Several of Major League Soccer’s top teams head into the offseason in need of roster retooling, with European clubs and other MLS teams eyeing their players like a hawk eyeing prey.
FC Cincinnati, Los Angeles FC and the Philadelphia Union are some of the league powers who will fighting to hold on to their top players, while some others, like the Columbus Crew, have their offensive (Cucho Hernández and Diego Rossi) and defensive (Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris) cornerstones set for the next couple of years.
Then there are the teams that need complete rebuilds ahead of 2024. The two New York teams have already enacted major steps in their rebuilds – NYCFC in the summer and RBNY this winter
With free agency underway, and the primary MLS winter transfer window about a month away, here is a look at three teams who will surely be active in that rebuilding stage this offseason:
LA Galaxy
The LA Galaxy train was off the track before they started the engine this season.
Riqui Puig and Chicharito were meant to carry LA to the promised land after finishing fourth in the Western Conference in 2022 but off-field issues contributed to poor performances. Combined with injuries, these factors led to the MLS Original’s worst full season since “winning” the Wooden Spoon in 2017.
The season began with fan protests and boycotts against then-club president Chris Klein due to league sanctions brought against the club for improper transfer business, meaning many fans witnessed the team win just one of their first 10 games from their couch at home, unwilling to attend. At the end of May, the Galaxy sacked Klein only to lose Chicharito to a season-ending ACL tear about one week later. Chicharito was one of four Galaxy starters to suffer season-ending injuries while breakout young center-back Jalen Neal arguably made that number five after he was forced to cut his season short for sports hernia surgery.
It was a true mess of a season that saw the Galaxy finish penultimate in the West, but with recent changes, LA is showing the intention to turn their ship around.
Since Klein’s departure, head coach Gregg Vanney operated as the team’s general manager throughout the season. Not anymore. Upon the conclusion of the season, Galaxy announced their senior vice president of player personnel, Will Kuntz, as their new general manager. Kuntz is the former LAFC assistant general manager to John Thorrington and played a major role in building the foundation for Galaxy’s cross-county rival. Knowing Thorrington had the top job locked up at LAFC, Kuntz decided to switch teams, and will now play the intricate game of MLS roster construction as an opponent to the LAFC general manager rather than a teammate.
Kuntz’s appointment is a tip of the cap from Galaxy to their rivals – an admission of the club’s failure to keep up with the new kids on the block. LAFC can take some pride in that, but ultimately, it’s about whether they can keep it up. Kuntz will be one of the most ambitious general managers in MLS this off-season and has a track record to make you believe he’ll be successful. Chief among his moves at LAFC was the acquisition of Italian legend Giorgio Chiellini, who recently retired after reaching back-to-back MLS Cups in his 18 months at the club.
The Galaxy’s ambition is not going to slow down either. Rumors of LAFC chasing the signature of Mexican star Chucky Lozano during last summer’s transfer window turned out to be misreported with the Galaxy being the interested party instead. Despite the international transfer ban incurred by Klein following his departure, the club brought in five players over the summer, indicating an intention for roster turnover. Kuntz hadn’t been appointed general manager at that point but surely played a significant role in the acquisitions as well as targeting a big-name player like Lozano in his first transfer window as the senior vice president of player personnel.
Now, with the expiration of Chicharito’s contract, Kuntz has two designated player (DP) spots to work with this winter while building a winning squad around Riqui Puig. Reports have already surfaced of the Galaxy’s interest in Japanese defender Miki Yamane who is highly rated in his home country and would be a significant addition to the LA backline. Galaxy also traded an MLS SuperDraft pick for Miguel Berry.
Of course, Kuntz is a go-big or go-home type of guy, so that would just be the appetizer. The DP signings will likely be in attacking positions, starting with links to 24-year-old Paraguayan winger Ramón Sosa growing stronger. Galaxy’s current club-record transfer is Chicharito for $9.5 million from Sevilla. Should they complete the signing of Sosa, his fee would be guaranteed to set a new club record.
A need for a bounce-back season, the appointment of a skilled new general manager, two open DP spots, and a host of transfer rumors are all the ingredients for a busy and chaotic transfer window. It may be stressful and restless but this off-season is also going to be very exciting for Galaxy fans.
Austin FC
Austin FC doesn’t have a story too dissimilar from the Galaxy over the past two seasons; relative success in 2022 but a downturn this season with key players struggling to perform alongside injury hurdles and an unhappy fanbase. Both head coaches took some heat this season but remain in charge with backing from their newly appointed front offices. For Galaxy, this includes Kuntz backing Vanney. In Austin, this translates to new sporting director Rodolfo Borrell showing his confidence in manager Josh Wolff since his appointment at the end of June.
Aside from the fact that a managerial endorsement doesn’t come much higher than from a man who left his job as assistant to Pep Guardiola to join Verde, Borrell’s dream resumé is the reason Austin’s long-term success looks so assured. Starting as a youth coach in Barcelona’s famed La Masia Academy from 1995-2009, developing the likes of Lionel Messi, Gerard Piqué, and Cesc Fàbregas, Borrell eventually left for Liverpool. On Merseyside, he served as the second-team head coach and academy technical director, developing more global superstars in Raheem Sterling and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Finally, he joined Manchester City in 2014 as the club’s global technical director before being appointed Guardiola’s assistant in 2016. Those 28 years of top-level experience have ensured Borrell is ready to properly run a football club.
The Spaniard hasn’t hidden from the size of his task, either. If anything, he’s run into the fire, decreeing that, “the club overachieved last year,” in reference to the club’s successful 2022 season. He knows a restructuring is necessary.
Direct, blunt, straightforward – whatever you call it, Borrell is honest. He’s the same way with the roster. He admits there will be growing pains but has been following MLS for years and doesn’t come without an understanding of the salary cap. In his first transfer window (which he participated in for only a few weeks after signing on), Borrell immediately traded Diego Fagúndez to the LA Galaxy, not due to poor performance, but simply because his salary was too high. Borrell is quick, confident, and definitive in his decisions, yet fully measured at all times.
Likewise, is Borrell’s player recruitment strategy, though slightly less rapid. His rebuild of Austin’s scouting network has involved a team of five full-time scouts stationed throughout Europe and South America. Upon the appointment of Borrell, Austin FC owner Anthony Precourt declared, “We don’t have any salary caps or restrictions on the investment we can make in our leaders.” Since then, he has put his money where his mouth is in building out Borrell’s scouting department and will do the same, as much as he can, in upcoming transfer windows.
“We will improve the roster as much as we can, but we will need some transfer windows – the winter, the summer, the winter, the summer – and progressively we will improve the team in every single transfer window,” Borrell explained. “How much? As much as we can. So it’s not about as much as we want, it’s as much as we can.”
With all three DP slots filled, it may be a slower process than Kuntz’s with the Galaxy, but Borrell will hope to see his first full transfer window in Austin be the beginning of a rebirth. Changes must be made to right the ship. So far this off-season, Austin traded Nick Lima to the Revolution and Kipp Keller to FC Cincinnati, acquired the #1 pick in the MLS Re-Entry Draft, and drafted Jáder Obrian. Creative moves like these are likely to be Austin’s route to a rebuild until Borrell is ready to make his big moves.
CF Montreal
CF Montreal may not have their new coach yet, but they’ve already begun their rebuild.
In truth, that rebuild began in the summer with the $1.75 million GAM purchase of Kwadwo “Mahala” Opoku from LAFC. This winter, however, the rebuild kicks into gear fulltime. After losing Wilfried Nancy to Columbus and sacking Hernan Losada after one year in charge, the Canadian side will want to be thorough in their managerial search but that won’t slow their player acquisition.
Charlotte FC assistant coach Pa-Modou Kah, Columbus Crew 2 coach Laurent Courtois, and former Portland Timbers head coach Gio Savarese interviewed for the head coaching position according to reports while vice-president and chief sporting officer Olivier Renard began signing players immediately. Fullbacks Raheem Edwards and Ruan have been brought in from the LA Galaxy and DC United respectively this winter. Despite still searching for that manager, Renard seems to have a style of play in mind much more similar to Nancy than Losada during his recruitment. No. 10 overall MLS Draft pick Grayson Doody fits that same style as well.
When it comes to the big moves, just like the Galaxy, Montreal has the flexibility of two open DP slots, but they also have a couple of other advantages.
The reason Montreal can splash the cash on Opoku, Edwards, Ruan, and expectedly more intraleague transfers is due to a stockpile GAM built from their recent sales. A year ago, Montreal sold Ismael Koné, Alistair Johnston, and Djordje Mihailovic for an approximate $19-21 million. As a result, Montreal has more GAM to spend outside of their DP spots than a team like Galaxy, especially due to LA’s $1m GAM fine as a result of the sanctions brought on by Chris Klein.
While GAM holdings are not publicly released, it is safe to imagine Montreal still has a fat wad of cash in its pocket.
The last reason Montreal maintains superior maneuverability to Galaxy despite both having two open DP slots is roster spend. The Galaxy had the second-highest roster spend in MLS last season at $23,463,025 while Montreal had the lowest roster spend in the league at a meager $10,511,926. These numbers reflect those released by the MLSPA in May and have changed slightly but still draw a clear picture of the stark difference between the two team’s roster flexibility. While the Galaxy will certainly have a substantial rebuild in filling their two DP spots, Montreal’s malleability lies beyond roster designations. The luxury of not spending heavily on your roster is leaving yourself options in the complicated game of MLS roster regulations.
With that in mind, predicting how much Montreal will spend in their rebuild is an impossible task. Their recent influx of cash can only be taken as a positive sign, of course, but we will have to wait and see whether the Canadians opt for an accelerated rebuild as the Angelenos hope to see under Kuntz or a methodical restructuring similar to the Texans with Borrell.