GOAL - Ben Valentine

Bayern Munich have signed United States youth international Taylor Booth to their youth academy, the Bundesliga side announced Thursday.

The 17-year-old Booth joins the club on a three-and-half year contract, having been signed away from Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake’s academy.

"I'm very happy with this next step in my career," Booth said in a statement. "FC Bayern is one of the largest clubs in the world.

“Being here in Munich at the FC Bayern campus and taking the next steps in my development makes me very proud. "

"We see a lot of potential in Taylor. He is a talented young player, and we look forward to working with him to develop his talent further," FC Bayern Campus Manager Jochen Sauer said.

The Utah-born midfielder has featured for the United States multiple times at the youth national team levels. He played in a pair of games for the U-17 side at the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India, including their 4-1 quarter-final defeat to England where he featured alongside the likes of Josh Sargent and Timothy Weah.

Bayern announced Booth will train with the club’s U-23 side’s training camp in Dallas before linking up with their U-19 team for the second half of the season.

Booth becomes the second American to officially sign with the club in recent weeks.

Defender Chris Richards completed a $1.5 million permanent transfer to Bayern Munich from FC Dallas, signing a four-and-a-half year deal after having joined the Bundesliga champions on loan in the summer.

Bayern also signed another MLS youngster in standout Canada teen Alphonso Davies, who made his Bundesliga debut for the club in a 4-1 victory over Stuttgart on January 27.

Booth will also look to join the ranks of young Americans aiming to succeed in the German top-flight, following the likes of Christian Pulisic at Borussia Dortmund and Weston McKennie at Schalke, as well as Tyler Adams, who moved from the New York Red Bulls and made his league debut for RB Leipzig against Dusseldorf last week.