CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy knew Sebastian Lletget could play before they started negotiating to bring him to Southern California earlier this year. He had proven able during a fine preseason trial in Ireland. But now he's greatly surpassed all of those expectations.
His impact has been massive as LA's first-choice left-sided midfielder in a vibrant attack that has netted at least four goals, and usually five, in eight of the last 16 competitive matches.
Lletget made just one first-team appearance during his six previous years at West Ham United, but he's thrived since he's found a regular spot on the field with the Galaxy. There's no telling how good he might be as he continues to progress.
The 23-year-old, brought a dynamism that was missing to LA's attack the first few months of the season. And as more top players have joined in with the summer arrivals of Steven Gerrard and Giovani Dos Santos, his game has continued to grow.
“He's certainly getting better,” said head coach Bruce Arena Tuesday morning, as the Supporters' Shield-leading Galaxy (13-8-7) began work toward Saturday's clash at StubHub Center with the Montreal Impact (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). “He's obviously played better than we could have expected, but now that we know that he's a good player, our expectations are that he's good on a consistent basis. He doesn't get any breaks now. He's got to show up and perform every single game.”
Lletget has done so, for the most part. He's been potent, with eight goals and four assists in 18 competitive matches (good for one or the other every 95 minutes); seven and two in 14 MLS appearances. But as vital as his production are his influence on the attack through his movement, his ability to beat defenders on the dribble or with the pass, and his propensity for showing up in the best spots.
If others have been pleasantly surprised by the Bay Area product's form, he is not.
“I don't want to sound like I'm arrogant or anything, but in my head I knew I could do this,” Lletget said. “I knew I had the ability. It's just doing it. It's just proving it. And that's what you've got to do every day.”
Opposing defenses have learned they can't let Lletget be while focusing on superstars Robbie Keane, Dos Santos and Gerrard, yet they can't exert too much energy on him with so many potent attackers to keep tabs on.
“People are well aware of him now,” Arena said. “He's not just another body on the field. They're aware of him and they put a little bit more emphasis on defending in his part of the field.”
Lletget acknowledges receiving “maybe a little bit more” attention, but he still enjoys a certain kind of anonymity, at least next to Keane, Dos Santos and Gerrard. It can't last forever.
“He's still young, he's still learning the game,” said Keane, the Galaxy's captain. “He's continuing to learn, as long as he listens to the players around him, which he's started to do. As long as he continues to do that, he'll be a big, big player for us.”
Arena remembers Lletget from his days with US youth national teams and jokes that he "was a short, little fat kid" during his teens.
“He wasn't like he is today,” Arena said. “I wouldn't quite say he was a short, little fat kid, but he didn't have the physical qualities he has today.... You certainly saw that he was technically good, but he's developed a lot physically as well.”
Lletget matured, physically and as a player, after going to West Ham when he was 16, but he never had the opportunity with the Hammers to show how far he'd progressed. The Galaxy afforded him that chance, and he's run with it.
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“I'm really grateful for all of this,” Lletget said, “all the opportunities, and just how it all turned out. And now going forward I can really keep going and express myself. Confidence is sky-high at the moment.”
There's even talk – he's heard it – of a US national team call-up, likely for the annual January camp.
Arena, who coached the USMNT from 1998 through the 2006 World Cup, says if “he continues to play well on a consistent basis, there will be opportunities for him.”
“It's definitely a big goal of mine, for sure,” Lletget said. “I want to take it one step at a time. You want to do well here, but now that that's been happening, I suppose, that's the next step. But I'm not getting ahead of myself. I still have a lot of work to do, and I'm not there yet, but we'll see in the near future. As long as I keep doing well here, I think I don't have to worry about that.”
