Revolution make 16-year-old Damian Rivera 7th Homegrown signing in club history

The Revolution announced Friday that they have made 16-year-old Cranston, R.I. native Damian Rivera their seventh Homegrown signing in club history and second signing of the offseason.

Rivera, who turns 17 next month, is a midfielder and is the second-youngest Homegrown player to suit up for the Revolution; the youngest, of course, is Diego Fagundez, who was 15 when New England inked him to his Homegrown deal.

Rivera joined the Revolution Academy from his club side, Bayside FC, ahead of the 2016-17 development season and has impressed, scoring 41 goals in 90 matches. He has performed at the U14, U16, U17, and U19 levels, and has played with the U19s this season.

With the U19s, he has eight goals so far, including four in one match against DC United’s U19s on Oct. 19.

Last week, New England signed defender Alexander Büttner to a TAM contract.

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Have to say I was a bit stunned by seeing this in my email this afternoon. I actually wasn’t expecting the Revolution to make a Homegrown signing this offseason, given that the last three — Justin Rennicks, Nicolas Firmino, and Isaac Angking — barely played under Bruce Arena in 2019, a fourth — Zachary Herivaux — looks to be out the door, given his Twitter post a week ago, and two others, Fagundez and Scott Caldwell, played reserve roles off the bench for most of the season half of the season.

However, this would be one of Arena’s signings, so that means I’m expecting Rivera to have some sort of role in the first team next year.

Arena’s comment in the press release is telling: “Of the many talented players we’ve observed in the Revolution Academy system, Damian was among the first who distinguished himself as a player with the tools needed to succeed at the professional level. We look forward to seeing him continue to develop and grow with the Revolution.”

If you’re sticking out to Bruce Arena, you’re doing something right.

The fact he’s scored so much at the younger levels tells me he is a talent with a nose for goal, but we have to remember: he’s going to be 17 next season, playing in a men’s league. I’m actually looking forward to seeing how he handles himself once he gets out on the pitch for his debut.

Is he the answer in the midfield? We don’t know. We won’t know until he gets out there, but if Arena’s comfortable with it, we should be, too.