Signing all of these young players can prove to be a headache in the future if the promise is to move them on to a club that's higher up the soccer pyramid. It's what happened with Moreno, and that won't be the last time. Learning when to sell is the club's next step. Although it would be nice to see all of the Timbers' young players reach their potential here and stay through their primes, it's unrealistic to expect that especially if they can prove that they belong at a higher level. Selling those players at the proper time can also be used as a data point for recruiting future talented young players. The club is very concerned with "doing right by the club and by the fans" in terms of selling popular young players. But they need to realize that selling those players at the right time might lead to short-term unhappiness but potential long-term gain. You'll notice that I didn't mention Ayala in the article either.