{"id":885171,"date":"2026-01-15T08:17:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/western-conference-breaking-down-every-teams-premium-roster-slot-status-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T08:17:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T14:17:03","slug":"western-conference-breaking-down-every-teams-premium-roster-slot-status-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/western-conference-breaking-down-every-teams-premium-roster-slot-status-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Conference: Breaking down every team&#8217;s premium roster slot status | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take a team-by-team look at where all 30 MLS clubs stand re: how they\u2019re using their Designated Player and U22 Initiative slots. Think of it as a refresher as teams around the league report for preseason this week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>All of this is based on press releases, some reporting of my own, some cribbing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sixonefivesoccer.com\/where-to-find-mls-coverege\/\" target=\"_blank\">from local coverage<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/mlssoccer.app.box.com\/s\/c2ok055zmdadejs5zfmhjaj9otkw7wmp\" target=\"_blank\">official club roster profiles<\/a> (which haven\u2019t been updated since September, so take many of these designations with a grain of salt). Plus a dash of <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tombogert.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\">Tommy Scoops<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backheeled.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Backheeled<\/a> gang and everyone else who covers the whole league tossed in.<\/p>\n<p>Bear in mind two big things as you read this:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li>MLS teams decide between building with 3 DPs\/3 U22 slots, or 2 DPs\/4 U22s\/$2 million extra General Allocation Money (GAM). Throughout this column (and henceforth in all columns, really), I\u2019ll be referring to this as 3\/3 or 2\/4\/GAM.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<div>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Many of these DP designations and literally all of the U22 designations are fungible. As such, teams often move guys into and out of these slots throughout the year to maximize cap space or limit allocation money usage.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<p>In we go:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HRtS6V2HpMY?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"The BEST MLS FREE KICK Goals of 2025! | Messi, Son, Reus, Giroud &#038; More\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211;\u00a0Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vazquez<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Mateja Djordjevic, Nicol\u00e1s Dubersarsky, Owen Wolff<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/austin-fc\/\">Austin<\/a> already did good work this winter in finding a taker for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/austin-fc-transfer-osman-bukari-to-polish-club\">Osman Bukari<\/a>, which opened up one DP slot \u2013 one they desperately need to use better than what they\u2019ve traditionally managed. More on that below.<\/p>\n<p>The other move they made was the obvious one: rewarding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/owen-wolff\/\">Wolff<\/a> with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/austin-fc-sign-owen-wolff-to-contract-extension-x4157\">U22 deal<\/a> after his breakout 2025 season. He was arguably the club\u2019s best all-around player, and using a premium slot on him provides him financial security while giving the club a stronger position re: negotiating leverage when the likes of, let\u2019s say, Feyenoord or Club Brugge come calling.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> My earnest hope is that sporting director Rodolfo Borrell goes out and gets a true playmaker for this bunch. My worry last year was that their mix of DPs and veterans lacked exactly that, and it largely proved true.<\/p>\n<p>This year\u2019s squad has, in theory, better balance, even if the fit between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/myrto-uzuni\/\">Uzuni<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/brandon-vazquez\/\">Vazquez<\/a> (once Vazquez gets back from injury) is probably never going to be great. But you sleep in the bed you made, right? And \u201cnot great\u201d isn\u2019t the same as \u201cunworkable\u201d \u2013 get the right chance creator out there, and both those guys will score.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how they\u2019ll use that final DP slot. And the other \u201cwhat comes next\u201d part is, obviously, the hope that they can develop guys like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/mateja-djordjevic\/\">Djordjevic<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/nicolas-dubersarsky\/\">Dubersarsky<\/a> as well as they developed Wolff.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/2 &#8211; Rafael Navarro, Paxten Aaronson<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/4 &#8211; Cole Bassett, Ted Ku-Dipietro, Josh Atencio<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/colorado-rapids\/\">Rapids<\/a> haven\u2019t officially done anything with their premium slots this winter. Yet. And that makes some sense, given that three of the guys listed above (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/theodore-ku-dipietro\/\">Ku-DiPietro<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/josh-atencio\/\">Atencio<\/a> last winter, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/paxten-aaronson\/\">Aaronson<\/a> in the summer) arrived in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Truth be told, none of them settled in. I don\u2019t think any of them were a good fit for now-departed head coach Chris Armas\u2019s system, and my hope is that new head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/tottenham-to-mls-matt-wells-era-begins-for-colorado-rapids\">Matt Wells<\/a> can get them into spots to succeed. I think all three of them (as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/rafael-navarro\/\">Navarro<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/cole-bassett\/\">Bassett<\/a>, obviously) are starting-caliber at the very least.<\/p>\n<p>They also signed Nigerian defensive midfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/colorado-rapids-acquire-midfielder-hamzat-ojediran-from-lens\">Hamzat Ojediran<\/a>, who is still just 22 years old but won&#8217;t occupy a U22 slot. So there&#8217;s some continued flexibility as the Wells era begins.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> My expectation at the start of the winter was that Navarro, who\u2019s had significant interest from some of the biggest teams in Brazil, would have been sold by now.<\/p>\n<p>The fact that he hasn\u2019t been\u2026 I\u2019m not sure it means anything. The interest is still out there, the Rapids have him under contract for the next three seasons, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/darren-yapi\/\">Darren Yapi<\/a> is ready to step into a starting No. 9 role. They can play hardball and squeeze the right price out of someone.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 1\/2 &#8211; Petar Musa<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 5\/4 &#8211; Patrickson Delgado, Kaick, Ran Binyamin, Enes Sali, Geovane Jesus<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The way this roster is constructed, man\u2026 they have so many dudes. Too many dudes, to be honest, because a lot of them play in the same spots and most of them are just, like, replacement level.<\/p>\n<p>The one who\u2019s clearly not is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/petar-musa\/\">Musa<\/a>, who\u2019s been one of the best signings anybody\u2019s made in the past few years. But then you look at that list of U22s, and it\u2019s kind of grim. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/geovane-jesus\/\">Geovane Jesus<\/a> has been hurt forever, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/enes-sali\/\">Sali<\/a> hasn\u2019t panned out, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/patrickson-delgado\/\">Delgado<\/a>\u2019s development has been stop-start, and while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kaick\/\">Kaick<\/a>\u2019s first season was promising, there\u2019s not much in <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/7703e0fe\/Kaick\" target=\"_blank\">his statistical profile<\/a> (or, honestly, the eye test) that says he\u2019s about to turn into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/andres-cubas\/\">Andr\u00e9s Cubas<\/a> or something.<\/p>\n<p>Their latest gambit is on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ran-binyamin\/\">Binyamin<\/a>, who was a part-time central midfield starter \u2013 a position where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/fc-dallas\/\">Dallas<\/a> already have a ton of depth, mind you \u2013 in Israel\u2019s top flight.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t get it. This wasn\u2019t a need.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> A departure of at least one of the U22s (though I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if it was actually two that left).<\/p>\n<p>But really, we\u2019re all waiting for the arrival of the new DP No. 10. As frustrating as the team\u2019s premium roster stuff has been, their internal development got back on track under Eric Quill last year and, over the second half of the season, they sure did look like they were a playmaker away from being quite good.<\/p>\n<p>All the current links are to Frenchman\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigdsoccer.com\/fc-dallas-linked-gauthier-hein-rumor\/\" target=\"_blank\">Gauthier Hein<\/a>. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Ezequiel Ponce, Guilherme, Ond\u0159ej Lingr<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Lawrence Ennali, Nelson Qui\u00f1ones, Jack McGlynn<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/houston-dynamo-fc\/\">Dynamo<\/a> have done some shuffling so far this winter, and I\u2019d expect them to drop one of last year\u2019s signings \u2013 attacker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ondrej-lingr\/\">Ond\u0159ej Lingr<\/a> \u2013 from a DP slot into a TAM slot to open up enough space to make two moves. So for now it\u2019s listed as 3\/3 above, but take that with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n<p>One of those was the addition of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/houston-dynamo-acquire-dp-winger-guilherme\">Guilherme<\/a>, a 30-year-old Brazilian winger who\u2019s made his bones playing against the ball for the past decade. He has seriously impressive underlying defensive numbers (and the fact that I led with his defensive numbers means you can guess what my thoughts are about his attacking contributions over the years).<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s been it to this point. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jack-mcglynn\/\">McGlynn<\/a> was a hit last year, but both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/lawrence-ennali\/\">Ennali<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/nelson-quinones\/\">Qui\u00f1ones<\/a> struggled coming back from injuries, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ezequiel-ponce\/\">Ponce<\/a> has been pretty meh in MLS. Pressure\u2019s on.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Mateusz Bogusz, maybe? The Polish attacker was very good as a false 9 a few years back for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/los-angeles-football-club\">LAFC<\/a>, parlaying that into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/lafc-transfer-mateusz-bogusz-to-cruz-azul\">big-money move<\/a> to free-spending Cruz Azul. It hasn\u2019t quite worked out for him there, so it seems he\u2019s ready to follow the well-trod path back to MLS.<\/p>\n<p>Houston\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tombogert.bsky.social\/post\/3mbrumo2el22d\" target=\"_blank\">reportedly<\/a> have priority rights on him and are working to get a deal done.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211; Manu Garc\u00eda, Dejan Jovelji\u0107<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 0\/3<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>New president of soccer operations and general manager David Lee, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/sporting-kansas-city-name-david-lee-president-of-soccer-operations-general-manager\">arrived late last season<\/a> after several years at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/new-york-city-football-club\/\">New York City FC<\/a>, sure has taken his time! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/sporting-kansas-city\/\">Sporting KC<\/a> didn\u2019t even have a coach until last week, when it was announced that they\u2019d hired former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/chicago-fire-fc\/\">Chicago Fire FC<\/a> boss <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/sporting-kansas-city-name-raphael-wicky-head-coach\">Raphael Wicky<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Besides that, they haven\u2019t made any significant moves at all \u2013 simply added a couple of back-ups in defense and goal (I think <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/stefan-cleveland\/\">Stefan Cleveland<\/a> could end up being a starter, though that\u2019s beyond the parameters of this column).<\/p>\n<p>The clock is ticking!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Lots of signings, hopefully, because even beyond the premium slots, this roster is barren.<\/p>\n<p>I fully expect Lee to choose the 3\/3 roster build, by the way. NYCFC had a fairly mixed time with their U22s on his watch, and one of the things that his camp has sort of leaked out over the past six months is that those weren\u2019t <em>his<\/em> signings, but were signings mandated by the mothership at City Football Group.<\/p>\n<p>Whether that was truly the case or not, it\u2019ll be fascinating to see how this all plays out. My guess is that, between now and first kick, this is the busiest team in the league.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/2 &#8211; Denis Bouanga, Son Heung-Min\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/4 &#8211; David Mart\u00ednez, Igor Jesus, Artem Smolyakov<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>No premium roster slot moves yet this winter, though co-president and general manager John Thorrington, as always, has been busy building depth and flexibility down-roster with intraleague pick-ups.<\/p>\n<p>And\u2026 that is basically that. This was the second or third-best team in the league by the end of last season, and they look set to run it back under new head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/lafc-name-marc-dos-santos-head-coach\">Marc Dos Santos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Two things. The bigger one is \u201csix months of soccer, at the end of which they might add a new DP following the 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/fifa-world-cup\/2025\/\">FIFA World Cup<\/a>.\u201d It will be much easier to make a splash for a high-level player at that point than it is now \u2013 if, of course, they feel it necessary to add a DP-caliber player at all. They\u2019ve frequently gone 2\/4\/GAM over the past few years.<\/p>\n<p>The other thing that <em>could<\/em> be next is some sort of sale\/trade\/loan of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/artem-smolyakov\/\">Smolyakov<\/a>, who seems to be very available. The injury to new acquisition <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jacob-shaffelburg\/\">Jacob Shaffelburg<\/a> could put a stop to that, though. I had Shaffelburg penciled in as the second-choice left wingback in a 3-4-2-1, ahead of Smolyakov and behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ryan-hollingshead\/\">Ryan Hollingshead<\/a>. If he\u2019s sidelined for a while, Smolyakov becomes much less movable.<\/p>\n<p>And yes, I know that Dos Santos has said he wants to play a 4-3-3 this year; I just find the final three months of last year, most of which they spent in a 3-4-2-1, a more compelling argument for what they\u2019ll actually look like in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever formation they end up in, they\u2019re loaded and have plenty of GAM to roll over from last year. So, could they sign another U22 or DP? Yeah, definitely. Will they? I highly doubt it.<\/p>\n<p>Unless, of course, Smolyakov is actually moved. In which case, they\u2019ve clearly got something cooking.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Joseph Paintsil, Gabriel Pec, Riqui Puig^<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Juli\u00e1n Aude, Lucas Sanabria, Matheus Nascimento?<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Just devastating news earlier this month when it was confirmed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ricard-puig-marti\/\">Riqui<\/a>\u2019s ACL repair from ahead of last season didn\u2019t take, and that he\u2019d have to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/la-galaxy-s-riqui-puig-has-second-knee-surgery-out-long-term\">go under the knife once again<\/a> \u2013 which means he\u2019s missing all of this season as well. He sees passes that only one other guy in the league can see:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote><p>\u2014 Ben Wright (@benwright) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/benwright\/status\/1860828531141304462?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The silver lining for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/la-galaxy\/\">Galaxy<\/a> is that by putting him on the Season-Ending Injury List, they will have opened up his DP slot for use this year. So you can consider them to be 2\/3 on DPs in the above list, or maybe 2\/2 and 3\/4 on U22s?<\/p>\n<p>And yes, there will be at least three U22s on this year\u2019s roster, as all signs point to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/matheus-nascimento\/\">Nascimento<\/a> returning for a second year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> A decision on the above.<\/p>\n<p>Given their need for GAM and the fact that they\u2019ve got <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/marco-reus\/\">Marco Reus<\/a> in town to play as the No. 10 for, hopefully, 2,500 minutes this year, it kind of makes sense for them to go 2\/4\/GAM. They\u2019d suddenly have the flexibility they need to bring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/diego-fagundez\/\">Diego Fag\u00fandez<\/a> back, as well as to add a U22 playmaker.<\/p>\n<p>Ideally, of course, LA would eventually start producing guys like that \u2013 and there\u2019ve been no shortage of U22-caliber domestic playmakers signing homegrown deals recently \u2013 via their academy and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlsnextpro.com\/\">MLS NEXT Pro<\/a> set-up. They\u2019re finally starting to squeeze some water from that particular stone, though it\u2019s more in the form of midfield ball-winners and central defensive depth. Baby steps.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/2 &#8211; Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra, Kelvin Yeboah<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/4 &#8211; Nicol\u00e1s Romero, Nectarios Triantis, Owen Gene<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Most of their incoming business has been in a holding pattern as they\u2019ve seen one free agent after another and then finally their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/eric-ramsay-departs-minnesota-united-to-coach-west-bromwich-albion\">head coach<\/a> all depart. It has been a dispiriting offseason in that regard for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/minnesota-united-fc\/\">Loons<\/a> fans.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is they\u2019re still sitting on a mountain of GAM and one premium roster slot.<\/p>\n<p>That said, they did get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/tomas-chancalay\/\">Tom\u00e1s Chancalay<\/a> in a cash trade with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/new-england-revolution\/\">Revs<\/a>, and Chancalay was a DP as recently as last year. Obviously, things didn\u2019t work out for him in New England, but he\u2019s got real talent. If new head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/minnesota-united-name-cameron-knowles-head-coach\">Cameron Knowles<\/a> can unlock it, in theory, it\u2019s like adding another DP to the roster without using a slot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> I\u2019m not sure anything does. Despite the loss of a bunch of key guys, this roster is still very deep (everywhere except left wingback, anyway) and pretty good \u2013 potentially more than that if Knowles can get <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kelvin-yeboah\/\">Yeboah<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/joaquin-pereyra\/\">Pereyra<\/a> to consistently perform like DPs.<\/p>\n<p>It feels like the smart play is to focus on the guys in the locker room now and then to add a big piece in the summer, as they did last year with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/nectarios-triantis\/\">Triantis<\/a>. And for the time being, staying in the 2\/4\/GAM build allows chief soccer officer and sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad to preserve at least part of that huge pile of cash he\u2019s sitting on.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; David Da Costa, Kristoffer Velde, Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211; Antony, Kevin Kelsy<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>All three of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/portland-timbers\/\">Portland<\/a>\u2019s DPs are full DPs who can\u2019t be bought down. Two of the three \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/david-da-costa\/\">Da Costa<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jonathan-rodriguez\/\">Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> \u2013 will start the year on the injured list. Da Costa, at least, will come off of it in due time.<\/p>\n<p>Rodr\u00edguez\u2026 I don\u2019t know. He was very good (though maybe not exactly a favorite of head coach Phil Neville) in 2024, then got injured in 2025, and some reports say he won\u2019t be back fully healthy until the summer of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Add in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/inter-miami-acquire-david-ayala-from-portland-timbers\">sale<\/a> of U22 midfielder <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/david-ayala\/\">David Ayala<\/a>, who was supposed to be the centerpiece of the next half-decade, and it\u2019s been a very frustrating winter so far for Timbers fans. Almost all exits, and some real questions over what direction things will go over the next few years.<\/p>\n<p>This is especially relevant because the Timbers have basically always been built around their DPs, and have tended to get pretty good contributions from their U22s. If the guys in those slots aren\u2019t hitting, they don\u2019t have the internal talent pipeline to compensate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> I\u2019m assuming they find a number that works for both them and Rodr\u00edguez and part ways.<\/p>\n<p>And at that point\u2026 look, the sale of Ayala helped replenish the coffers, but Portland really could use some GAM. They had exactly $0 of it back in September, the last time we got an update. So there\u2019s a strong argument for 2\/4\/GAM.<\/p>\n<p>But as I said, this is a club built, for the entirety of their existence, on their DPs (and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/diego-chara\/\">Diego Chara<\/a>, who came to the league as a DP 15 years ago but hasn\u2019t been one since 2013 and has Father Time in a death grip). And thus, my guess is they\u2019ll swing big to replace Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 1\/2 &#8211; Diogo Gon\u00e7alves<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/4 &#8211; Diego Luna, Dominik Marczuk, Ariath Piol<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Nothing has officially come out yet, but it sure does seem like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/rwan-cruz\/\">Rwan Cruz<\/a>\u2019s time with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/real-salt-lake\/\">RSL<\/a> has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WasatchSentinel\/status\/2010802943281500586\" target=\"_blank\">come to an end<\/a>. He came in mid-season last year as a DP on loan from Botafogo, and was\u2026 I\u2019m going to be nice and say he wasn\u2019t DP-caliber. The loan originally ran through this summer, but it looks like RSL\u2019s brass figured out a way to end it early.<\/p>\n<p>That opens up one DP slot. They also have an open U22 slot.<\/p>\n<p>Now I want you to look at the names listed above, and also consider Cruz and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/nelson-palacio\/\">Nelson Palacio<\/a>, who\u2019s a U22 out on loan to FC Zurich (his loan is structured in such a way as to free up the U22 slot he\u2019d otherwise be occupying).<\/p>\n<p>The only hit is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/diego-luna\/\">Luna<\/a>, who didn\u2019t come in as a premium guy, but instead played his way into one. Which is to say their talent ID and integration at the top of the roster has been lacking.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Better signings, hopefully?<\/p>\n<p>RSL have a productive academy and MLS NEXT Pro pipeline, and actually get stuff from some SuperDraft picks every now and then. The floor stays high because of that.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019ve got to get the ceiling-raisers right. It\u2019s been too long.<\/p>\n<p>A confounding issue in all this is that it\u2019s unclear whether this team will play a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 next year. Personally, I would lean in the direction of a 4-3-3, but I\u2019m not actually calling the shots there.<\/p>\n<p>Another confounding issue: how soon do they need a succession plan for Luna? Will he be sold immediately after the World Cup, or will he be around through, say, mid-2027?<\/p>\n<p>Lots to juggle.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/2 &#8211; Chucky Lozano, Anders Dreyer<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 2\/4 &#8211; Tom\u00e1s \u00c1ngel, Pedro Soma<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The biggest news out of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-diego-fc\/\">San Diego<\/a> this winter is a move that hasn\u2019t been made yet: sporting director and general manager Tyler Heaps announced last week that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/hirving-lozano\/\">Lozano<\/a>, the club-record signing, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/chucky-lozano-not-in-san-diego-fc-s-plans-for-2026\">not in the club&#8217;s plans<\/a> for 2026. He is officially being shopped.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you\u2019re a club executive, you don\u2019t usually make an announcement like that unless you\u2019ve already got one fish on the hook. So yeah, this struck me as Heaps trying to gin up a bidding war (my guess is it\u2019d be the likes of the LIGA MX grandes, as well as the Monterrey clubs involved) for Lozano\u2019s services. But I don\u2019t know that for sure.<\/p>\n<p>What I do know is that their knack for talent ID, integration and development was second to none last year, which is how they were able to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference while leaving a bunch of premium slots open and keeping literal millions worth of GAM untouched.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> A Lozano move will come at some point, and I\u2019ll assume that\u2019ll be in conjunction with another DP signing. But I don\u2019t know that for sure.<\/p>\n<p>I do know they need central midfield depth, which seems like a great place to use those U22 slots. I\u2019ll be surprised if there aren\u2019t a couple of additions there before this window is closed.<\/p>\n<p>The other thing to keep an eye on\u2026\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/the-4-most-important-moves-of-the-mls-offseason-so-far\">as I mentioned last week<\/a>, there is at least some smoke to the \u201cMo Salah to San Diego\u201d stuff. Though I don\u2019t believe that would happen before summer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 1\/3 &#8211; Chicho Arango<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 1\/3 &#8211; Noel Buck<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Two of the biggest DP stories of the winter:<\/p>\n<div>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/san-jose-earthquakes\/\">San Jose<\/a> failed to exercise their option on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/cristian-espinoza\/\">Cristian Espinoza<\/a> in time, which allowed him to sign as a free agent with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/nashville-sc\/\">Nashville<\/a>. Bad.<\/li>\n<li>The Earthquakes are seemingly about to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tombogert.bsky.social\/post\/3mcardzde6c26\" target=\"_blank\">push a deal through<\/a> for RB Leipzig and German international forward Timo Werner. Very, very good. Potentially great.<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>\n<p>Sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena\u2019s always shown a degree of formational flexibility \u2013 his great <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/d-c-united\/\">D.C. United<\/a> teams of yore played primarily out of a 4-4-2 diamond, as did his Supporters\u2019 Shield-winning Revs team. His great Galaxy teams played a sort of 4-1-3-2 with a \u201cY\u201d-shaped midfield, and his best <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/us-men-s-national-team\/\">USMNT<\/a> years came with that team playing a sort of flat 4-4-2.<\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s Quakes were more of a 3-4-2-1 team, and while the attack was electric, the defense never quite worked. I\u2019m kiiind of guessing that it\u2019ll be a return to the 4-4-2 diamond this year, with Werner and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/cristian-arango\/\">Chicho<\/a> (a pretty natural pairing) up top. Given the number of central midfielders and overlapping fullbacks they\u2019ve got to choose from, and the relative lack of wide creators \u2013 especially with Espinoza gone \u2013 it seems like the best bet.<\/p>\n<p>Note that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/san-jose-earthquakes-loan-hernan-lopez-to-argentinos-juniors\">Hern\u00e1n L\u00f3pez<\/a>, who came in as a DP No. 10, is on loan at Argentinos Juniors through the end of 2026 in a way that opens up that DP slot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> A new DP No. 10? I\u2019d like to imagine they\u2019d use homegrown <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/niko-tsakiris\/\">Niko Tsakiris<\/a> in that role \u2013 he\u2019s every bit as talented as other domestic No. 10s like Brian Guti\u00e9rrez, Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn \u2013 but I can\u2019t imagine Arena trusting this season to a kid.<\/p>\n<p>What I don\u2019t particularly expect is for this team to go out and sign a bunch of U22s, even if they have the room to do so. That\u2019s just never how Arena\u2019s built a team, and frankly, when you look at how productive their academy is starting to become, it doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense to go out and start importing guys who are probably inferior to their own talent pipeline.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Pedro de la Vega, Albert Rusn\u00e1k, Jordan Morris<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211; Reed Baker-Whiting, Nikola Petkovi\u0107<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>We all knew that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/seattle-sounders-fc\/\">Seattle<\/a> weren\u2019t going to make any big moves this winter, as, for one, they\u2019re locked in on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/pedro-de-la-vega\/\">de la Vega<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/albert-rusnak\/\">Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jordan-morris\/\">Morris<\/a> as full DPs through the end of this year (and potentially through the end of next year; de la Vega and Morris are guaranteed, while there\u2019s a club option on the final year of Rusn\u00e1k\u2019s deal). And also, the Sounders typically don\u2019t go out and spend a lot or all that often.<\/p>\n<p>I went to Transfermarkt to confirm, and their numbers tell the story: go back a decade, and Seattle\u2019s spent $1 million or more on transfer fees on just eight players. Seven of them have been successes.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody else in the league has a hit rate anywhere close to that.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I love the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/nikola-petkovic\/\">Petkovi\u0107<\/a> acquisition. He was a guy that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/charlotte-fc\/\">Charlotte FC<\/a> reportedly spent $3 million on a few years ago but didn\u2019t really develop, and so Seattle \u2013 who might have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/obed-vargas\/\">Obed Vargas<\/a>-sized hole to fill soon, and will need central midfield depth even if they don\u2019t \u2013 were able to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/seattle-sounders-acquire-midfielder-nikola-petkovic-on-loan-from-charlotte-fc\">get him in on a loan<\/a> with an incredibly affordable buy option.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re betting on their own developmental processes here. And when you have their track record\u2026 why not?<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s a U22 deal for Obed, but that ship may already have sailed.<\/p>\n<p>Regardless, this gets my vote for the best-constructed roster in the league. Player development is the silver bullet in MLS, and the Sounders have cracked the code.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211; Marcel Hartel, Roman B\u00fcrki<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211; Jake Girdwood-Reich, Fallou Fall, Sang Bin Jeong<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Look, last year was weird. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/st-louis-city-sc\/\">St. Louis<\/a> went into the summer window with two open premium slots and then-sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel on a short leash. Usually, in that circumstance, a club would say \u201cno new signings, because we don\u2019t want to saddle a potential new era with more high-level contracts to unwind. You have to make the club you\u2019ve already built show it can work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, they let Pfannenstiel sign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/fallou-fall\/\">Fall<\/a> (a move I liked) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/sang-bin-jeong\/\">San Bin Jeong<\/a> (a move I didn\u2019t) in mid-July. He wasn\u2019t operating like a guy on a short leash. And then, a month later, it turns out he very much was, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/st-louis-city-part-ways-with-sporting-director-lutz-pfannenstiel\">they parted ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, well, at least they had some flexibility with their DP slots! Surely the new sporting director would get to fill those, what with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/joao-klauss\/\">Klauss<\/a> coming into an option year and one slot still open.<\/p>\n<p>Except\u2026 nope. On Oct. 18, still with no sporting director officially named, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/roman-burki\/\">B\u00fcrki<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/st-louis-city-sign-roman-burki-to-contract-extension\">re-signed<\/a> as a DP. Four days later, they announced Klauss\u2019s option had been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/st-louis-city-retain-joao-klauss-year-end-roster-decisions\">exercised<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It was two weeks after that when they finally named a new sporting director in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/st-louis-city-sc-hire-corey-wray-as-sporting-director\">Corey Wray<\/a>. Once again, the order of operations was\u2026 really weird.<\/p>\n<p>Now, could Wray have been joysticking this from behind the scenes a little bit before he officially got the job? Absolutely!<\/p>\n<p>But it is still strange to me that, six months ago, you\u2019d have looked at St. Louis and been like \u201chey, at least the new sporting director will get to fill four or five premium roster slots.\u201d And in actuality, he\u2019s gotten to fill none of them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Both B\u00fcrki and Klauss can be bought down to TAM, which is significant for obvious reasons. And\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jake-girdwood-reich\/\">Girdwood-Reich<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/st-louis-city-loan-jake-girdwood-reich-to-auckland-fc\">on loan<\/a> with Auckland City; it\u2019s not yet clear whether or not that opens up a U22 slot (my guess is Wray will figure something out).<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s just\u2026 there\u2019s not a lot of maneuvering to do here. The real trick for Wray and new head coach Yoann Damet will be to get St. Louis \u2013 who are sitting atop a gold mine of local talent \u2013 to start approaching player development the way the Sounders or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/philadelphia-union\">Philadelphia Union<\/a> do.<\/p>\n<p>If (when?) they manage that, this team has as high a floor as anybody in the league.<\/p>\n<p>EDIT: St. Louis actually confirmed that Klauss is only on a TAM deal now. So they&#8217;ve got some space to work with.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>DP slots:<\/strong> 3\/3 &#8211;\u00a0Andr\u00e9s Cubas, Ryan Gauld, Thomas M\u00fcller<\/li>\n<li><strong>U22 slots:<\/strong> 2\/3 &#8211; \u00c9dier Ocampo, Kenji Cabrera<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>No premium roster movement despite the real interest in Cubas among some of Brazil\u2019s top clubs. I haven\u2019t heard anything that suggests <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/vancouver-whitecaps-fc\">Vancouver<\/a> are going to get a Godfather offer \u2013 and it\u2019d have to be significant, as Cubas is under contract through 2027 \u2013 but it\u2019s something to monitor.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, the only moves have been the trade of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jayden-nelson\/\">Jayden Nelson<\/a> to Austin FC and the sale of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/vancouver-whitecaps-fc-transfer-ali-ahmed-to-norwich-city\">Ali Ahmed<\/a> to Norwich City. On the one hand, those are a hit to Vancouver&#8217;s wing depth. But on the other hand, that opens starting jobs for potentially both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/ryan-gauld\/\">Gauld<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kenji-cabrera\/\">Cabrera<\/a> (though <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/emmanuel-sabbi\/\">Emmanuel Sabbi<\/a> will surely have some say in that).<\/p>\n<p>The \u2018Caps are loaded, though. As with the Sounders, it\u2019s because they\u2019ve done such a good job of developing players both from within, as well as most of the guys they\u2019ve signed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What comes next:<\/strong> Right now their winger depth chart is three names long, and you\u2019ve already seen them: Gauld, Sabbi and Cabrera in some order.<\/p>\n<p>I suspect a fourth name will be added to that list soon, and it\u2019ll be how they use their open U22 slot \u2013 probably one who\u2019s more of a pure winger than Cabrera is (he\u2019s more of a half-space merchant).<\/p>\n<p>Alternatively, I could see them signing a veteran depth piece (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/johnny-russell\/\">Johnny Russell<\/a>, anyone?) to help get them through the first half of the year and then making a move for a U22 in the summer.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, wing depth is really the only thing to focus on at the moment. This team\u2019s loaded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/news\/western-conference-breaking-down-every-team-s-premium-roster-slot-status\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Jeanice Klemp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Let&#8217;s take a team-by-team look at where all 30 MLS clubs stand re: how they\u2019re using their Designated Player and U22 Initiative slots. Think of it as a refresher as teams around the league report for preseason this week. All of this is based on press releases, some reporting of my own, some cribbing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":885172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25947,2005,3140],"tags":[14166,13662],"class_list":{"0":"post-885171","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conference","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-western","10":"tag-conference","11":"tag-western"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}