sport news Crystal Palace's Chris Richards hopes to make a name for himself in England and ... trends now
Bayern Munich has lost three big-name center backs over the last two seasons, and after proving himself on loan, many fans of the club thought the young American Chris Richards could step in to fight for a spot in the lineup.
But after being sold to Crystal Palace this summer, Richards has a new set of challenges and is on a comparatively larger stage.
He now will be tasked with improving a strong defense that conceded the seventh-least amount of goals in the Premier League last season.
In that process, Richards will hope to take advantage of his exposure in a more visible league to convince the higher-ups of the U.S. Men's National Team that he should be a lock for a roster spot in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Chris Richards faces a new challenge in a new league after being sold this summer
After moving from Dallas to Munich at such a young age, Richards impressed the coaches at FC Bayern II, then playing in Germany's third division.
He logged over 2,600 minutes across 30 games - bagging four goals as well - as Bayern II went on to win the 3. Liga title.
For the following 2020-21 campaign, it was apparent to Richards, the coaches, and the fans was his talent was being wasted down in the third division.
He would log minutes for the Bayern Munich first team in Bundesliga, Champions League, and DFL-Supercup matches, but wasn't able to convince then-manager Hansi Flick that he should start over the likes of David Alaba, Niklas Sule, Jerome Boateng, or Lucas Hernandez.
It was decided that Richards should go out on loan, and in the winter, he moved to Hoffenheim.
With his talent growing after winning a 3. Liga title, Richards was loaned to Hoffenheim
His arrival was perfectly timed for a Hoffenheim team struggling to balance the squad as they competed in the UEFA Europa League.
He logged over 1,100 minutes in 13 appearances as Hoffenheim finished mid-table.
Bayern may have lost Alaba and Boateng in the summer of 2021, but Dayot Upamecano was brought in and more attention was given to youngster Tanguy Nianzou.
At the end of the transfer window, Richards was loaned back to Hoffenheim, where a series of injuries that kept him hurt for most of the second half of the season restricted his play and minutes.
Richards clocked over 1,400 minutes in 21 appearances in all competitions.
Despite his injuries, Richards was still considered a strong defender, and a portion of the Bayern Munich fanbase could have expected him to get another chance in Bavaria - especially after the departure of Sule to Borussia Dortmund.
Instead, Bayern pursued and purchased Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.
As de Ligt flew to Washington, D.C. to make his debut in a friendly in the United States, the American defender stayed back in Germany as a move was finalized.
On July 27th, Richards was moved to Crystal Palace for a fee around $13.2m, finishing off his time in Germany for now.
Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic sold Richards to Palace this summer
Fighting for playing time, roster spots, and respect is nothing new to Richards, who grew up in a part of the United States obsessed with a different form of football.
In a three-part interview with SB Nation website Bavarian Football Works, Chris Richards' mother Carrie detailed what the youngster went through and his journey to Bavaria.
Richards was born in Hoover, Alabama in a state obsessed with American football, but grew up playing 'soccer' and basketball as a kid, torn between which to focus on.
Even though his father, an ex-basketball player, wanted Chris to pursue his talents on the hardwood, he sacrificed for Chris's soccer career when the 2008 financial crisis hit the family hard.
'When the market crashed my husband was self-employed and his business went under,' Carrie told BFW.
'We had to make serious decisions about what we could and couldn't pay. Soccer was at the top of the list of things that we
