Oakland Roots have announced that they signed Jamaican midfielder Trayvone Reid to a contract on Monday.
He marks the club’s first incoming International signing of the offseason. Oakland now has four international players on the roster, the full list includes:
- Trayvone Reid
- Darek Formella
- Lindo Mfeka
- Edgardo Rito
We’re told that Oakland Roots have kept their eye on Reid over the past year and he trained with the club last season.
Reid, 22, will be playing outside of his native country for the first time in his career. He’s characterized as a versatile player who can line up in multiple roles and spent last season as Harbour View FC’s starter in the 10, helping his club win the Jamaica National Premier League’s title in 2022. He’ll turn 23 in February.
In 2022, Reid had 22 appearances at Harbour View and recorded nine goals in 2,266 minutes played. Prior to that, he played from 2017-2021 with Tivoli Gardens of the Jamaica NPL and scored seven goals over his final two years at the club.
He also earned a call up to the Jamaican National Team in August for a friendly against Qatar. On the Jamaica U20 team in 2018, Reid scored in a 2018 friendly against Juventus and also played in a 2019 friendly versus Japan on Jamaica’s U22 team.
Those who followed Harbour View FC called Reid a player with pace, dribbles well, had good touch, and attack defenders. USL’s favorite analyst, John Morrissey, describes Reid as someone who was featured in “direct hold-up scenarios” and a physical player.
Although he’s been described as a midfielder, he lined up as an attacking option in Harbour View’s 4-4-2 formation and the bulk of his highlights show him going forward on the wing. Transfermarkt, meanwhile, have him listed as a primary winger who has appearances on both sides. Behind Edgardo Rito, Reid’s agility could make him the second fastest player on the roster.
He also has shown an innate ability to draw fouls bombing in from the left wing. In his highlight reel, the tape shows three consecutive instances where Reid was able to beat a defender and make his way to the spot–converting both tries. Roots will notably require a new penalty taker following the departure of striker Ottar Magnus Karlsson. All three of his penalties drawn is in the video below in successive order.
His ability to beat defenders is clear at the 5:38 mark of his highlight reel, nutmegging a defender on his way to taking a tumble in the box, but no foul was called. Should he line up in the midfield, Reid has the speed and maneuverability to be productive on the counter attack–as shown by his clip at 6:36 where he sprints by three defenders before trying to cut back for a shooting opportunity.
So, where does he line up?
Roots have a wealth of natural midfielders signed on for 2023, including Lindo Mfeka, Charlie Dennis, Wolfgang Prentice, and most recently with Napo Matsoso. With all of those names, it seems that Reid could make most sense lining up on the wing unless Noah Delgado plans on keeping Dennis or Mfeka on right wing.
Here is what Roots’ current lineup of 10 players would look like on the field in last year’s 3-4-3 or if there’s a switch to a lineup that features more midfielders in something more like a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. In both cases, I have Reid at right wing given his speed is superior to Dennis. If he appears at left wing, which is where he was effective with Harbour View, that would result in him unseating Darek Formella for a spot. Both Formella and Reid are international signings, so it is tough to see unless the club ends up moving Formella.
