Rochester New York FC Sporting Director Lee Tucker says the goal threat and pace provided by Jamaican footballer Warner Brown could be vital assets for the club in the final phase of the 2022 MLS Next Pro campaign.

“Warner’s potential to get goals out of nothing is something that can really help us in the final third of the season,” Tucker said of the forward who recently joined Rochester on loan from St Andrew-based Duhaney Park FC.

“His pace is also going to be a good [addition] to our attacking threat,” the sporting director added.

Rochester are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference of the MLS Next Pro, which almost entirely comprises reserve teams from Major League Soccer and is regarded as the third tier in the United States league system.

Brown, who turns 20 on August 19, had a loan spell at Tivoli Gardens FC in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), sparkling in bursts for the west Kingston-based outfit last season.

The former St Andrew Technical High schoolboy football standout said he is ready for the demands of competition in North America.

“I’m very elated to have got this opportunity to broadcast my talent on a wider platform. I’m very prepared mentally and physically. I’d like to think that I’m still a developing person and player, so I’m always open to learn and to adapt to new ways and culture,” Brown said.

“I broke into the senior team at Duhaney Park at age 16, always competing and always aspiring to be better than the day before. During my loan spell at Tivoli I gained a lot of experience… the JPL is very physical and to be playing against various defenders I had to learn proper timing and discipline. It helped to prepare me for the next level.

“But I still want to improve on delivering more consistent performances. Too often during the Jamaica Premier League last season, my performances were very hot and cold. I need to improve on my concentration level and on my focus,” he said.

Brown’s agent Kevin Cowan said there is the chance for a longer-term arrangement at Rochester.

“Warner will initially join on loan, but the transfer will be made permanent if he makes the right impression. He’s a very good young striker with a lot of potential. Obviously, he needs to improve on his consistency, but I think that comes with time and maturity,” Cowan told the Jamaica Observer.

Clareton Walker, the Duhaney Park FC executive director, told the Observer that the club had long set the wheels in motion to develop players for the international market.

“We feel great about the transfer because it’s the culmination of a project that we started several years ago, before COVID-19 interrupted our plans… getting a local kid from the Duhaney Park community [to be] transferred internationally.

“We’re not surprised at all that a Duhaney Park FC player has caught the eye of an overseas club because Duhaney Park as a community has historically produced outstanding talents,” said Walker, who noted that Brown started at the club when he was five years old and played at the Under-12, Under-14 and U-16 age group levels before breaking into the senior team.

— Sanjay Myers