Soccer <\/p>\n
MLS Cup 2025 is done and dusted. Winter chill has descended on most of North America. And silly season has arrived.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s the time of year when hope springs anew among even the most hardboiled supporters of the most woebegone teams, and fans glue themselves to the social-media feeds of league insider and MLSsoccer.com alum Tom Bogert<\/a> in search of the latest updates on transfers, trades and other scuttlebutt.<\/p>\n With 30 clubs and somewhere around 1,000 players and counting in the mix, it can be overwhelming to keep up with the Transfer Tracker<\/a>. So we\u2019re here to boil it down for you on a week-to-week basis.<\/p>\n Welcome back to the transfer roundup. We\u2019ll start the first edition of the 2025-26 offseason along the muddy banks of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n D.C. United<\/a> officially unveiled Tai Baribo<\/a> as their newest Designated Player<\/a> last Wednesday, and club leaders did not mince words about just how significant they believe he will be in the effort to revitalize a proud organization lost in the wilderness for the better part of a decade.<\/p>\n Baribo is \u201cprobably one of the biggest signings for the club in history,\u201d said United\u2019s new managing director of soccer operations Dr. Erkut Sogut \u2013 which is saying something for a side that\u2019s had the likes of Wayne Rooney, Christian Benteke<\/a>, Marco Etcheverry and Eddie Pope don their colors over the decades.<\/p>\n Then again, it made some sense, with the Black-and-Red having already announced they\u2019d invested over $15 million total in this transaction, between the Israel international\u2019s five-year contract and the $4 million-plus they sent to Philadelphia<\/a> for the Union\u2019s top scorer in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hat’s off to Erkut and the team he’s assembled, not only to identify Tai, but to recruit him and help persuade him to be a big part of this project \u2013 the centerpiece of this project,\u201d said United\u2019s co-chairman and CEO Jason Levien. \u201cIt’s really a watershed moment for D.C. United, bringing in a player who’s a Supporters\u2019 Shield winner, the leading scorer on the Supporters\u2019 Shield winners \u2026 We’re getting a player at the height of his powers, in the middle of his career, and we believe he can do even more for us.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first big step in Sogut\u2019s plan to build a younger, hungrier roster for head coach Ren\u00e9 Weiler and the \u201chigh-pressing and transitional attacking football\u201d they aim to produce in 2026. Cognizant of the need to provide Baribo with quality service, they plan to sign another DP this winter, too \u2013 one who could cost even more than he did.<\/p>\n Can last season\u2019s Wooden Spoon recipients reinvent themselves?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Introducing Tai Baribo \ud83e\udee1 pic.twitter.com\/mil8QT1dye<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 D.C. United (@dcunited) December 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The champagne and beer spills from their MLS Cup 2025<\/a>\u00ad-winning celebrations at Chase Stadium had barely dried before the new champions set about making a new batch of headlines this month. Namely:<\/p>\n That last one\u2019s not a done deal quite yet. But you get the picture: IMCF are not standing pat as they look to extend this year\u2019s success into the future. Lionel Messi<\/a> & Co. have a Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> trophy to chase again \u2013 starting in a matter of weeks, actually \u2013 and recent MLS history shows just how difficult it is to defend a title, any title, in this league.<\/p>\n Can the first back-to-back Landon Donovan MLS MVP<\/a> in league history make his Herons the first back-to-back champs in over a decade? As we documented before their dramatic final win over Vancouver<\/a>, they\u2019ve already been relentlessly pursuing perfection<\/a> for two-plus years to reach this point.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Abrimos juego \u26bd\ufe0f. Reguil\u00f3n en el 305 \ud83c\udf07 pic.twitter.com\/mvOt0OWLMT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n A new young coach with a familiar face is bringing in a host of new names (and an old one or two as well, to be fair) in pursuit of a new vision for a member of MLS\u2019s old guard.<\/p>\n Did you follow all that? Bear with us.<\/p>\n When Red Bull New York<\/a> \u2013 and yeah, the club officially has a slightly new moniker \u2013 hired certified league legend Michael Bradley<\/a> as their head coach, it fit into a wider plan to<\/a> evolve beyond their familiar full-throttle pressing towards a more possession-oriented game model with \u201cmore flavor,\u201d \u201cmore style,\u201d \u201cmore creativity,\u201d in the words of new head of sport Julian de Guzman.<\/p>\n Several players have already arrived or departed, most notably the acquisition of talented young Americans Cade Cowell<\/a> and Justin Che<\/a>, and more such transactions are reportedly in process. Come opening day, that old concept of \u201cenergy drink soccer\u201d might mean something quite different at RBNY.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Passion meets purpose. pic.twitter.com\/EvJ39UnxJm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) December 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Toronto FC<\/a>\u2019s postseason hopes were already dead and buried when the 2025 campaign\u2019s stretch run got underway, so it sort of flew under the radar that the Reds quietly grew into a much tougher out than their place in the standings might indicate.<\/p>\n Led by high-dollar midseason recruit Djordje Mihailovic<\/a>, Robin Fraser\u2019s side took points off of half a dozen playoff teams, including Shield-winning Philly and the eventual league champs from Miami, raising hopes of a much brighter \u201826 on the shores of Lake Ontario.<\/p>\n Multiple reports that TFC are close to signing free-agent defender Walker Zimmerman<\/a> can only elevate that optimism another few notches. A FIFA World Cup veteran, five-time MLS Best XI honoree and two-time MLS Defender of the Year who’s won two Supporters’ Shields and two US Open Cups<\/a> across three different clubs, Zimmerman offers just the right sort of profile at the right moment in this project.<\/p>\n Yes, he\u2019s been increasingly sidetracked by injuries in recent years, and maybe lost half a step from his dominating peak. Yet from the penalty box to the locker room, Zimmerman knows what a winning culture looks like, and seems well-positioned to be an on-field avatar for Fraser, himself an elegant center back in his illustrious playing days.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2705 Started our first game For all the firsts and so much more, thank you \ud83d\udc9b\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc10 pic.twitter.com\/hiIjXKYFD8<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) November 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Older MLS heads can regale you with tales of the brash boldness around Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> back in the day: Fun yarns about luring Clint Dempsey back to MLS in sensational, spendy fashion, or their supporters trolling opposing fanbases about how they “invented” domestic supporter culture. Things are a bit different now, though.<\/p>\n The Rave Green have settled on a more understated model lately, one that eschews splashy big-money signings in favor of a methodical player-development pipeline based around Tacoma Defiance, their MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> second team, and the canny collection of MLS-proven figures like Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> and\u00a0Jes\u00fas Ferreira<\/a>.<\/p>\n That approach continues with their recent moves. Seattle snared free agent and local kid Hassani Dotson<\/a>, added defensive depth via Ryan Sailor<\/a>, re-signed veteran goalkeeper Stefan Frei<\/a>, selected a couple of SuperDraft prospects with local ties and reportedly are close to keeping Paul Rothrock<\/a>, another free agent and native son, in their colors via a new contract.<\/p>\n Is it as sexy as the old days? Perhaps not. Yet they remain perennial trophy contenders (Leagues Cup<\/a> hardware being their latest capture<\/a>) with a clear philosophical identity, and surprised just about everyone by holding their own in the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>\u2019s Group of Death, so who among us can really throw stones?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u2705 Scored our first goal
\u2705 Captained us to our first trophy<\/p>\n