Sons of Rube Goldberg: MLS 2024-25 Offseason Thread

Titans Bastard

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The Sounders trade for Ferreira is complete and it seems like some tidy business for Seattle.

$2 million GAM ($1M in 2025, $500k in 26 and 27), an international roster spot and Leo Chu.

Jesus will sign an extension that drops him from a DP to a TAM player.

https://www.sounderatheart.com/2024/12/details-of-jesus-ferreira-trade-finalized-sources-confirm/?ref=transfer-tracker-newsletter
I think it's really good business, especially when you consider that (a) the GAM is spread out across three seasons, (b) Ferreira won't be a DP, and (c) they're getting Chu's salary and U22 slot off the books. I guess I wouldn't rule out the possibility that we'll learn that Seattle is picking up some of Chu's salary, but it's still a good move.
 

Titans Bastard

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Philly officially hires Bradley Carnell, which feels like a mediocre hire to me. Ernst Tanner is really going all-in on his Red Bull / pressing roots, and hoping a system coach will work. The trouble is that the roster has finesse guys like Jack McGlynn who don't exactly scream "Red Bull Soccer!!!". I'm skeptical.

The Revs sold young winger prospect Esmir Bajraktarevic to PSV Eindhoven. Based on a few reports, it seems to be a deal in the range of $3m that can rise to something in the range of $6m. The Revs release confirms there is a sell-on clause. Esmir has a lot of virtues as a prospect, but he's not physically dominant and is still more potential than delivery. He played a lot last year but had yet to reach the level where he was really a plus starter in MLS. The Revs continue to be quietly(?) one of the league's better selling clubs in recent years (Buksa, Buchanan, Turner, Petrovic). I would have liked to get at least one season of real production out of Esmir, but this is how the world works.

They also brought in winger Luis Diaz. Unfortunately, this is not the Liverpool Luis Diaz, but the journeyman Costa Rican Luis Diaz, who has played for Columbus (where he overlapped with Caleb Porter for many years), Colorado, and most recently Deportivo Saprissa. He has a green card from his earlier MLS stint and the Revs release says he's on the supplemental roster, so he's a free transfer on a cheap salary who doesn't take up an international slot. Low-risk depth, but they still need to bring in someone else with Chancalay still recovering from the ACL tear.

NYCFC loaned DM/CB James Sands to St. Pauli for the rest of the Bundesliga season, with an option to extend the loan another year. Sands played at Rangers for a while but didn't quite stick. This will be another big opportunity for him. TransferMarkt says that St. Pauli mainly use a 3-4-3, which is probably good news — Sands is really only a CB in a three-man backline, so there are multiple places he could slot in.

Inter Miami signed Fafà Picault, who is coming off a solid year with Vancouver. Good signing, I think. He's the sort of solid MLS guy who will be useful in rotation at a few spots. Miami are going to play a lot of games.

Austin FC signed Ilie Sanchez. He's getting a little long in the tooth, but he knows the league and Austin need to sign a bunch of CMs this offseason.
 

67YAZ

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Tom Bogert reporting that Brandon Vazquez is on the verge of joining Austin. Huge get for them.
 

67YAZ

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The Fire send Tobias Salquist to the Danish league as Gregg continues to clear out the roster. Salquist came over last January, but only made 10 starts across the 2024 season. So long, been good to know ya.

Director Berhalter has gutted the roster and is likely still exploring a few more deals to offload players that don’t fit his tactics (which is pretty much everyone?). But it means there’s a ton to get done - they can’t even field a starting XI with senior players in their usual roles right now.

Vazquez wasn’t a realistic option with Cuypers on the roster (the ghost of Heitz will linger for a while), but that’s exactly the kind of guy Gregg should have an inside track with. Here’s hoping Director Berhalter can shake loose a USMNT-type this month.
 

Titans Bastard

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There has been a lot of activity over the last week, with more to come based on the reports that Tom Bogert is cranking out these days.

Designated Players, coming and going

1. The Jesus Ferreira deal was finalized. He restructured his contract so he won't count as a DP, but it also came to light that Jordan Morris hit incentive numbers in his contract that will cause him to be a DP this season. The Sounders also re-signed Albert Rusnak, so their DP slots will be Morris/Rusnak/de la Vega. On the bright side for Seattle, the departure of Leo Chu opens up a U22 slot.

Also, it's not announced yet but very reliable sources say that the Arriola deal is done, too.

2. The Revs have been shopping Giacomo Vrioni all winter and they just dumped him on Montreal for a token $50,000 in GAM. Pure salary dump. As much as Vrioni underperformed, it's true that he does have some decent underlying numbers. The downside for Montreal is low, because they have become the cheapest team in the league and there is no opportunity cost to trading for an overpaid DP because they aren't going to fill that DP slot with anyone else.

3. A variety of MLS clubs have been fortunate to have various Latin American clubs be willing to somehow take bad DP contracts off their hands. Sporting KC is truly blessed that Chivas overpays for Mexican players, because they were willing to take Alan Pulido,

Big rumors from good sources:

Chico Arango from RSL to San Jose

Moving Out

4. D.C. United sold Matai Akinmboni to Bournemouth for around $1.5m plus a sell-on. It's a modest fee for a raw, toolsy young center back. If DC and Matai both believed in DC's ability to develop him well, Matai would have stayed for another 12-24 months and been sold for a larger fee. But DC seems to like to sell its guys young and cheap, and don't take the higher risk/reward that comes with the next phase of development for a guy like Matai. I think this kid is too raw for a move to an EPL club to be wise. He has a lot of work to do to get to first-team level at Bournemouth and reserve team games and life on loan aren't the best options. We'll see.

5. RSL has transferred English attacking midfielder Matt Crooks to Hull City. He arrived just a year ago from Middlesbrough, and was fine, but probably not the best use of a $1m salary.

6. Another one-and-done guy is LAFC left back Omar Campos, who was sold to Cruz Azul one year after arriving from Santos Laguna. This frees up a U22 initiative slot for LAFC.

7. Charlotte shipped out Finnish left back Jere Uronen to AIK in Sweden.

Revs News

8. The Revs have continued to re-tool their roster in various ways. First, Noel Buck's loan at Southampton is over; they didn't trigger the purchase option, so he's back in the squad. The Revs shipped out Ema Boateng to San Diego FC. Boateng is not a huge loss, but he's the definition of a "does a job" type player and will need to be replaced in the depth chart.

The Revs signed 25 year old Cameroonian forward Ignatius Ganago on loan from Nantes. He's scored a few goals in Ligue 1 over the years, but does not have an eye-popping resume. But with Vrioni and Wood out, we need depth behind Campana.

Lastly, the Revs did a real Mystery Box signing with the acquisition of 17 year old Ugandan attacking midfielder Allan Oyirwoth. He's coming from a club in Uganda, so publicly available track record and scouting reports are slim to none. He has two caps for Uganda.

Moves Around the League

9. One of the more discussed moves has been LA Galaxy's decision to ship out Jalen Neal to Montreal, who subsequently signed a new contract under the U22 initiative. After signing Emiro Garces, Neal became the first CB on the bench, and he would have been in the same position in 2025. So this deal gives the Galaxy some cap relief in the form of allocation money, it gives Neal a much clearer path to playing time and development, and Montreal gets a talented player relatively cheaply. Montreal is basically the East Coast Colorado Rapids, by which I mean they are a cheap club that focuses on collecting distressed assets and opportunistic acquisitions around the league.

10. San Diego FC signed former Inter Miami left back Franco Negri. Miami had declined his option and San Diego snagged his rights in the re-entry draft. Decent sort of player to pair with the more boom-or-bust acquisition of Hamady Diop. If Diop doesn't develop, Negri can do a job.

11. Columbus signed alliterative Finnish winger Lassi Lappalainen. I admittedly don't watch all that much Montreal, and when I looked up his numbers I was a little surprised to realize he's already been in the league for five years.

12. Fabian Herbers signed for Montreal. @67YAZ will write a 3,000 word essay on this later.

Imports

13. Atlanta signed 31 year old Japanese forward Cayman Togashi from Sagan Tosu. Based on his record — a decent strike rate in J2, not too many goals in J1, he must be viewed as backup material. It turns out that he was born in NYC, so he won't count as an international. Kind of a random signing, it seems. Maybe there's more to his game than what shows up on the scoresheet.

14. D.C. United signed 21 year old Korean goalkeeper Kim Joon-Hong. He comes from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, but it looks like he spent the last two years on loan with Gimcheon Sangmu, which apparently is a top division club that consists of the best soccer players that are amidst their two year mandatory military service. I suspect D.C. got him with the idea that he'll be the starter, though Luis Barraza is a serviceable option if necessary.

15. FC Dallas triggered the purchase option for DM Patrickson Delgado, a 21 year old Ecuadorian who comes from Independiente del Valle in his native land.

16. The New York Red Bulls did a very NYRBish thing and signed an obscure 20 year old striker named Wiktor Bogacz who has 25 career apperances with Miedź Legnica in the Polish second division. He'll be one of Choupo-Mouting's backups. I'm more interested in Roald Mitchell '03 who will hopefully bounce back well from an ACL tear last year. He was absolutely lighting up MLS Next Pro when he got hurt.

Kids

17. FC Dallas signed six(!) players to homegrown contracts the other day. All of them were already on MLS Next Pro contracts with their reserve team, North Texas SC. FC Dallas isn't the premier MLS academy that they were five years ago, and I don't get the sense that most of these guys are super high upside, but it would be good to see Dallas get more success from bringing kids into the team again. Malachi Molina '06 is a fullback who might be the best of the bunch, although from an NT perspective he is provisionally cap-tied to Jamaica. They also signed Diego Pepi '04, who is Ricardo's younger brother — not the same tier of prospect, though.

18. Dallas may have signed Ricardo Pepi's little brother, but Colorado signed Cole Bassett's little brother Sam.

19. I'm hopeful that San Diego FC will prioritize the academy pipeline, but it always takes time for expansion teams to build out their infrastructure. For now, they traded for the rights to Anisse Saidi '08, a young Tunisian-American forward who had been in Philly's academy, and signed him.

20. NYCFC signed CM Jacob Arroyave '07 to a homegrown contract, as well as the older CB Prince Amponsah '03 who spent a bunch of time as a top college player.

21. SKC signed CB Jacob Bartlett '05 to a homegrown contract. Bartlett spent one year at Notre Dame before going pro, and is the younger brother of D.C. United defender Lucas Bartlett.
 

Titans Bastard

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Matt Doyle did a 10-players-to-watch column this past week and one observation stuck with me, regarding Kevin Denkey, who Cincinnati recently signed for an MLS-record fee.

Another point I want to make here: If Denkey put up these numbers at age 20 or 21 in Belgium, he’d be off to England or Germany. But because he didn’t break out until his age-22 season and has now just turned 24 – which, as per the new big-five leagues' orthodoxy, is now officially over the hill – Cincy found an open lane for what could be a decade-altering purchase.

If Denkey hits, look for more MLS teams to shop for guys in his age range in the Low Countries.
Doyle has been theorizing that because a lot of Big 5 clubs are focused on bringing in very young players to maximize resale value, MLS clubs have the opportunity to sign unusually good guys in the 23-25 range because they're already older than what a lot of big clubs are looking for. This would be a pretty nice market inefficiency if it becomes a pattern.
 

Titans Bastard

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MLS announced some roster rule changes. In the true spirit of the Rube Goldberg name for this thread, here's the link:

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-2025-roster-rules-every-change-what-they-mean

The biggest change is that MLS has introduced an internal cash transfer market for the first time, although to a limited degree. Remember that up to this point, internal trades within MLS have always been for "allocation money", which is essentially tradable salary cap space. Now, teams can buy up to two players and sell up to two players in a straight cash transaction within MLS each season.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the ripple effects of this change, but I think it will facilitate more moves. For the purposes of salary caps and budget charges, it looks like these transfers will be treated the same as any foreign transfer. So if a team sells an academy product to another MLS team, the proceeds of that sale can be coverted to GAM (= more salary cap space).

The MLSPA released a statement:

View: https://twitter.com/MLSPA/status/1879196893655531767



Getting players a 10% cut of the internal transfer fees is a nice touch from the union.



There are also a few other changes that will give MLS clubs some more roster flexibility and more leeway in getting rid of bad contracts. MLS teams can now "buy out" two contracts per season. They're still on the hook for a player's salary, but this process removes the player from their roster and removes the salary from the salary cap calculation.

If they can find a foreign club willing to take a DP's full salary on loan, that will now open up the DP slot.


Lastly, the MLSPA consented to additional use of "off-roster homegrown players", which are basically players from the MLS Next Pro reserve teams who aren't on full MLS contracts. In the last few years, clubs have been able to call up guys like this on short-term contracts, but have been able to do so no more than four times a season. This expands the number of games in which MLS clubs can use their reserve team players to six MLS games and an unlimited number of cup games.

IMO, this is significant because it gives every MLS club a ready supply of supplemental players for games outside of league play, and should make it easier to fit in midweek US Open Cup games. Hopefully, this ends the MLS/USSF feud over the US Open Cup.
 

67YAZ

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Berhalter has started rebuilding the backline.

The Fire are repatriating Sam Rogers, formerly of the Sounders system, from the Norwegian 2nd division. The write up says Rogers got a senior USMNT cap back in January 2023, so Gregg knows him pretty well. It’s a 2 year deal plus 2 club options. He’s 6’4” and the roster needs CBs.

Chicago also nabbed a 19yo U22 initiative player from Sporting CP B - Leandro Barroso. He has a great pedigree - came up through Benefica’s system and been in Portuguese national youth squads. Of course, he’s listed at 5’6”, which drags down the squad average height that signing Rogers helped improve. He’s a right back, fee was €1.4m, and the contract is 4 years + 1 club option. He joins a RB group headed by Souquet, who I’m sure Berhalter would like to move out, and Reynolds, a homegrown who is likely a career back up. There’s minutes here for Barroso, if he’s ready to make the leap up to MLS play.

The Fire also added Philip Zinckernagel with TAM to back up Mueller on the left wing. It’s a fun name, so I completely understand why Gregg made this move - Zinckernagel. The songs write themselves. He’s a 30yo Danish league journeyman, but did score a goal against ManU once. Fuck United. Let’s goooo, Zinckernagel.
 
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Titans Bastard

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The Revs have been continuing to reshape the roster.

They signed Wyatt Omsberg, one of the few professional Mainers, who was out of contract with Chicago. Throw him in the mix with Andrew Farrell and Tanner Beason as backups to the newly signed and hopefully quality Ceballos/Fofana center back pairing.

They're also reportedly bidding $2m for Ilay Feingold, a 20 year old right back from Maccabi Haifa, per Tom Bogert. And per some young local reporter-ish guy who may or may not know things, the Revs are signing Maxi Urruti who, after a stint in Argentina, would be joining his seventh MLS club.

They also signed a big college GK they drafted out of U San Diego, Donovan Parisian.

I'd feel a little better about the roster at this point if not for my lack of faith in Caleb Porter.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Revs offseason so far seems heavier on quantity than quality which makes me a bit nervous, but not done yet I suppose. If they’re replacing Vrioni with Urruti, that’s underwhelming. If Urruti is the Bobby Wood backup spot and there’s a DP striker incoming, that might be different.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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I guess that’s Campana, which me forgetting for a post shows how convinced I am that he’s the man and not just a solid piece.
 

Titans Bastard

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Revs offseason so far seems heavier on quantity than quality which makes me a bit nervous, but not done yet I suppose. If they’re replacing Vrioni with Urruti, that’s underwhelming. If Urruti is the Bobby Wood backup spot and there’s a DP striker incoming, that might be different.
I guess that’s Campana, which me forgetting for a post shows how convinced I am that he’s the man and not just a solid piece.
The optimistic view is that the Revs did some of their 2025 shopping in the 2024 window and that Langoni and Yusuf emerge as above-average starters at their positions in 2025 after their late-season settling in period last year.

But I agree, this is not an elite team. If things break their way, I do think they could be a lower-tier playoff team.
 

67YAZ

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Ornatein relays that Atlanta have lodged an £11m bid to bring Almiron back.
 

67YAZ

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The Fire just signed Zinckernagel. Where would Neymar even fit?

This has disaster written all over it - for any MLS club, but especially Chicago. This club is in need of a hard culture reset, which should be Gregg’s strong suit. Yeah, his PowerPoints are silly and his sideline antics are goofy, but Berhalter has our guys battling for the US badge and for each other.

Maybe Neymar (and his voluminous entourage) has changed as he’s aged and he’s willing to come in, train hard, and fight for his teammates. But then there still the fact that he’s made all of 7 appearances and 1 goal in 1.5 seasons. Compare that to Zinckernagel’s 35 matches and 9 goals!

I know it started as a tongue in cheek wishcast by Fire twitter, but the guy we really need is McKinnie. He’d be a Chicago legend by the end.
 

Titans Bastard

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Lots of big moves in the works, per rumors from reliable sources.

Atlanta breaking the MLS transfer record to get Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesbrough, somewhere in the $20m range.

Wilfried Zaha to Charlotte.

Sebastian Driussi heading from Austin to River Plate for $10m (another gold-plated bailout of an expensive, big-name MLS player)

Myrto Uzuni going from Granada to Austin for $12m.
 

InstaFace

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So the squad's core looks like Acosta, Guti, Brady, & Cuypers. Everyone expects Guti & Brady to level up under real coaching from Gregg, but that's still not enough.
That reminds me, I'd been meaning to ask you: How's Chris Brady doing? When they sold Gaga, I remember several people suggesting that Chicago might have kept the better of the two. His stats last year suggest he was sub-league-average at shot-stopping, after being mildly positive in 2023. Matt Turner he ain't, huh? Or is that just way too pessimistic about a 19-yo goalie? Turner's first season in MLS was far superior to anything Brady has put out, but he was also 23 years old for that first season.
 

67YAZ

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That reminds me, I'd been meaning to ask you: How's Chris Brady doing? When they sold Gaga, I remember several people suggesting that Chicago might have kept the better of the two. His stats last year suggest he was sub-league-average at shot-stopping, after being mildly positive in 2023. Matt Turner he ain't, huh? Or is that just way too pessimistic about a 19-yo goalie? Turner's first season in MLS was far superior to anything Brady has put out, but he was also 23 years old for that first season.
For context, the Fire academy is producing a steady flow of great shot stoppers. Under Igor Dimov, the keeper staff are fantastic at identifying promising kids early on, training them up very effectively, and getting them in to major college programs or MLS.

But the Fire kids have no distribution skills, zero technique on the ball, no responsibility for organizing the backline in open play, and no practice sweeping up outside the box - all things that Gaga tried to & Brady is trying to learn while playing in MLS as teenagers and under ineffective managers. How much can you ask of a kid?

Brady is uber athletic. In another life, he’d be playing tight end in the Big10. You can see it when he does sweep up - quick, fluid, & coordinated for a big guy. It’s so easy to spot the potential.

The shot stopping is fine at this point (from my non-keeper perspective). I know the xG against is ugly (-.09/match this season), but the defense in front of him was shit. And I say that with apologies to shit. The backline and midfield were so disorganized that even some of those low xG chances by location were made easier by wide openness.

Brady is fearless, which helps him be decisive and effective on crosses. He also took a knee to the forehead this season throwing himself in front of a wide open striker. So he may need to calibrate his risk better as he matures.

Anyway, the tools are all there. And he’s a very mature kid - he and his family made high school a priority, which is how he fell behind Gaga, and now he takes classes through Southern New Hampshire to get that college degree. Brady has the big picture in mind and by all reports, works his butt off to make it happen. We’re hoping Gregg puts together a program and fosters the competitive culture that will push Brady up to the next level.

Edit: forgot Brady’s best trait - he truly is Ted Lasso’s goldfish. Mistakes and goals don’t phase the kid. This was more obvious last season when he started off with several game changing errors in the first couple months, but there was no change in demeanor. Elite mentality.
 
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67YAZ

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The Fire get their left winger, but it’s not Neymar.

It’s Jonathan Bamba, late of Celta de Vigo! Bamba, 28, has played 338 professional senior matches, notching 50 goals & 53 assists. He's been at Celta the last 18 months, bagging 6 goals and 9 assists in 42 appearances.

He's coming over as a DP, but the the fee is only $2m. So low fee, high salary, number of years not disclosed. It’s a big swing for Berhalter. If he bet wrong here, he’s clogging up a DP slot for the foreseeable future on a guy with likely zero resale value.

the Fire are in desperate need of another CM and have a DP/U22 slot to fill. They also haven’t paid out the big ($10m+) transfer fee that they could for the right player.

C’mon, Wes, we need you in Chicago.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Hey @67YAZ I'm planning on going to a game in Chicago this summer. Do you have recommendations for where to sit? Is it the type of thing where I can buy a super cheap ticket and just move around? I have never been to Soldier Field, so unsure what it is like.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm also going to a Galaxy game later in the summer, so that will bring my stadium list to:
Seattle
Kansas City
FC Dallas
Philadelphia
Salt Lake
Galaxy
Chicago
 

67YAZ

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Hey @67YAZ I'm planning on going to a game in Chicago this summer. Do you have recommendations for where to sit? Is it the type of thing where I can buy a super cheap ticket and just move around? I have never been to Soldier Field, so unsure what it is like.

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I'm also going to a Galaxy game later in the summer, so that will bring my stadium list to:
Seattle
Kansas City
FC Dallas
Philadelphia
Salt Lake
Galaxy
Chicago
Hey!

Lower bowl (100 levels) along the sidelines is the way to go.

The 200 level is split between United Club (all inclusive) on the East Side & general seating on the west. It’s a decent view, but they don’t let you down to the 100 level, concessions are limited, and unless you’re there to see Miami, you’ll be staring down at lots of empty seats.

The Section 8 supporters are in the south end (121-124). Like a lot of supporters of long time bad clubs, they’re a friendly and fun group. But there’s no access from the ends to the sideline sections.

Otherwise, any 100 level ticket along the sideline works well and you can move forward into empty seats without anyone bothering. They keep pushing up costs - the finances of running an NFL stadium to host Fire-sized crowds doesn’t math very well - and make it hard to buy a cheap seat and move up.

But hopefully you get one of those glorious Chicago nights on the lakefront.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Hey!

Lower bowl (100 levels) along the sidelines is the way to go.

The 200 level is split between United Club (all inclusive) on the East Side & general seating on the west. It’s a decent view, but they don’t let you down to the 100 level, concessions are limited, and unless you’re there to see Miami, you’ll be staring down at lots of empty seats.

The Section 8 supporters are in the south end (121-124). Like a lot of supporters of long time bad clubs, they’re a friendly and fun group. But there’s no access from the ends to the sideline sections.

Otherwise, any 100 level ticket along the sideline works well and you can move forward into empty seats without anyone bothering. They keep pushing up costs - the finances of running an NFL stadium to host Fire-sized crowds doesn’t math very well - and make it hard to buy a cheap seat and move up.

But hopefully you get one of those glorious Chicago nights on the lakefront.
Awesome information. Thank you so much. The game I'm planning to hit is June 14 vs Nashville. I've never seen either team, so that is nice.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's Celta Vigo Day in MLS because in addition to Bamba's arrival, Luca de la Torre's loan to San Diego was announced. He's a San Diego guy, so it's a homecoming. The deal has an option to buy and I'd be curious to know at what price. LDLT has been largely frozen out this season, so it's good that he'll keep playing. He's going to have to figure out how to play a new sport, though.

"The best thing about European football is promotion and relegation and that every game matters. It is life or death, a final and there is a lot of pressure. In MLS, being closed, that doesn't happen. I can't imagine playing without that pressure. Having that pressure changes the way you compete, the desire to win games grows and you play a different type of football. For me they are almost two different sports."

Also, as of about a week ago all managerial vacancies have been filled

Vancouver hired Jesper Sørensen, a Dane who has never played or managed outside of his country before now. He was last with Brøndby.

Toronto hired Robin Fraser, who has been around the league quite a bit as a manager (Chivas USA, Colorado) and as an assistant (RSL, NYRB, and Toronto). His teams haven't done very well, but he was in charge of two clubs that were in meltdown mode, so it's hard to judge his true quality. Not a flashy hire, but neither was Ben Olsen, who — freed from the shackles of a club like DC United — has his Dynamo team playing better quality soccer than one would ever suspect could emerge from an Olsen team.

NYCFC hired Pascal Jansen, whose managerial experience is mostly in the Netherlands. He was a youth & reserve coach for PSV and had a reasonably lengthy stint at AZ, before a short one with Ferencváros in Hungary. Like with Sørensen, who knows what we'll get from this guy.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Why the hell is the league shutting down the Extra Time podcast? So many bizarre decisions from the league's editorial team lately.

They don't get enough coverage mainstream to dump stuff like Extra Time, in my opinion.
 

Titans Bastard

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Why the hell is the league shutting down the Extra Time podcast? So many bizarre decisions from the league's editorial team lately.

They don't get enough coverage mainstream to dump stuff like Extra Time, in my opinion.
I don't get it. Extra Time is great, and at this point it's like a 15 year old institution. I don't know what it costs to produce, but it's probably a lot less than one shitty Georg Heitz TAM signing.

It feels like MLS is fumbling the opportunity to market itself in the Messi + 2026 WC era. There isn't a clear plan or strategy that I can see. In particular, I dislike how they are scaling back some stuff that hardcore fans like. I think that feeding the energy of the grassroots fans is one of the keys to marketing and growing MLS. It can't trade on being the best league in the world, but it can trade on being an entertaining league that's rooted in local soccer and all the on-field and off-field connections that come with that. But the league does a bad job of selling stories and providing narratives. ETR is something that's both a great resource for hardcore fans and also a gateway for newer fans to get to know the league well.

I'm a believer in the idea that the league should be feeding the enthusiasm of its hardcore fans, who are generally eager to evangelize, and make it as easy and available as possible for everyone to "upgrade" their level of interest in and involvement with the league. I don't want 200 Messi vids and puff pieces. I want to get in the weeds.

I'm starting to listen to Soccerwise, which feels like it's going to largely capture the spirit of ETR. It has ETR alumni David Gass and Tom Bogert, and my understanding is that it will soon have a lot more of Matt Doyle. But it will take a long time (or never) for its listenership to catch up to what ETR built up over so many years, and the whole ordeal reflects poorly on how the league is going about its business on this front.

ETR was already downgraded last year when MLS got rid of Gass. The Wiebe/Doyle/Gass trio has really good historical knowledge of the league, a ton of passion and enthusiasm, they know ball, and they are radio pros with great chemistry. Breaking that up is so dumb. I don't think it's possible to replace the dynamic they have because it's hard to find people who tick all of those boxes.
 

67YAZ

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This adds some spice to the league. Wilf Zaha to Charlotte on full season loan.

Edit: It's been a steep decline for Zaha from his prime Palace days.

In '22-23, final season at Palace, he put up 7g & 2a in 2300 minutes.

In '23-24 at Galatasaray it was 9g & 3a in 1400 minutes, but only 13 starts in 30 appearances. Looks like a supersub and/or injury problems?

During the first half of this season, Zaha only saw 72 minutes on loan at Lyon.

Looks like there's a real chance he's cooked at age 32. I hope not - what a breathlessly entertaining player at his peak. He'd be a lot of fun terrorizing MLS fullbacks.

 
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Titans Bastard

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Portland signs Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhter Donetsk for $6m under the U22 initiative. He was on loan at FC Cincinnati last year and did okay, but at age 20 he's still a bit of a project and Cincinnati decided to go in another direction and spend huge money on Kevin Denkey.

San Diego signs Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for $5m as a DP. This looks like a classic move in the new MLS transfer paradigm — he's a prime-age (26) player performing at a high level in a second-tier league. Big league clubs are generally taking a pass on mid-20s types, which creates an opening for moves like this.

LAFC bought Brazilian DM Igor Jesus from Estrela da Amadora in Portugal as a U22 initiative player. He's a 21 year old who played for a bit at Flamengo and has a few caps for Brazil's U23 team. I can't find solid info on the fee, but TM says €4m.

Mark Delgado is a casualty of LA Galaxy's reported salary cap crunch and he's been traded across town to LAFC. He's a good, solid player, and he'll be getting the honor of the LA hat trick — he will have played for all three of Chivas USA, the Galaxy, and LAFC.


On the youth front:

Chicago signed attacking midfielder Robert Turdean. He was born in....2010, and is said to be one of the top US prospects of his birth year, if not the top prospect. Anyway, we're signing kids born in the 2010s now. LA Galaxy signed a 2010 last week, but that kid's on a reserve team contract until his MLS deal kicks in in 2027.

The Revs signed Damario McIntosh, a 17 year old academy right back who was on a pro deal with the reserve team last year. He's a Jamaican-born dual national who grew up in the Bay Area and was recruited by the Revs in 2023.
 

67YAZ

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Chicago signed attacking midfielder Robert Turdean. He was born in....2010, and is said to be one of the top US prospects of his birth year, if not the top prospect.
From what I read, Turdean gives strong Guti vibes - baby faced, not a physical dominator. technical, creative, plays as a 10/CF so far (ie, no defense). Exciting that Gregg rates him, hopeful that the Fire can develop him into a well rounded player.
 

candylandriots

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This adds some spice to the league. Wilf Zaha to Charlotte on full season loan.

Edit: It's been a steep decline for Zaha from his prime Palace days.

In '22-23, final season at Palace, he put up 7g & 2a in 2300 minutes.

In '23-24 at Galatasaray it was 9g & 3a in 1400 minutes, but only 13 starts in 30 appearances. Looks like a supersub and/or injury problems?

During the first half of this season, Zaha only saw 72 minutes on loan at Lyon.

Looks like there's a real chance he's cooked at age 32. I hope not - what a breathlessly entertaining player at his peak. He'd be a lot of fun terrorizing MLS fullbacks.

He’s got a LOT of mileage on him. I love the guy, but I think Palace managed his contract situation perfectly (I mean, selling him to Man U for huge £ and then buying him back for almost nothing, and then letting go when they did).

I wish him the best, but I wonder. He’s always going to be welcomed back warmly to South London though.
 

67YAZ

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The Fire pick up a midfielder - Rominigue Kouamé on season-long loan from Cadiz with an option to buy. Kouamé is 28 & Malian international (though he hasn't had a call-up in 3 years). It's hard to find English language write ups , but looks like he went from bang-on starter at Troyes (across Ligue 1 & 2) from ages 23-25, but was either hit by injuries or pushed to the bench the last year. This season he's had 14 starts and 5 sub appearances for Cadiz.

In the squad, he looks like an Acosta backup box-to-box man with Fede Navarro getting the DM/destroyer role & Guti at the 10. I really thought Gregg would be seeking out a Navarro upgrade - he's not very strong on the ball or passing it, plus he's fallen out of favor with the last 2 Fire managers.

So maybe that last DP/U22 slot is going to a CB. Not what I'd do, but Gregg hasn't asked for my opinion. Yet.
 

Titans Bastard

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A bunch of DPs have been unloaded in the last week, freeing up roster slots for better investments, or at least recouping a lot of cash.

NYRB sold Dante Vanzeir to Gent for $3m. He's had his moments, but hasn't lived up to his price tag and I think they'll be happy to move in another direction. NYRB is really doing a great job of shipping guys with unsavory views of LGBTQ people to Europe this winter!

Charlotte sold Karol Świderski to Panathinaikos for $2m. Another guy who has been alright, but isn't good enough to justify a DP spot — especially when he's been slowly losing his minutes to Pat Agyemang.

FC Dallas sold Alan Velasco to Boca Juniors for $12m. This isn't a case of dumping a bad contract, but rather getting an offer that is too good to refuse. Velasco is talented is still somehow only 22 years old, but $12m for a guy coming off a blown ACL is a pretty good deal. It does mean that Dallas has a lot of work to do to rebuild the roster; I don't think they intended to get rid of both Velasco and Ferreira in the same window.

It's kind of wild that both River Plate and Boca Juniors spent eight figure transfer fees to acquire #10s from MLS clubs in the same winter.

Lastly, Minnesota transferred Teemu Pukki to HJK Helsinki. The fee is unreported, but I'm sure it is small. Pukki is 34 and we're talking about a Finnish club. Minnesota also used a contract buyout on Pukki. My interpretation of that is that HJK does not have the capacity to pay what's on his current contract, so Minnesota couldn't get him off their salary cap cleanly — the buyout gets him off the books and they'll probably still be on the hook for the difference between his Minnesota salary and his HJK salary.

In any case, Pukki got old and Minnesota's managerial change also did not help his fortunes. Kelvin Yeboah was signed last summer and scored 7 goals in 9 matches. And even before that, Pukki was losing his job to Tani Oluwasey. Time to move on.
 

Titans Bastard

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This is a cool statistic:

https://bsky.app/profile/tutul.bsky.social/post/3lghkwz3gxk2u

Tutul Rahman
‪@tutul.bsky.social‬

MLS $10m+ sales by transfer season

18/19: 2 (Miggy, Davies)
19/20: 0
20/21: 2 (Pity, Aaronson)
21/22: 1 (Pepi)
22/23: 2 (Duran, Slonina)
23/24: 6 (Petrovic, Taty, Brenner, Pereira, Barco, Araujo)
24/25: 8 so far (Almada, D. Gomez, Facu, Wiley, C. Gomez, Driussi, Velazco, Giakoumakis)
Moving up the "manufacturing value chain" of world soccer is really valuable to MLS. The extent to which MLS has become more deeply integrated into the international transfer market in recent years is significant. The next step is developing a bigger market for domestic/academy products. The only domestic products on that list are Davies, Aaronson, Pepi, Slonina, and Wiley. Right now big 5 clubs tend to be more interested in American prospects before they are finished products and when they are still cheaper. A recent example is Matai Akinmboni, who DC sold to Bournemouth for $1.5m and a sell-on. But if they developed a toolsy 18 year old CB into a very good 20 year old MLS CB, they'd get a ton more money.

MLS needs more American export success stories to be a market where bigger clubs feel more confident doing a bit more expensive shopping.

Another side observation is that the number of big-money sales to Latin American clubs is larger than I would have anticipated.
 

67YAZ

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I really thought Gregg would be seeking out a Navarro upgrade - he's not very strong on the ball or passing it, plus he's fallen out of favor with the last 2 Fire managers.

So maybe that last DP/U22 slot is going to a CB. Not what I'd do, but Gregg hasn't asked for my opinion. Yet.
Welp, Berhalter just shipped Fede out to Atlético Rosario Central in Argentina for an undisclosed fee plus a sell on percentage. Rosario is only a couple hundred miles from Fede's hometown & the club he came up through; hopefully he can settle in at home and realize his potential.

Now this opens up a U22 slot, which still leaves Gregg with a lot of options for finding a midfielder (DM or box-to-box depending on what Acosta will be charged with) and adding to the CB position.

Chris Mueller is also being shopped. He can play, would love to see him as an impact sub for an MLS contender. But he's making $650k this season. The Fire are going to have to eat some or all of that to facilitate a move.
 

Titans Bastard

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Add another to the list; LAFC sold Mateusz Bogusz to Cruz Azul for reportedly more than $10m. Good business from LAFC, who got Bogusz for cheap from Leeds, where he had been sent out on a series of loans. He was good in 2023, great in 2024, and broke into the Polish national team. Bogusz was due for a bump to a DP contract, but LAFC have only one slot left and rumors of their pursuit of Antoine Griezmann never seem to go away.

LAFC also traded for FC Dallas center back Nkosi Tafari on the cheap. Tafari has been inconsistent, but has shown that he can be quite good when in form, and now LAFC have a pretty healthy mix of CBs to play with for a long season.



Across town, the Galaxy paid a record fee for a USL-to-MLS transfer for Louisville City midfielder Elijah Wynder. Only about $400k + add-ons, but hey. A healthy USL-to-MLS market would be good.

NYCFC "sold" 18 year old left back Christian McFarlane to Manchester City — great news that CFG was able to come to an agreement with CFG about a transfer here. McFarlane is a highly regarded dual national left back who decided to play for England youth teams and is provisionally cap-tied to them. That's too bad, though who knows, maybe the Revs' Peyton Miller will turn out to be a better player in the long run anyway.
 

67YAZ

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New Leagues Cup format just dropped:

18 clubs from MLS & MX will participate in an intra-league inter-league group stage. This will take place as 3 consecutive matches over the course of a week-ish.

From there, 4 clubs from each league will move into single-match knockouts pairing clubs across leagues. These will be played mid-week so that regular season MLS can resume.

In hindsight, Leagues Cup I was probably as great as this event could be with the arrival of Messi plus about a dozen crackin’ matches with high drama.

Leagues Cup II had fewer dramatic moments and all the MX clubs bombed out early. League execs on both sides had to experience whiplash in back to back years.

In general, I’d like to see more MLS-MX match ups - that’s the unique feature of this event. But I get that the execs want ways to ensure the biggest MX clubs get deep into the knockouts.

Edit: Bad reading comprehension on my part.
 
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Titans Bastard

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In general, I’d like to see more MLS-MX match ups - that’s the unique feature of this event. But I get that the execs want ways to ensure the biggest MX clubs get deep into the knockouts.
The new format is going to have a lot of this. Every single game is guaranteed to be MLS vs. Liga MX until the semifinals.

They're doing a Swiss format thing, so Phase One is "intra-league" insofar as MLS teams are ranked against other MLS teams and Mexican teams are ranked against other Mexican teams, but all the actual games are inter-league.

Then the QF is guaranteed to be all MLS vs. Liga MX.
 

Titans Bastard

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Atlanta is making its big moves. They've already announced the purchase of one-time hero Miguel Almiron for somewhere in the range of $10m. The reports are that a long-rumored $22m deal for Middlesbrough's Emmanuel Latte Lath is imminent. I don't follow the Champo, but I guess Latte Lath is a big late bloomer — up through age 23 he spent a lot of time as a backup at various Serie B and Serie C clubs in Italy, then had a big year at St. Gallen in Switzerland, and has put up pretty good numbers in the Championship over the last 18 months. $22m is a lot of money, so presumably Atlanta likes the scouting on him.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Major League Soccer making it so teams can sell players to other MLS teams is such a good move. It makes the offseason entirely more interesting.
 

Titans Bastard

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Major League Soccer making it so teams can sell players to other MLS teams is such a good move. It makes the offseason entirely more interesting.
Indeed. I'm guessing this was posted in response to the report that SKC is spending $4m to buy Dejan Joveljic from LA Galaxy. This is exactly the sort of player move that won't work when the only intra-league currency is GAM.


In other news, Jhon Duran's move to Aston Villa is now the biggest outbound transfer in MLS history.

View: https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1884971935370539341
 

67YAZ

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The new format is going to have a lot of this. Every single game is guaranteed to be MLS vs. Liga MX until the semifinals.

They're doing a Swiss format thing, so Phase One is "intra-league" insofar as MLS teams are ranked against other MLS teams and Mexican teams are ranked against other Mexican teams, but all the actual games are inter-league.

Then the QF is guaranteed to be all MLS vs. Liga MX.
Bad reading comprehension on my part. Or a badly written release by MLS.

In other news, Jhon Duran's move to Aston Villa is now the biggest outbound transfer in MLS history.

View: https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1884971935370539341
15%! Thank you, Georg Heitz.
 

Titans Bastard

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No posts for six days. Much has transpired!

Columbus sold Cucho Hernandez to Real Betis for $16m. This is a huge loss — Cucho was a deserving MVP last season but did not get the award due to his failure to Literally Be Lionel Messi (who was injured too much to merit the award, IMO). There's no way to replace him, but presumably they'll try. He scores, he creates, he puts in effort defensively.

Cucho was great business for the Crew, since he arrived from Watford for $10m, was epic, and led them to a title. It's nice to see a significant outbound transfer fee for a 25 year old, since big Euro leagues tend to ignore MLS players in their mid-20s. That being said, Cucho isn't a "clean" case because he already has extensively La Liga experience in loans from Watford over three years.



Cash transfers in MLS! The ball is rolling. A lot of these deals seem to be possible because using GAM isn't just funny money, it's tradable cap space, so using cap space as currency has a high opportunity cost. Straight cash is simpler.

Joveljic from LA Galaxy to KC is official, for $4m.

Jack McGlynn has been sold from Philadelphia to Houston for $2.1m and a 50% sell-on fee. This has caused some angst since there were reported Euro offers, but on his podcast Tom Bogert said the best offer was from Cesena, who are relegation bait in Serie B. Houston will be an upgrade for McGlynn because Philly will be leaning even harder into pressing, which will cause the Union to go from an awkward fit to a downright bad one for him. To complicate matters, Philly only controls 60% of McGlynn's transfer proceeds because 20% was given to each of the two NY clubs after MLS ruled that Philly violated MLS academy territory rules by signing him. So this $2.1m move to Houston appears to be Philly selling their 60% stake, which actually values him at $3.5m. MLS, baby.

It hasn't been announced yet, but Bogert reports that Ted Ku-DiPietro is going from DC to Colorado for $1.25m. I can't tell what his upside is, but the Rapids are good place for American players like this to go.


Imports:

FC Cincinnati signed 21 year old CB Gilberto Flores from Libertad for $2m as a U22 initiative player. He has four caps for Paraguay. It seems like he'll compete with Teenage Hadebe for a starting spot in the three-man backline,

Inter Miami signed 27 year old Uruguayan CB Maxi Falcon from Colo-Colo. Miami don't have a lot of established CBs on the roster so it seems like at worst he'll be the primary backup if he doesn't walk into the XI.

Minnesota signed 24 year old Korean CM Ho-Yeon Jung from Gwangju for around $1m. It looks like he's on the outer fringe of the South Korean NT, based on his usage in 2024. For now, he may be a starter at the #8.

SKC made a couple other big additions beyond Joveljic. They signed 27 year old Spanish attacking midfielder Manu Garcia as a DP and 25 year old Russian winger Shapi Suleymanov, both from Aris Thessaloniki. Garcia is a guy who was once in the Man City loan army, and has a single cap for Spain. The package deal fee is supposedly around $5m. SKC were terrible last year and need their signings to hit.

Orlando signed 24 year old Croatian winger Marco Pasalic for $5m from NK Rijeka. Pasalic is German-born and played in the youth/reserves of a bunch of clubs, most recently Dortmund and subsequently spent 1.5 seasons in the Croatian league. He has five caps for Croatia. Pasalic will replace Facu Torres, who was sold to Palmeiras.

Portland signed 22 year old Colombian left back Jimer Fory from Independiente Medellin for $1.5m.

Philadelphia signed 23 year old Serbian CM Jovan Lukic from Spartak Subotica for $500k. He'll be the Jack McGlynn replacement.

NYRB signed 21 year old Chilean left back Marcelo Morales from Universidad de Chile. He just made his international debut for Chile in the fall in WCQ, and I'd expect him to be their John Tolkin replacement.
 

67YAZ

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Old friend Omar Gonzalez signs with the Fire as a free agent - 1 year + club option. Adds depth &experience to the CB group, which as short a player.
 

Titans Bastard

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Old friend Omar Gonzalez signs with the Fire as a free agent - 1 year + club option. Adds depth &experience to the CB group, which as short a player.
Omar and Gregg started quite a few games at CB together for the LA Galaxy circa 2009-10.
 

ThePrideofShiner

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Has anyone here been to a Galaxy home game? Seat recommendations needed.

Also, I was down on the Sounders last year and refused to pay attention because of their lack of signings. I'm all in this year and fired up about the possibility of multiple trophies. While they lack true high end talent, they are incredibly deep.
 

Titans Bastard

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Also, I was down on the Sounders last year and refused to pay attention because of their lack of signings.
AHEM. This sort of humblebrag has earned Sounders fans a bit of a reputation around the league. Seattle finished fourth in the West and made the conference final!