American wonderkid Cavan Sullivan has made noticeable progress with Philadelphia Union this season, and recent events have seen him become a regular part of week-to-week MLS storylines. His future team, Manchester City, will have taken note.

By James Nalton

It’s now over two years since Cavan Sullivan’s name made headlines on both sides of the Atlantic. On signing a record-breaking homegrown contract with Philadelphia Union in May 2024, it was also arranged that he would join Manchester City once he turned 18 and was old enough to make the move to work in the UK.

He was only 14 then, so there was plenty of time for him to continue his development in Philadelphia before the transfer took place. It felt too early for some of the lofty predictions made at the time about his potential, and for such big expectations to be placed on the shoulders of such a young player, but he has so far done nothing to suggest those predictions and expectations were misplaced.

His playing time with the Philadelphia Union first team has been carefully managed. There was a point earlier in the year when the team were struggling, and it was obvious he would improve them. His displays when he did get minutes marked him out as one of the best players in the team, but his minutes were still being limited.

It felt like he was about to make the real breakthrough, showing why there had been so much hype around him at such an early age, but there was also a sense he was being held back.

It was the most obvious step up he had made since that initial first team promotion. The next came just a few months later.

Post-World Cup, Sullivan is receiving more regular game time, coinciding with a change of coach as Ryan Richter replaced Bradley Carnell, and a subsequent uptick in form for the team.

Carnell came in as head coach in 2025 and led the Union to a table-topping finish, which saw them lift the Supporters’ Shield at the end of the season. Sullivan played 214 minutes in the league, making just one start, but also made two starts in the US Open Cup while playing regularly for the club’s academy team in the MLS Next Pro league.

The true MLS champion is considered to be the winner of the post-season playoffs, but topping the overall league table across both MLS conferences combined, especially when the team expected to do so at a canter is Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, is no easy feat.

The title defence couldn’t have started any worse for the Union. They lost their opening six games of the 2026 MLS season and only won once in their first 15. This coincided with a sense that Sullivan should be getting more minutes than he was, and ultimately led to Carnell’s departure.

After the final game before the break for the World Cup, Carnell was replaced on an interim basis by Ryan Richter. The Pennsylvania native has worked with Sullivan as a coach at the club’s academy since the player was eight years old, so he knows his game and his capabilities better than anyone.

The Union have played six MLS games since the league resumed post-World Cup, winning four and drawing two. They look like a different team. Sullivan has started all six of those games, and has made another noticeable next step.

He’s becoming involved in the narrative of the league and making headlines, too, not least when he was sent off following a scuffle at the end of a 2-2 draw with Messi’s Inter Miami. Cavan initially stepped in as his older brother Quinn Sullivan was involved in a spot of bother with the Miami players. 

It showed the teenager was not shy when it came to supporting his teammates in such situations, and though he did little wrong, receiving a sneaky punch to the face from Miami’s Yannick Bright, it was Cavan himself who was shown the red card.

That decision was subsequently rescinded following a review, and he scored his second league goal for the club in the next, most recent game, a 1-1 draw at Austin FC.

His form has noticeably improved, with his FotMob ratings going from the low sixes seen earlier in the season to regularly in the sevens and eights since July. He put in notable performances against Red Bull New York and New York City, as well as notching a goal and an assist in a Leagues Cup win against Necaxa.

Sullivan is at an age where these improvements can be rapid and regular. He has a little bit of everything about his game, which sees him ideally suited to an attacking role from midfield, drifting slightly, but he could probably play anywhere on the pitch.

There’s a rumbustiousness to go with cleverness and technique, as evident during the Miami scuffle, but also evident in general play.

During this purple patch for himself and the team under Richter, he’s been playing off the right of midfield in a 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2 but popping up around the edge of the area if the game takes him elsewhere on the pitch. He’s like a wide No. 10 who is also doing a bit of box-to-box work and wing play.

Few footballers are singled out in such a manner at such a young age, but the combination of being a United States international hopeful when the country is crying out for a talismanic player, and the link to the most successful Premier League club of the past decade, raised Sullivan’s profile before few had seen him play, or knew what kind of player he was.

Rather than just hype, his high profile and reputation are now coming from his performances on the pitch and involvement in the narratives within games. This is his most sustained run of first-team football to date, and you can’t see it abating any time soon given his obvious talent. 

The Union still have to manage him carefully, as he’s still only 16, turning 17 next month, but he plays with a maturity and quality beyond those years. 

It’s now clear to a wider audience why such a fuss was made of the contract he signed back in 2024, and why Manchester City did so much to make sure he would subsequently sign for them.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

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