Vermes loves this player’s versatility. He could be one of Sporting KC’s next leaders

Sporting Kansas City defender Jaylin Lindsey made his second consecutive start at left back in a 5-2 loss to the Houston Dynamo at home on Aug. 25.

The Dynamo focused a lot of their attacks down Lindsey’s side of the field, giving the young defender, who typically plays on the right, a horrid night.

Three of Houston’s goals that night came down Lindsey’s side, and I was quick to pick apart the rough outing by the 20-year-old.

Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes disagreed with my assessment, pointing out that Houston’s Alberth Elis is a tough opponent for any player, and that he continues to trust Lindsey.

What Vermes do agree on is this statement he made Friday afternoon about Lindsey:

“How he responded from that (game) was very, very good.”

Lindsey put in another shift at left back the following game against Colorado and performed exceptionally. Even if much of Colorado’s attack focused centrally, nothing got down Lindsey’s side of the field all night.

He then followed that up with two starts in his comfortable right back position and put in two more stout performances along the back line. The second of those came in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Houston. Lindsey learned his lesson from just two weeks earlier and performed much better in spite of the loss.

And as much as Lindsey was criticized for his first performance against Houston, there’s no denying that he’s stepped up his game and proven he deserves a spot in the starting lineup.

All in all, he’s played every single minute since Kansas City returned from the MLS is Back Tournament — that’s five games and counting.

“His attitude is fantastic,” Vermes said. “Jaylin is 100% a team guy, he’s incredibly competitive.”

His attitude is so fantastic, in fact, that Vermes sees Lindsey as one of the younger leaders on the team, especially for the other homegrown players.

“He also has really good leadership qualities. I see him as one of those leaders amongst the younger guys for the future,” Vermes said. “He cares about winning, he cares about the team, he’s a very mature kid and so I think he’s done very well up until this point.”

Yet it’s no surprise that Lindsey has developed into such a strong starter at just 20 years of age. For comparison, Graham Zusi didn’t get regular starts until he was 24, Matt Besler until he was 22.

And it’s those two guys who have taken Lindsey under their wing in recent years to help develop him into the player and leader he is quickly becoming.

“They have a lot of good tips and pointers that I can use to my advantage,” Lindsey said Friday. “They’ve done really well with me so far coming in, and it’s just been an honor to play under them and watch them live in practice in person every day and even in the games.”

Lindsey has turned that around to then help some of the younger players who are a bit newer to the first team — Cameron Duke, Felipe Gutierrez and Tyler Freeman among them.

“Especially for me as well, coming up in my first year was always those nerves of how do I act with the team and I’ve got to play the right way on the field,” Lindsey said. “I think I’m just a good little pathway to help them out on and off the field with their confidence.”

“I think having those leadership skills that I’ve learned from Graham and Besler and applying those to myself and Cam and all the other young guys on the field.”

It’s easy to forget that Lindsey has been in the first-team setup since 2018, having made 10 appearances across all competitions for the club that year. Then came a 2019 season hampered by injury — he made just two appearances.

But 2020 finally seems to be the breakthrough year — partly as he’s grown as a player and leader, but partly due to his versatility and soccer IQ on the field.

Since the restart following the MLS is Back Tournament, Lindsey has started three games at left back and two at right back. According to Vermes, he can also play center back.

“I believe he can play any of the four positions along the back line,” Vermes said. “He’s played central defender as well, so I think he can play all four of those positions. I think it says a lot when a person can play on the left and the right.”

Much of Lindsey’s playing time at left back is owing to the absence of Luis Martins, who was out of action due to an Achilles injury following the tournament in Florida.

But in an era when players are so one-sided — they play in their specific position, and that’s it — a guy with Lindsey’s versatility is extremely undervalued.

“I think just having the versatility to go right back, left back and I guess like Peter said, go center back, it just shows how confident he is in me, and I’m really happy about that,” Lindsey said.

“Just having that versatility is really important just in case stuff comes up or whatever. I’m excited to see what happens, either playing right back, left back, or even center back.”

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Vermes loves this player’s versatility. He could be one of Sporting KC’s next leaders."