Prior to fielding a team for the first time in 2018, the Los Angeles Football Club went about the business of building a scouting infrastructure.
The literal fruit of that labor officially joined LAFC on Wednesday, when Tomás Ángel, the 20-year-old son of retired Colombian striker Juan Pablo Ángel, agreed to a deal with the Black & Gold through 2026, including a club option for 2027.
Seven years after Juan Pablo aligned with LAFC as a technical consultant based out of Medellin, Colombia, one of the chief architects of a Major League Soccer expansion team’s South American scouting network saw his son move through that pipeline to Los Angeles.
Following a 21-year playing career in Colombia, Argentina, the English Premier League and MLS, where he amassed 272 goals in 717 club appearances plus another nine in 33 caps for the Colombian national team, Juan Pablo’s off-field acumen led him to collaborate with LAFC, which he does to this day.
“The vision and investment of this club to find players in South America is impressive and shows that LAFC is committed to doing things differently in order to be successful,” Juan Pablo said at the time of his hiring.
During the past three years with Atlético Nacional in Colombia’s first division, Tomás emerged as an LAFC target, registering eight goals and two assists across all competitions in 52 appearances, winning a pair of Colombian Cups, one league title and, in 2023, a Colombian Super Cup.
Ángel has represented the Colombian national team at the U19 and U20 levels. In 15 appearances with the U20s, he scored five goals, including three in five games during the 2023 U-20 FIFA World Cup.
“Tommy is a gifted and versatile attacker whom we have been monitoring for quite some time during his time with Atlético Nacional and with the Colombian national teams,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington said in a statement. “Tommy knows LAFC well, and we are grateful he also believes LAFC is a fantastic next step for his promising career.”
