United States international midfielder Tanner Tessmann has joined Serie A side Venezia FC from Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas, the clubs announced on Thursday.

Tessmann, 19, was just in his second season with FCD’s first team, after having come up through Dallas’ academy since 2016. He’s made a total of 28 league and playoff appearances, 16 of them starts, spending the bulk of his time in the center of the midfield.

“Ever since I came to the academy at 14 years old, FC Dallas was developing me, honing my skills and making me a better young man. I knew an opportunity like this would be possible and it was always in the back of my mind, only because FC Dallas was there,” Tessmann said in a club statement. “I’m excited for this new experience. It’s going to be a good journey. This is not a goodbye. It’s an ‘I’ll see you soon’.”

– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

Tessmann won the Golden Ball after leading FC Dallas to the U18/U19 Academy Championship in 2019.

At the international level, Tessmann made his only USMNT appearance at senior level back on Jan. 31, coming on as a 78th minute substitute in a 7-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago. He also made three appearances for the U.S. U-23 team during the Olympic qualifying tournament last March.

He joins a Venezia side that was just promoted to Serie A, making the upcoming 2021-22 campaign its first in the Italian top flight since the 2001-02 season. The club is owned by American Duncan Niederauer, who also serves as Venezia’s president and CEO.

Tessmann’s move is the latest transfer by an FCD player to a European club over the last 30 months, a group that includes Bryan Reynolds to AS Roma, Chris Richards to Bayern Munich, and Reggie Cannon to Portuguese side Boavista.

The Birmingham, Alabama, native was a two-sport star growing up and had originally signed a letter of intent to play college football at Clemson under head coach Dabo Sweeney, who is also Tessmann’s godfather.

Sourced from Man United