Jermaine Jones is retired now, but in his post-playing days the former US men's national team standout is trying to impart some of his wisdom on the up-and-coming young faces that are the future of the program.
The 38-year-old Jones shared how he's doing so and some of his thoughts on that young talent in an interview with Bundesliga.com released on Monday, in which he spoke highly of a few of the players he's been in contact with, including midfielders Tyler Adams of RB Leipzig and Weston McKennie of Juventus.
"It's the developing part. I think that they're developing well," Jones said. "They are good listeners. They listen to everything they can get. That's the part you can see that they are doing. Adams is fantastic. He was injured but now, since he came back, he's really good.”
Jones had high praise for Adams in particular. The 21-year-old former New York Red Bulls star plays a similar role in the midfield Jones did in his heyday, and while Jones noted they're different players overall, he said he considers Adams to be further along in his development than he was at the same age.
"The work rate. He works hard for the team. I think that's the biggest one," Jones said of Adams. "I would say we are different kinds of players. I think he's a step in front of me at that age. His work rate is good. He's a team player, which is something I was too."
Jones also gave his thoughts on some of the USMNT's other young players, including Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna and Werder Bremen's Josh Sargent.
