A product of O'Dea High School in Seattle, Yedlin was part of Washington Youth Soccer's State Olympic Development Program from 2006 to 2009. He also played youth soccer for Emerald City FC and Northwest Nationals before going to U.S. Soccer Development Academy club Crossfire Premier. Yedlin stayed in the DA, but moved to the Seattle Sounders FC youth academy for the 2010–11 season. On February 8, 2011, Yedlin signed a letter of intent to play college soccer at the University of Akron. In his freshman year, Yedlin started in 20 of his 23 games for the Zips. He scored his first collegiate goal on September 28, 2011, in a 3–1 victory over Ohio State. He finished the year with six assists. In his sophomore year, Yedlin made 22 appearances and finished the year with six assists as well. Yedlin also played for Seattle Sounders FC U-23 in the Premier Development League, and was named to the 2012 All-PDL First XI for his play.
On January 11, 2013, after two seasons with Akron, Yedlin signed with Seattle Sounders FC as the club's first homegrown player. He made his debut on March 2 in a 1–0 home defeat to the Montreal Impact. Yedlin was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his performance, becoming the first rookie to earn the honor in his professional debut. On March 12 he scored his first professional goal for the club in a 3–1 win against Tigres in the second leg of the Sounders 3–2 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal aggregate victory. On July 15, Yedlin was named to the MLS All-Star team for their match against Roma on July 31, making him the first rookie to be named to the All-Star team since 2005 when Michael Parkhurst was selected during his rookie season. Yedlin was ranked 3rd among MLS players under the age of 24 in 2013, according to MLSSoccer.com. Yedlin scored his first professional league goal in a 1–1 draw with the Colorado Rapids on July 20, 2013.
On August 13, 2014, it was confirmed that Yedlin had signed a four-year contract with Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League. He remained with Seattle before joining Tottenham in January 2015. He trained with Tottenham for the first time on January 7, 2015. He made his first appearance for the under-21 team on January 9, 2015. Yedlin made his Premier League debut on April 11, 2015, in a loss to Aston Villa.
On September 1, 2015, Sunderland acquired Yedlin on a year-long loan. On September 22, Yedlin made his Sunderland debut in a League Cup match, playing the full 90 minutes and notching an assist for the Black Cats' only goal in a 4–1 loss to Manchester City. On October 3, 2015 Yedlin started his first Premier League game against West Ham United.
Newcastle United
On August 24, 2016, Yedlin moved to Newcastle United for £5 million on a five-year contract. He made his debut on August 27, in a match against Brighton and Hove Albion as an 88th-minute substitute for Yoan Gouffran. Two weeks later, Yedlin scored his first goal for the club and his first in three years in a 2–0 victory against Derby County on September 10. He scored his first Premier League goal on September 1, 2018, in a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.
International career
Yedlin was named to the United States under-20 squad on June 7, 2013, for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. Yedlin made his U-20 international debut a week later in a 3–1 victory over Portugal. Yedlin earned his first call up to the senior men's national team on January 3, 2014. He made his first appearance with the senior team on February 1, 2014, in a friendly against South Korea. Yedlin was included on the U.S. final 23-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He made his World Cup debut against Portugal, coming on as a late second-half substitute. He helped set up Sounders teammate Clint Dempsey's late goal which put the U.S. up 2–1. He also came on late in the next game, a 1–0 loss v. Germany; his deep cross to Dempsey was headed off target. In the round of 16 match against Belgium, Yedlin came on as a substitute for the injured Fabian Johnson. In the 2016 Copa America Centenario, Yedlin received a second yellow card in a match against Paraguay.
Personal life
Yedlin was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. Yedlin and his mother are Jewish, and his family is from Latvia. Yedlin is very close with his mother, Rebecca Yedlin, who had him when she was very young and is now a college sports instructor; his father has never been part of his life. He was raised by his maternal grandfather, Ira Nathan Yedlin, and step-grandmother, Vicki Walton. Yedlin has a sister Jenea who is three years younger than he is. Yedlin began playing soccer at age four and learned while watching his uncle from the sideline. Seattle Sounders youth director Darren Sawatzky first saw him play at age 11 and later said that Yedlin was "an offensive player at the time, he was tricky, he had explosiveness and could run for days." Seattle Sounders FC sporting director Chris Henderson said of Yedlin: "DeAndre has great quickness and speed. He reads the game well, keeps possession, but he's able to attack the flank and get crosses in."
