The 20-year-old American attacker’s first-team breakthrough at the Stadium of Light has understandably prompted the US national team head coach to get in contact.
Sunderland youngster Lynden Gooch has revealed to the Men in Blazers podcast that US national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was “very complimentary” when the pair spoke on the phone last month about his impressive start to the season.
Gooch, who hails from Santa Cruz, California, was handed a surprise Premier League debut by manager David Moyes for Sunderland’s 2-1 opening day defeat at Manchester City and has since kept his place in the side to start the club’s next two top-flight games and the 1-0 EFL Cup win over Shrewsbury Town.
The 20-year-old American attacker’s only previous appearances for the Black Cats came as a second-half substitute in last season’s 6-3 League Cup victory over Exeter City, but he has stood out as one of the team’s clear bright spots over the first month of this term and earned plenty of plaudits for his energetic displays.
There were was even a swell of support for him to earn a first senior USA call-up for the recent World Cup qualifiers against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago, but the former Under-20 international ultimately missed out on a spot in Klinsmann’s 26-man squad.
The German boss has been in contact with him in the meantime, however, and plans to keep a close eye on his performances over the coming months before CONCACAF’s fifth and final round of qualifying kicks off in mid-November.
Speaking about his recent conversation with Klinsmann, Gooch told the Men in Blazers: “He just said well done for what I’ve achievement and just told me to keep working hard and make sure I stay in the team and continue to get minutes on the pitch.
“He was just really complimentary to be honest, telling me I’ve done really well and to keep going and working hard.”
Klinsmann actually hinted to the press earlier this month that he could consider calling up Gooch for next month’s friendlies against Cuba and New Zealand if he maintains his current level of form, but diminutive forward is simply focusing on keep his place in the Sunderland side for the moment.
“We’ll see what happens,” he added. “Obviously it would be a great achievement to play for the US national team. Obviously I’ve played at youth level as well, but this would be an amazing moment for me that would top off a great start to the season.
“But at the moment I’m just trying to focus on Sunderland. I’ve only made three starts in the Premier League and I want to keep making sure I’m playing every week for this club.”
Strangely, Gooch was left off the US Under-20 squad for last summer’s World Cup in New Zealand, while he also failed to feature in the subsequent Olympic qualifying campaign which ended with Andi Herzog’s side missing out on a trip to Brazil.
The versatile forward is also eligible to play for England through his Colchester-born father and the Republic of Ireland through his mother, and he has admitted that he would still be open to playing for either country if they decide to pursue his services before he gets another chance in the US setup.
“I could never say no,” he added to the Men in Blazers. “I think Ireland is a part of me – that’s were my mother’s from – and so is England after living here for four years. Obviously my dad’s from England and I’ve got a lot of family here.
“It would be a great honour to play for any three of those countries.”
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