 2018, Jorgensen notched three goals in 18 appearances with them.

The forward also has national team experience at the youth level. He racked up six appearances for Denmark U-19 team, notching one goal.

Jorgensen is currently with NYRB in New Jersey to see if the club is a match for him.

The Danish top tier is, of course, not among the best European leagues but to play in it at 18 is still remarkable.

The past teenagers the Supporters’ Shield champions signed were from the club’s academy like recent signee Omir Fernandez and from Africa along with the likes of former players Hassan Ndam and Marius Obekop.

As for the last player The Metros acquired from a top-tier European club of any age, that would be 28-year-old Marc Rzatkowski. The club signed Rzatkowski on Jan. 24, 2018 from RB Leipzig after a previous loan move.

The European proved to be instrumental for the Red Bulls in his initial loan spell last season as he registered seven assists and two goals in 24 regular season games from central midfield.

Will Rzatkowski’s European successor be an 18-year-old Danish forward? If so, what a milestone that would be for the Red Bulls.

Originally from Haiti, Ralph 'Onz' Chery started his writing career as a City College of New York student with The Campus. He also wrote for First Touch, the Cosmopolitan Soccer League and other local leagues. After graduating, Onz started covering the New York Red Bulls for ESNY and joined Haitian Times.