Soccer <\/p>\n
The MLS Secondary Transfer Window opens on July 24, which is\u2026 well, it\u2019s late. Later than we\u2019re used to, anyway, which means fewer regular season games left by the time reinforcements can actually get on the field.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The league shifted the window back to better align with the closing of the major European windows (most shut on Sept. 1; T\u00fcrkiye always stay open later, and their teams get good deals because of it), though MLS\u2019s window still closes on Aug. 21 \u2013 about a week and a half before the big boys stop shopping.<\/p>\n
Will that matter in practice? We\u2019ll see. But a few teams clearly didn\u2019t want to wait around to find out; there was a real push this spring to get deals done before the window even opened. Still, a handful of clubs have left themselves some room to maneuver. Summer\u2019s not dead yet.<\/p>\n
Now that we\u2019ve set the table, let\u2019s dive into what Western Conference teams need most. (If you’re looking for the Eastern Conference<\/a>, that was yesterday.)<\/p>\n NOTE:<\/strong> Roster compliance info, including which roster model teams selected, available premium slots and General Allocation Money (GAM) availability, is based on the latest league release from May 8<\/a>. Things may have shifted slightly since then, but it\u2019s the cleanest snapshot we\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin<\/a> went big last summer and this past winter, spending a reported $35 million on new signings, almost all of them in the attack.<\/p>\n Naturally, then, they’re hanging around the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line based almost entirely upon the strength of their defense and their excellent goalkeeper, Brad Stuver<\/a>. Even after Wednesday\u2019s win at the LA Galaxy<\/a> \u2013 they scored twice \u2013 they\u2019ve got just 17 goals, the worst mark in the league.<\/p>\n What\u2019s gone wrong? The biggest thing is the lack of a true chance creator in central midfield. Brandon Vazquez<\/a> (who\u2019s sadly done for the year<\/a>), Osman Bukari<\/a> and especially Myrto Uzuni<\/a> aren\u2019t guys who can bend the defense; they\u2019re guys who finish plays off once the defense has been bent. (None of this is a knock on Owen Wolff<\/a>, by the way \u2013 he\u2019s awesome. He\u2019s just not that<\/em> type of playmaker).<\/p>\n The good news: It\u2019s easy to see what they need. The bad news: Players who can do that don\u2019t tend to come cheap (especially if they\u2019re young, which virtually rules out a U22 signing for the job).<\/p>\n That said, it can happen. Pep Biel<\/a>\u2019s been one of the best No. 10s in the league this year, and he\u2019s not a DP.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There are three points I want to make here.<\/p>\n If there was ever a moment to buy him out (the half of his contract<\/a> they\u2019re on the hook for, anyway) and gas the attack with another high-end contributor, it\u2019s now.<\/p>\n EDIT:<\/strong> Well, I wrote this before they reportedly sold Chidozie Awaziem<\/a> to FC Nantes, and before Tommy Scooped how they’re in talks<\/a> with Colombian winger Alexis Manyoma as a U22 signing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Given that… they need a CB. Everything else is secondary.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think the Lucho Acosta purchase last winter was an understandable gamble. Lucho has a long history in this league as a Best XI-caliber No. 10, and sometimes an MVP-caliber No. 10. He\u2019s the type of centerpiece who has consistently elevated the attackers around him, making their lives easier and generating goals. Goals generate wins.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not the Lucho that Dallas<\/a> have got, though. He\u2019s got less on-ball juice than he used to, which means less on-ball gravity. That also means he\u2019s not unlocking defenses as often with the ball on his foot, which means fewer chances to attack from a position of advantage for the cadre of pacey wingers on Dallas’ roster, and less service overall for incumbent DP No. 9 Petar Musa<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s bad right now \u2013 his numbers (both boxscore and underlying) are down across the board. I think they\u2019ve got to figure that out before they make any more big moves, because this winter might require a hard pivot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Dynamo<\/a> have been more respectable this year than they could\u2019ve been, given how much of the core they parted ways with after last season. It could\u2019ve all gone into the toilet really easily.<\/p>\n Instead, it\u2019s been a productive gap year, as they\u2019ve developed a few players (Brooklyn Raines<\/a> as a ball-winning, box-to-box midfielder has been underappreciated by the wider MLS fandom; Jack McGlynn<\/a> as a playmaker from the right half-space hasn\u2019t been), and gotten a few others back from injury. And while the defense has been up-and-down, I\u2019m generally kind of bullish.<\/p>\n I’ve quibbled with the quality of their two DP signings, center forward Ezequiel Ponce<\/a> and attacker Ond\u0159ej Lingr<\/a>. But they\u2019re committed to those guys long-term, so there\u2019s no backing away.<\/p>\n Playing underneath Ponce has been either Amine Bassi<\/a> or Sebastian Kowalczyk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll try to upgrade this spot this summer \u2013 honestly, I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll do anything this summer. They\u2019ve had so many moving pieces, they just need to give it some time.<\/p>\n But this is the spot they\u2019ll need to upgrade come winter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LAFC<\/a> are both a black box and a Rube Goldberg Machine of moving parts. They\u2019ve had four DPs this year so far: one got bought out, one came and went on loan, another is here on loan, but probably won\u2019t be for much longer, and the fourth is Denis Bouanga<\/a>, one of the best DP signings in league history.<\/p>\n They may have flitted between roster build models. They’ve had the room to add good MLS players mid-season like Frankie Amaya<\/a>, Ryan Raposo<\/a> and reportedly soon Mathieu Choini\u00e8re.<\/p>\n Which is all to say, GM\/co-president John Thorrington is very good at this. And while I still think he needs to add a bit more midfield creativity to get this team to where it wants to be (I really, really love the Choini\u00e8re addition, but he’s not a “solve your creativity issues” guy), the obvious priority now is to get a starting center back. Aaron Long<\/a> popped his Achilles\u2019 this past weekend, so we won\u2019t see him until late spring of 2026 at the earliest.<\/p>\n Addressing that need takes priority over everything else, including how they use their open DP slot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n All six of the Galaxy<\/a>\u2019s premium roster slots are filled. They have no GAM and no cap space.<\/p>\n They sold their souls for an MLS Cup title in 2024, and honestly, it was worth it. Even though it was followed up by one of the worst half-seasons in league history, this team is actually in fine shape going forward:<\/p>\n What needs to happen now? They finally start getting some productivity out of their academy. Hopefully, Harbor Miller<\/a> and Rub\u00e9n Ramos Jr.<\/a> can get real minutes down the stretch and into next year, but that’s not enough. This club should have Sounders<\/a> or Union<\/a>-level homegrown contributions every single year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This is an extraordinarily well-constructed roster, able to toggle from a 3-4-1-2 to a 3-4-2-1 depending upon Eric Ramsay\u2019s mood, and with different types of wingbacks to throw at different types of situations as well. Plus, Minnesota<\/a> do murder on dead balls. There are a lot of reasons they\u2019re so good.<\/p>\n But I think there\u2019s a ceiling on what this team can be based on the personnel in central midfield. Wil Trapp<\/a> has been a good player for a long time, and I\u2019d argue he\u2019s having his best year as a pro; he\u2019s part of the solution.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not the<\/em> solution, though, is he? We\u2019d have seen it by now if he were, I think.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think it\u2019s pretty clear they\u2019re going to bring in a goalscoring winger since both Rodr\u00edguez and Antony<\/a>, who\u2019s been so good this year, are both injured. It\u2019s the smart move for a team that\u2019s done well to hang around in the middle of the West pack, but have begun slipping (only one win in five after a devastating 1-0 home loss<\/a> to RSL<\/a> on Wednesday).<\/p>\n They have a good chunk of GAM left, so they can address other spots as well. I could see center back being a place to hunt for potential upgrades, and it probably wouldn\u2019t kill them to add more depth at center mid.<\/p>\n But yeah, they need another match-winner. That\u2019s the priority.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n RSL have four wins and a draw in their last five, and it feels like the pieces are coming together now that the playoff push is here. Somehow, Pablo Mastroeni always does this.<\/p>\n Now, would a sane person say they should look for a DP No. 9 to take over the starting job? Probably. But I have built my mansion on William Agada<\/a> Island, and I will continue to live there until they bury me in the hedgerows.<\/p>\n RSL, however, won’t: They’re reportedly about to sign Nigerian striker Victor Olatunji from Sparta Prague, though without spending a DP slot, as per Tommy Scoops<\/a>.<\/p>\n This is obviously very good work, even if it does harm my Agada Agenda.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Is Iloski<\/a> really as good as he looked this spring for San Diego<\/a>? No, of course not. Nobody\u2019s that good.<\/p>\n But he\u2019s still really freaking good, and I truly hope he and SDFC\u2019s front office find the right number to bring him home and make him a permanent part of this whole thing. And no, that\u2019s not a panic reaction to Wednesday\u2019s 1-0 home loss<\/a> to Toronto<\/a>. It\u2019s just common sense.<\/p>\n The way they\u2019ve found and developed young players, or second-chance guys \u2013 not just Iloski, but both fullbacks and center back Ian Pilcher<\/a> \u2013 means they\u2019ve got the chance to be really choosy about how (if) they spend that third DP slot.<\/p>\n Personally, I think they should go for a free No. 8, which would allow them to ease An\u00edbal Godoy<\/a> into a reserve role upon his return from injury. But that\u2019s less important than sorting out the center forward situation, which\u2026 honestly, I really want them to get this done.<\/p>\n Adding one more center back is on the list as well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Quakes<\/a> had a promising spring. Summer arrived, and it’s been brutal.<\/p>\n San Jose are spiraling, with no wins in their past five across all competitions (which included a heartbreaking home loss \u2013 on PKs \u2013 to Austin in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup<\/a>) and just one win in eight. They\u2019ve lost the ability to control the middle of the pitch, and they\u2019re not creating chances like they were earlier in the year.<\/p>\n Those two things are related, but given the talent San Jose already have deep in midfield, it feels like the place in need of an immediate upgrade is the No. 10. I want to believe that homegrown Niko Tsakiris<\/a> is the answer there, but I think he\u2019s more of a high-level ball-progressor who can do some chance creation rather than a pure chance creator.<\/p>\n Bruce Arena\u2019s first great team had Marco Etcheverry. Bruce\u2019s most recent great team had Carles Gil<\/a>.<\/p>\n The man has a type.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think the Sounders will spend some cash on another U22 signing this summer, and Sounder at Heart has linked them<\/a> to Dutch youth international Noah Ohio (Duncan Idaho\u2019s cousin, I believe, and a fellow Swordmaster of Ginaz).<\/p>\n But that\u2019s more a signing of opportunity rather than filling a need. Their need right now, following Jo\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>\u2019s ACL tear, is some depth behind Vargas and Cristian Roldan<\/a> (who looked leggy against the Rapids midweek) to give them the occasional break.<\/p>\n Should they call up Sean Davis<\/a>? I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad idea.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The good news for St. Louis<\/a> fans is that the front office is trying to address this need, as they\u2019ve already signed 21-year-old Senegalese youth international Fallou Fall<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bad news is this is just the latest swing of the bat, as they\u2019ve been trying desperately to find a pair of starting CBs since basically Day 1. Joakim Nilsson<\/a> and Henry Kessler<\/a> have been constantly hurt; Timo Baumgartl<\/a> has underperformed and Jannes Horn’s loan expired. Tim Parker<\/a> was sent packing; Jake Girdwood-Reich<\/a> has mostly been used at d-mid. Journeymen Josh Yaro<\/a> and Kyle Hiebert<\/a> have been the most consistent options, which\u2026 yeah.<\/p>\n This is the spot. Hopefully, Fall\u2019s the guy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sporting<\/a> will pretty obviously do a club-wide reset this winter, as they\u2019ve mostly just sat pat since parting ways with the legendary Peter Vermes. They have a ton of contracts coming off the books and the opportunity to give the next head coach and next CSO the closest thing to a blank slate (the two DPs they have on the books long-term, Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/a> and Manu Garc\u00eda<\/a>, are really good players and should be part of the long-term solution).<\/p>\n Just keep things as they are this summer and have everybody still on the roster playing for their jobs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Farewell, Pedro Vite<\/a> \u2013 you were awesome this year. Best of luck with Pumas.<\/p>\n With Vite heading to LIGA MX<\/a> and Ryan Gauld<\/a> perma-broken (still no word on exactly when their No. 10 will be back), the \u2018Caps<\/a> are now bereft of chance creation. It looks like Kenji Cabrera, who\u2019s been one of the best players in the Peruvian league and is on the fringes of the Peruvian national team, has been tapped as the replacement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jesper S\u00f8rensen\u2019s worked miracles this year, and he\u2019ll probably do it again with Cabrera. I do hope, though, there are more reinforcements on the way (including a backup left back).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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