Soccer <\/p>\n
A mere fortnight remains between us and the opening weekend of the 2025 MLS campaign, and the increasingly frenetic pace of transfers, trades and loans reflects that looming reality.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lot to keep track of. We\u2019ve got your crib sheet.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It wasn\u2019t a surprise, thanks to weeks of in-the-know reporting on both sides of the Atlantic. But it\u2019s still something of a shock: Atlanta United<\/a> have smashed \u2013 and not for the first time in their brief history — the league record for biggest inbound transfer fee, completing the signing of Ivorian striker Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a> from Middlesbrough for a reported $22 million plus add-ons.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a telling snapshot of how spending continues to escalate among MLS\u2019s most aggressive clubs: The previous record, FC Cincinnati<\/a>\u2019s $16.2 million swoop for Togolese frontrunner Kevin Denkey<\/a>, stood for less than three months.<\/p>\n Pacey, elusive, clinical in front of goal, Latte Lath is seen as the capstone for a sweeping ATLUTD overhaul which began in earnest last summer, and he\u2019s the latest in a string of expensive acquisitions for the Five Stripes, who\u2019ve now made five of the 10 priciest signings in MLS history and splashed somewhere north of $44 million on transfer fees just in the past eight months.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Columbus Crew\u2019s<\/a> Cucho Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a> era has drawn to a close, the do-it-all striker moving to Real Betis<\/a> in a reported $16 million-plus move announced Monday night, one of the largest buys in the La Liga side\u2019s rich history.<\/p>\n It was shorter than most Crew supporters would have hoped, spanning just two and a half seasons, with club leaders reluctantly letting the Colombian striker pursue his dream of a triumphant return to Spain that could improve his prospects of making Los Cafeteros\u2019 World Cup squad next year.<\/p>\n But what a run. Cucho earned All-Star honors, two Best XI nods, a Leagues Cup MVP and a host of other individual achievements as he led the Ohioans to MLS Cup and Leagues Cup<\/a> titles and last year\u2019s Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> final.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn’t anticipate him to leave,\u201d Columbus general manager Issa Tall told MLSsoccer.com, \u201cbut a team from the top five leagues in the world came about, and he wanted to take this opportunity, asked for us to consider it heavily, and we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Thank you ???? pic.twitter.com\/ZqNEdimfMo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Juan Camilo Hern\u00e1ndez (@CuchoHernandez) February 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Dejan<\/a>, Manu<\/a>, Shapi<\/a>: Good things came in threes for Sporting Kansas City<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Midwesterners\u2019 double dip for Spanish No. 10 Manu Garc\u00eda and Russian winger Shapi Suleymanov from Greek outfit Aris Thessaloniki had been reported for weeks, a move for two in-prime chance creators with experience across more than half a dozen top European leagues and the benefit of a preexisting understanding as teammates.<\/p>\n An unexpected bomb dropped over the weekend, however, before those deals went official. Nine weeks after he scored the winning goal for LA Galaxy<\/a> in the 2024 MLS Cup final, rising striker Dejan Joveljic became the first-ever case of the new cash-for-player trade mechanism<\/a>. SKC sent $4 million to Southern California and signed the Serb<\/a> to a Designated Player contract, something the defending champions simply could not offer thanks to their existing corps of DPs.<\/p>\n Suddenly the Kansans, who finished third from bottom in last year\u2019s overall table, have an entirely new front line, to the tune of $9 million in combined transfer fees, according to the Kansas City Star<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPeter [Vermes] and I met with ownership towards the end of last season,\u201d sporting director Mike Burns told the Star, \u201cand we received complete support from them to start the process and rebuild. That included Designated Players.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n From the City of Angels to the City of Fountains \u26f2\ufe0f #SportingKC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/uh7gAGjOPZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) February 2, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Houston Dynamo FC<\/a> very nearly grabbed the distinction of the first cash-for-player deal ahead of SKC, as they pulled off a trade<\/a> with the Philadelphia Union<\/a> to bring homegrown center mid Jack McGlynn<\/a> to south Texas.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s an intriguing replacement for H\u00e9ctor Herrera<\/a> after the Mexican star parted ways<\/a> with La Naranja at last season\u2019s end, and a big opportunity for a rising domestic prospect keen to push up the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> ranks and chart a path to Europe.<\/p>\n The Union got a guaranteed $2.1 million up front, plus a \u201csignificant\u201d sell-on clause media reports place at 50 percent and performance-based bonuses that could garner an additional $1.3 million \u2013 a decent return for a slick-passing metronome type who never quite fit perfectly into the DOOPers\u2019 rugged press-and-counter system.<\/p>\n \u201cLet’s see if we can find a solution where everybody can win here,\u201d Dynamo president Pat Onstad told MLSsoccer.com of the two clubs\u2019 negotiations. \u201cThere’s a handful of guys in our league that we feel can play the role that H\u00e9ctor plays in advancing the ball and being able to play in tight areas, and maybe provide a goal or two and a final pass from deep, and [McGlynn\u2019s] definitely one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n “This is a special player” ????\ufe0f@JackMcGlynn7<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oF5xMy2mNC<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Houston Dynamo FC (@HoustonDynamo) February 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n \u201cI play with heart and I am a fighter on the field, my left foot is my weapon, as well as my dribbling, and I hope to show that here.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s a bar, as the kids say these days, straight from the mouth of Marco Pa\u0161ali\u0107<\/a>, the Croatian international just signed by Orlando City<\/a> as a Designated Player on a reported $5 million fee from HNK Rijeka.<\/p>\n He\u2019s arrived to fill the shoes, both positionally and metaphorically, of Facu Torres, the Uruguayan livewire who moved to Brazilian side Palmeiras<\/a> in a transfer said to be worth some $14 million, a club-record outgoing fee for the Lions. Age 24, carrying Bundesliga experience, fresh off a trip to Euro \u201824 with his national team, Pa\u0161ali\u0107 will be expected to settle in quickly and keep OCSC among the league\u2019s elite \u2013 and those introductory words suggest he\u2019s up for the challenge.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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