Derrick Jones (soccer)

Derrick Jones Amaniampong (born March 3, 1997) is a soccer player who plays for the Houston Dynamo FC in Major League Soccer. Born in Ghana, Jones represents the United States internationally.

Derrick Jones
Personal information
Full name Derrick Jones Amaniampong
Date of birth (1997-03-03) March 3, 1997
Place of birth Bantama, Ghana
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Houston Dynamo FC
Youth career
2012–2013 Junior Lone Star
2013–2016 Philadelphia Union
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Bethlehem Steel 54 (10)
2016–2019 Philadelphia Union 27 (0)
2019–2020 Nashville SC 18 (0)
2019 → Nashville SC (USL) (loan) 6 (0)
2021– Houston Dynamo FC 0 (0)
National team‡
2016–2017 United States U20 4 (0)
2019– United States U23 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 9, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 24, 2019

Youth

Born in Bantama, Ghana, Jones and his family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2012 when he was 14.[1][2] After arriving in Philadelphia, Jones began playing with Junior Lone Star FC, a club team founded by immigrants from West Africa living in Philadelphia.[3] In 2013 Junior Lone Star played a friendly against the Philadelphia Union U-18s. The Union's academy director Tommy Wilson was at the game and was impressed with what he saw from Jones. A few days after the game, Jones joined the Union Academy and began playing with the U-16s. The following season, Jones was promoted to the U-18s.[2][4]

Club career

Bethlehem Steel

On December 3, 2015 Jones signed with Bethlehem Steel FC, the Philadelphia Union's USL affiliate, becoming their first-ever player signing.[5][6] He made his debut for Steel FC on April 3, 2016 in a 2–1 loss to FC Cincinnati.[7] On April 17 Jones scored his first goal for Bethlehem in a 2–1 win against the Richmond Kickers. He scored in the 84th minute on May 15 to give Steel a 2–1 victory over FC Montreal.[7]

Philadelphia Union

On July 26, 2016, Jones signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Philadelphia Union, the 4th in team history.[8] After signing to the Union, he remained with Philadelphia's USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel for the rest of the 2016, ending the season with 5 goals and 3 assists from 26 appearances for Bethlehem.[9]

On March 5, 2017, Jones made his Union debut in Philadelphia's opening match of the 2017 MLS season, a 0–0 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps.[10] He scored his first goal for the Union on June 15 in a 3–1 victory over the Harrisburg City Islanders in a U.S. Open Cup match.[7] Jones ended the regular season with 12 appearances for Philadelphia as the Union finished 8th in the Eastern Conference, failing to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.[9][11] He also played for the Bethlehem Steel throughout the season, making 11 appearances and scoring once during the USL regular season while also playing once in the USL playoffs.[10]

During the 2018 season, Jones once again split his time between the Union and Steel FC. He made 12 MLS regular season appearances for the Union, helping them finish 6th in the East and qualify for the playoffs.[12][13] He made a substitute appearance in Philadelphia's one playoff match, a 3–1 loss to NYCFC.[14] He also made 3 appearances and had 1 assist in the Open Cup play as he helped the Union reach the final, where they lost 3–0 to the Houston Dynamo, with Jones making a substitute appearance in the final.[7] Jones also made 14 appearances and scored 4 goals for Bethlehem Steel.[9] During the USL Playoffs, Bethlehem would reach the semifinals, but Jones did not appear in any of the playoff games.[14]

In 2019, Jones made 2 appearances for Philadelphia and 3 for Bethlehem before being traded.[9]

Nashville SC

On May 9, 2019, Jones was traded to 2020 MLS expansion club Nashville SC in exchange for $175,000 in General Allocation Money.[15] For the remainder of the 2019 season, Jones was loaned to USL Championship club Nashville SC.[16] While the MLS and USL teams have the same name, have similar colors, and share some personnel, they are considered to be different franchises.[17] He made his debut for Nashville (USL) on May 14, in a 3–2 win over South Georgia Tormenta FC 2 in a U.S. Open Cup match.[7] On May 29, Jones suffered a broken ankle in a match with the Charleston Battery, causing him to miss over 3 months of the season.[18] He ended the regular season with 6 regular season appearances for Nashville, helping them qualify for the playoffs. On October 26, Jones came off the bench and scored in Nashville's first playoff game, a 3–1 victory against Charleston. He made another substitute appearance in their next playoff match, a 1–0 loss to Indy Eleven.[19]

On August 12, 2020, Jones made his debut for Nashville SC in a 1–0 win against FC Dallas.[20] He ended the shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic with 18 appearances and 2 assists in the regular season, helping Nashville qualify for the playoffs.[12] Jones made substitute appearances in all 3 of Nashville's playoff games, helping them reach the conference semifinals, where they lost 2–0 to Toronto FC.[20]

Houston Dynamo

On January 21, 2021, Jones was traded to the Houston Dynamo FC in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money.[21]

International career

Jones grew up in Ghana but has dual citizenship with the United States, having moved to the country when he was 14 years old.[22] Jones represented Ghana at U15 level but accepted a call up to represent the U.S.A. U20 in October 2016.[23] He played for the U.S. at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, making 4 appearances as the Americans reached the quarterfinals.[7]

Career statistics
As of January 21, 2021[24][25][26]
Club Season League Open Cup Playoffs[lower-alpha 1] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bethlehem Steel2016USL 265———265
2017 111—10—121
2018 144—00—144
2019USLC 30———30
Total54100010005510
Philadelphia Union2016MLS 000000—00
2017 12021——141
2018 1203010—160
2019 200000—20
Total260511000321
Nashville SC (USL) (loan)2019USLC 602021—101
Nashville SC2020MLS 1800030—210
Houston Dynamo FC2021MLS 000000—00
Career Total1041071710011812
  1. Includes USL Championship Playoffs and MLS Cup Playoffs

References
  1. Wahl, Grant. "Ghana-born Jones cleared to play for USA at U-20 WC". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  2. "Jones becomes first player to take Path to the Pros through Academy, Bethlehem Steel, and now First Team". Philadelphia Union. July 27, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  3. Zeitlin, Dave (July 27, 2016). "Union Homegrown signing Derrick Jones lives a true Philly "underdog story"". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  4. Born, Jacob (March 7, 2017). "Derrick Jones becomes first player to go from Union Academy to starting for the Union". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  5. Farnsworth, Ed (December 3, 2015). "Bethlehem Steel signs Union Academy midfielder Derrick Jones". The Philly Soccer Page. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  6. "Bethlehem Steel FC Sign Union Academy Product Derrick Jones". Philadelphia Union. December 3, 2015. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  7. "USA - D. Jones - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  8. "Jones becomes first player to take Path to the Pros through Academy, Bethlehem Steel, and now First Team". Philadelphia Union. July 26, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  9. "Derrick Jones Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  10. "Derrick Jones 2017 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  11. "2017 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  12. "Derrick Jones". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  13. "2018 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  14. "Derrick Jones 2018 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  15. "Philadelphia Union receive $175,000 in General Allocation Money for midfielder Derrick Jones". Philadelphia Union. May 9, 2019. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  16. Rosano, Nick (May 9, 2019). "Nashville SC acquire Derrick Jones in trade with Philadelphia Union". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  17. Organ, Mike. "Nashville SC: Everything you need to know about the MLS and USL". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  18. Hills, Drake. "Nashville SC's Derrick Jones wants to continue revenge after return from injury". The Tennessean. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  19. "Derrick Jones 2019 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  20. "Derrick Jones 2020 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
  21. "Nashville SC Sends Derrick Jones to Houston Dynamo FC". Nashville SC. January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  22. Philadelphia Union Communications (December 3, 2015). "Bethlehem Steel FC Sign Union Academy Product Derrick Jones". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  23. "Ramos Names 22-Player U-20 MNT Roster for 2016 Four Nations Tournament".
  24. "Derrick Jones". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  25. "USA - D. Jones - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  26. "Derrick Jones Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
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