Inter Miami, looking for offensive spark, signs Aston Villa’s Indiana Vassilev on loan
Inter Miami’s anemic offense just got some help.
The club announced Wednesday the signing of U.S. youth international Indiana Vassilev on a season-long loan from Aston Villa of the English Premier League. The 20-year-old forward/winger joins the Club pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“Indiana is an exciting young talent who has a lot of potential,” said Chris Henderson, Inter Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director. “He’s comfortable and confident on the ball and fluid with his movement. We feel this is the right place for Indiana to further his development and reach his potential.”
Vassilev, son of Bulgarian immigrants and named after the movie character Indiana Jones, grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and trained at the IMG Academy in Bradenton before signing with Aston Villa’s youth teams in 2018. He played for their U18 and U23 teams, scoring 11 goals and six assists in 54 matches.
He made his senior debut for the team in January 2020, coming off the bench in an FA Cup match against Fulham. He went on to make six total appearances for the first team off the bench, with four in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup and one in the EFL Cup.
Vassilev spent the 2020-21 season on loan at two different English clubs, first joining Burton Albion in League One and later joining Cheltenham Town in League Two. He feels the move to Inter Miami comes at the right time.
“I spoke to the coach (Phil Neville) before I came over and he told me he wants to work with young players who have drive and creativity and that really swayed me and made my decision,” Vassilev told the Miami Herald. “The team isn’t doing too well at the moment, so hopefully I can come and bring a bit of energy and creativity to the team and hopefully we can turn it around and start getting some wins.”
Vassilev has watched the past few Inter Miami games and feels the team is close to turning the corner.
Miami is mired in a five-game losing slump and has not scored in five of the past seven games. They have scored just nine goals all season, lowest in the league. After starting the season with high hopes, the team has two wins through 11 games and slipped to 13th place in the 14-team Eastern Conference.
“All we need is a bit of confidence, the team is really good, has a lot of really good players, so if the team as a collective had more confidence, which comes with wins, I think we should be going in the right direction,” he said.
He feels his four-year experience in England will benefit his new team. “They play a fast style of play, so I can bring speed of play to this team, pace, creativity,” he said.
Vassilev comes from a long lineage of soccer players. His father and grandfather both played. He had a ball at his feet as a toddler and grew up hearing about Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov.
He excelled at the youth level, playing for the United States U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-20 teams. He represented the U-17 team at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and was the roommate of Inter Miami midfielder George Acosta.
Vassilev began training with Inter Miami this week and is getting acclimated to the oppressive summer weather.
“It’s hotter here and much more humid than England,” he said. “But it’s a new, exciting challenge that I’m looking forward to.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 1:31 PM.