Brek Shea vs. Mix Diskerud: Which Signing is Better?

New York City FC has answered Orlando City SC’s Brek Shea signing by adding a U.S. International of their very own. On Tuesday, NYCFC officially announced the signing of Mix Diskerud.

Shea and Mix are very different types of players, so it may seem like these are just two separate signings by the two MLS expansion clubs. When you look at the two players side by side, there are actually a number of similarities between them.

Both players will be joining MLS teams in their inaugural years with the league, and will be the club's most recognizable American. They currently are both 24 years old and leaving European leagues to come play in their home country's domestic league in the same year.

Not to mention, their hair game is on point. After all, they both have Twitter accounts dedicated to their glorious locks.

But which one is the better signing?

Current Form

The form in which Shea and Mix will be entering the league couldn’t be any different. Shea is returning to MLS after a failed experiment with Stoke City in the English Premier League, and has only played a handful of minutes since he left FC Dallas in January 2013. Diskerud, on the other hand, has been a regular with Rosenborg in the Norwegian Tippeligaen for the past four years.

When it comes to playing time, Shea is at an all time low in his career, so the MLS homecoming is a redemption shot for the Texan. He has a lot to prove but he also has nothing to lose.

The Norwegian-American Diskerud will be joining NYCFC in the midst of the Lampard debacle, so there is a lot of pressure on him to be a positive distraction for the club. Mix is coming to the league for the first time, as a poster boy for the New York Club…literally.

MLS Experience

This should be a quick one.

Brek has been a part of five MLS campaigns with his first professional club, FC Dallas. In 2011, Shea had his best season with the club, notching 11 goals. He also helped lead the Texas club to its first and only MLS Cup Final appearance — a loss to Colorado Rapids.

Mix will be entering his first season in Major League Soccer.

Public Appeal

(Otherwise known as marketability)

When Brek Shea was announced, he was received with an overall positive response and that set Twitter ablaze. And as you can see above, Mix got his face plastered on the side of a building. They will both regularly be in the headlines for their respective clubs and a hot topic for their respective fan groups.

Orlando City and NYCFC have gone out and captured two of the most outgoing USMNT players, which is not always a good thing. They are both certainly fan favorites, but have been known to sir the pot or be the subject of controversy.

Shea has had his notorious gun photo, while Mix has been known to bust out poetry on Twitter. So, who knows what we will get from the pair next season?

National Team

They both actually earned their first national team caps back in 2010, and have roughly the same number of caps for the USMNT, so they have a similar amount of experience at the international level. They were both also called into the January Camp by Jurgen Klinsmann earlier this month.

Klinsmann has always been fond of both of these players and has kept them around the National Team picture.

While it is true that Mix is ahead in this category and has been a regular for Klinsmann post-World Cup, Shea has made a few appearances recently and will surely be given a chance at redemption.

Klinsmann has commented on both of the players' MLS transfers.

On Shea:

"hopefully he picks up the rhythm right away with our January camp and going into an exciting first season with Orlando City. I think he understands that he has to play. The players need to play in order to be a part of the national team program. It's good news, its exciting for MLS, having a younger player also coming back, but most important it's good news for him in order to catch up again."

On Mix:

"Mix had different options in Europe, but not bigger options than Rosenborg," says Klinsmann. "Then come New York City Football Club, which is a start-up with a very exciting ownership and people involved like Jason Kreis and Claudio Reyna. So a lot of positives there. Mix asked me, and I said, ‘Yeah, I think it makes sense.' Every player has his own individual situation."

Polling Closed