HERRIMAN, Utah (Monday, July 20, 2024) – Real Monarchs sign forward Aiden Hezarkhani to a MLS NEXT Pro contract.
Hezarkhani, 17, signs with Real Monarchs from the Real Salt Lake Academy where he frequently appears for the U-17 squad. Hezarkhani played a large role in the success of the RSL Academy sweep over Group P In MLS NEXT Flex earning 9 points with wins over Wake FC (5-1), SC Del Sol (3-0), and Austin FC (3-2).
The young attacker has made six appearances including five starts for the Monarchs as an academy callup. Hezarkhani made his professional debut on April 28 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 in a 1-0 win. Logging 338 minutes thus far in the 2024 campaign, Hezarkhani has fired 8 shots, finding the net for his first professional goal against Houston Dynamo 2.
“A lot of young players have come through over the years, with different types of skill sets. I think Aiden has the 6th sense of football, which is something you can't teach. His special awareness and his decision making for a young man at 16 years old is next level for me,” said first-team manager Pablo Mastroeni. “I think that he is going to be a fantastic player because he is a fantastic young man and an absolutely great student. He has everything you’d ever want in a young player.”
Hezarkhani originally gained notice from RSL manager Matroeni and RSL assistant GM Tony Beltran during the Academy’s monthly “tournament day” where Hezarkhani was honored as one of the 14 players for having a perfect 4.0 grade-point average during the fall semester. While competing in a series of 5v5 and 6v6 matches Hezarkhani not only starred individually but elevated the performances of his teammates around him leading him to be named “Player of the Tournament”.
Thanks to a great performance in the tournament the California native earned himself a spot in the next Thursday training. In that training session second-year winger Bertin Jacquesson separated his shoulder opening the door for Hezarkhani. After another successful training session the next day the RSL coaching staff and front office decided Hezarkhani would travel with the first-team to the two-week Atlantic Cup where Hezarkhani appeared in all three matches, logging one assist.
After a successful performance in Portugal Hezarkhani was invited to travel to Santa Barbara where he would log 25 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC in RSL’s final preseason match.
Hezarkhani trains regularly with the first-team and exemplifies the pipeline Real Salt Lake has set in place to develop talent from the academy feeding into the Monarchs and eventually the first team.
TRANSACTION: Real Monarchs sign RSL academy forward Aiden Hezarkhani to a MLS NEXT Pro professional contract on July 20, 2024
Player Information
Name: Aiden Hezarkhani
Position: Forward
Height: 5’ 10”
Date of Birth: June 6, 2007
Age: 17
Birthplace: Irvine, CA
Citizenship: United States
How Acquired: RSL Academy
Real Monarchs (4-10-2, 16pts) currently 12th in the West, 8 points behind the playoff line, in its third season in MLS NEXT Pro. The Monarchs look to build on their new 4-2-3-1 tactic empowered by new manager Mark Lowry and one of the league’s youngest rosters (by average age). Tickets for Real Monarchs can be purchased by calling 844.Real.Tix or visiting www.RSL.com/tickets.
