In this week's podcast, Tom Borgert, MLS transfer market expert at The Athletic, joined us to take a look at the trends in this summer's window and in particular the strong interest shown by British clubs in North American players.

It is not just MLS talent such as Sebastian Berhalter and Zavier Gozo who have packed their bags and headed off to test themselves abroad. USL clubs have been able to cash-in on some of their players too, with JJ Williams heading from Rhode Island to Hearts of Midlothian and Charleston Battery's young USYNT striker Colton Swan agreeing to join Edinburgh's other club, Hibernian.

Overall it is a good sign of healthy progress when teams from Europe see MLS and USL as places they can find talent. Yes, they may be cheaper than players from some other markets but it shows that American clubs are developing talent and the standard is considered sufficient to make the data and performance analysis relevant.

For USL clubs, player trading can be a really significant revenue generator and I can see only benefits, particularly if USL clubs can scout their own talent in the increasingly international world of college soccer, develop them and then pocket a significant profit by moving them on. That also helps with recruiting the next cohort of players — who will be attracted to clubs that have a track record of being a useful stepping stone.

But MLS needs to be more careful. It is true, as Tom points out in the pod, that almost all clubs in the world are ‘selling clubs’ and most leagues can also be described that way. It is also true that players want to move to Europe and there is little to be gained by creating barriers to their progress. But it has to be at the right price.