Dru Yearwood: The Englishman starring for New York Red Bulls

Dru Yearwood joined New York Red Bulls from Brentford in August 2020

The New York Red Bulls' first-round exit from the 2021 Major League Soccer play-offs could hardly have been more crushing, losing to Philadelphia Union by a single, 123rd-minute goal.

But the Red Bulls can take solace from the emergence of a new star this season. In mid-September they were seven points adrift of the Eastern Conference's play-off qualifying places, but the form of 21-year-old English midfielder Dru Yearwood was a major factor in a run of just one defeat from their final 12 fixtures as they clinched a commendable post-season berth.

"It did take a little while," Yearwood tells BBC Sport of his gradual improvement with the Red Bulls, having moved to the Big Apple from Brentford in August 2020.

"I'd never been to America before. Moving over in the coronavirus pandemic was tough, but I just got on with it. I had in my head it was going to be tough."

Yearwood approached the difficulties that accompanied his MLS move with the same laidback self-belief that has seen him embrace the challenges he faced in his early career.

Born in Harlow, Essex, into a Barbadian, football-loving family, Yearwood joined Arsenal's academy as a seven-year-old, only to be released four years later. Offers flooded in from other major London clubs, but, on his father's advice, he stayed local, signing for Southend United.

He was a fast and skilled forward who, according to one coach, "wouldn't have made it" were it not for a chance switch of position at 16.

When injuries rendered Southend short of central midfielders for an under-18s game against Leyton Orient, Yearwood was drafted into an unfamiliar role - "the only position in my life I hadn't played much". He thrived instantly.

"After about a month of playing in midfield, we started pushing him over to Phil [Brown, the first-team manager], saying 'we think we've found one here who's a bit special'," remembers Ricky Duncan, Southend's academy manager. "That one game, putting him into midfield, made his career."

"It was a no-brainer that he was going to make it," Brown says. "He quickly became almost first on the teamsheet."

Yearwood admits he was "massively learning on the job" as a 17-year-old in third-tier football. He studied footage of Claude Makelele and N'Golo Kante - and dedicated himself to mastering his new craft.

"He would always do a bit extra after training," reflected Hearts defender Taylor Moore, a team-mate of Yearwood's at Roots Hall.

"As robust and energetic as he was, he needed to work on his technical ability, and he did."

In just two seasons in the Southend first team, Yearwood played 62 games. He was crucial to a 10th-place finish in 2017-18 and a successful fight against relegation the following season. His form earned an England under-18s call-up for the 2018 Panda Cup in Chengdu, China, but injury prevented him from making his Young Lions breakthrough.

"I remember him getting quite emotional," Duncan recalls of seeing Yearwood after Southend beat Sunderland 2-1 to avoid the drop on the last day of the 2018-19 campaign.

"It dawned on me how much pressure was on that boy's shoulders. It showed how much he took upon himself to make sure the club didn't get relegated."

"He was very forceful in the way he played," added Chris Powell, who succeeded Brown as Southend manager.

"He wasn't scared. Reputations didn't count for anything. He was terrific. I loved him. In the end, everyone was calling him Dru Powell - 'he's the son of the manager'.

"The interest in him was huge. At the end of that season, I knew he would go."

Yearwood made 34 appearances for New York Red Bulls in 2020-21, scoring once

Yearwood signed for Brentford in 2019, but he found his chances limited, making just five first-team appearances. He played predominantly for the club's reserve team, in friendlies and continental tournaments.

"I'll be honest, it was tough sometimes, playing those games," Yearwood says of his unhappy season in Brentford's unique second-string side, which doesn't belong to a competitive league.

"It's quite frustrating. You can take it as serious as you want, but you need the other team to take it serious as well."

At the end of his first season with Brentford, an offer arrived from New York. Yearwood met, via Zoom, with Chris Armas, the Red Bulls' manager at the time. Armas is now part of Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United staff.

"That Zoom call sold me," Yearwood says. "The manager was telling me 'we love to press'. I was thinking 'I'm quite good at pressing, I win quite a lot of balls'. So it excited me. The Red Bull way suits my style of play."

Arriving mid-season and mid-pandemic, Yearwood took time to settle and, earlier this year, was sent to play with the Red Bulls' second team as he found his feet.

Around June, he felt everything fall into place. He still remembers the game. "Orlando away, when we won 2-1," he recalls. "I felt I knew my job. I felt good."

The Red Bulls' season-saving improvement soon followed. Yearwood scored his first MLS goal in September, against DC United, and ended the 2021 campaign ranking in the top 7% of the league's midfielders for dribbles completed per 90 minutes (1.76), the top 5% for tackles per 90 (3.57) and the top 3% for blocks (2.38).

Despite his recent form, Yearwood remains uncapped for England at any level, but he isn't dwelling on unfinished international business. The Englishman in New York is thriving, and his focus is trained singularly on MLS glory.

"I've put it to the back of my mind a little bit," he says. "I can still play for Barbados, so I've always got that option. I've taken a step back and just tried to focus on my club football.

"If it goes according to my plans, then you'll see us with an MLS Cup."