Comments

1. Johnnyrazor,

   No, Arfsten is not a good wingback. That is false, which is one, amongst many, reasons he is not a Ligue 1 player.

   Regarding, Luna 10 and 10 in SPL…nope. All the examples you share don’t have 10 and 10 and again, you are oversimplifying, over-reaching, and giving Luna way too much credit. Luna is not a difference maker. Only one player accomplished it last season. If Celtic or Rangers was as certain as you were in Luna’s ability to reach 10 and 10, they would happily, and quickly, pay RSL a high single digit transfer fee.

   For Aidan Morris, even before he was exposed to Nancy, he had much better technical skill than Adams. He is a poor man’s Bradley.

   Reply

2. Johnnyrazor and Quozzel…

   Johnnyrazor,

   Aidan Morris is a quality player with legit talent and a proven commodity in Europe. Had he not torn his ACL in early 2021, he would have transferred to Europe in January 2022. That’s a fact.

   Freeman, Agyemang, Luna, and Arfsten, are unproven commodities with speculative futures in Europe, if they are even ( Freeman, Luna, and Arfsten ) able to secure a transfer across the pond. Comparing any of the four to Aidan is way off base.

   Agyemang is the only concrete offer that was consummated. Put me down as “shorting the stock price” on Agyemang. He will be back in MLS sooner rather than later. His technical ability is subpar for Europe and so is his conversion rate. At a price tag of $8M USD, and a salary just north of $1M USD, which puts him top three at Derby County, the media and fans will eat him up in no time.

   The reported interest in Freeman were rumors, as no formal offers were made. Chalk that up to Wasserman leaking info to get him an improved contract in MLS. That said, future interest in Freeman is based on his age, athleticism, and the position he plays. Because of those reasons, he is the one, out of the four, that has a chance to succeed in Europe, but he is far from ready at this time. He needs to improve A LOT technically and tactically ( both with and without possession ). I give him a 50 / 50 chance of succeeding in Europe.

   I don’t rate Arfsten, so not spending any time on him.

   Regarding Luna, I’ve already said, he is just not that good. But in addition to that, the value that RSL places on him ( high single digits ) makes him even less attractive to a European team because they can’t move him on for a profit at a later time. Also, NO WAY he chalks up 10 and 10 with Celtics or Rangers…you are WAY OVER REACHING.

   And “Luna is opting to stay in MLS,” is code for no interest from Europe.

   Quozzel,

   “Enabler and force multiplier.” That’s an interesting scouting report on Luna. We will have to agree to disagree. Because of the value that Real Salt Lake places on him ( see above ), there is no way a team in Europe, where he would get consistent minutes, is going to pay that kind of money for an “enabler and force multiplier.” At that price tag, a team expects a difference maker and even with increased talent around him, Diego is not that.

   I agree that he would look better amongst the ranks at Club America, but that is because in Liga MX, with the exception of 3 – 4 teams, the opposing teams have far inferior talent. Him playing for Club America and showing well against Juarez, Mazatlan, and Puebla, means nothing.

   Reply

   • Arfsten: Toulouse and Middlesbrough play with WBs. Max is a good WB, at FB where he plays for NT. Woof. Is he a Ligue 1 WB, maybe.
     ————————
     Luna: 10 and 10 for Rangers or Celtic? In the SPL playing teams with USL talent, yes he would. Donte Polvara put up 4g5a a couple years ago for Aberdeen, Christian Ramirez had 15g in 21/22. Young raw Malik Tillman had 12g5a for Rangers. Alistar Johnston had 4g12a last year as a FB for goodness sake. Celtic’s striker (Sargent’s old backup) and their LW combined for 53g last season. Luna had 9g 8a last year in MLS on a team with less talent than either Glasgow side and playing in a far stiffer league competition. Rangers isn’t going to spend the money it would take (definitely not going to pay Gio money either for those Rangers fans that are calling for that) Celtic could come close they spent comparable numbers for Trusty and CCV.
     —————————
     Aidan Morris is my guy (Crew haven’t been the same without him). He’s one of the best CMs in the pool at turning and progressing every time he gets the ball. He maybe is the perfect comparison because he is also limited physically/athletically. If Crew would have asked 8-10 million instead of 4, he wouldn’t have gone to Europe either. I’m not sure if he would have gone barring his injury, but he is a way better player for playing under Nancy. Pre-injury he was just a Tyler Adams like disrupter. Wilfred refined his game, he still is a high energy guy that gets stuck in but now is so much better on the ball.
     -I know he needed a break having been in season for 14 months and needed a rest but I would have liked to have seen him in the Luca de La Torre role.

     Reply

     • Let me clarify: “Is he a Ligue 1 WB, maybe.” For a mid table team like Toulouse not a good team with European aspirations.

3. Charlie Kerman played 71 minutes for Charlton Athletic in their 1-0 loss to Watford.
   ———————
   Mathis Albert’s goal in DFB U19 league match vs FSV Frankfurt was ruled an own goal. He did also draw a penalty. Leverkusen is the only other Bundesliga team in their division so Mathis should put up big numbers until January when the top regional finishers combine for the A division. That will be mostly Bundesliga and 2Bundesliga Youth teams.
   —————-
   Everyone’s end of the year darling last year Mael Corboz went 90 in Arminia Bielefeld’s 2-0 win over Holstein Kiel. Bielefield sit atop the table on 6 pts with a +6 thru 2 matchdays.
   —————-
   Chivas: Ledezma 71 mins, Cowell (already has lost his starting spot) 4 mins, Daniel Aguirre 90 minutes.

   Reply

4. Quozzel,

   “…stay stuck with RSL for yet another season?”

   Stuck? Luna’s not stuck…he’s just not that good.

   “We literally watched him the whole summer right alongside Malik Tillman…”

   We watched him do what?…score and assist again T&T, Costa Rica, and Guatemala? Those players present less competition than what he sees week in and week out in MLS. Why would that translate to a transfer to Europe?

   Have you seen Luna play since the Gold Cup? Nothing about his game in the last month screams, “European teams should come calling.”

   Diego’s best chance of making the USMNT roster for the 2026 World Cup is to stay put in Salt Lake..but start producing for them again.

   Reply

   • Yet we see less talented players like Freeman, Agyemang, and Arfsten get deals or offers. Last year saw Aidan Morris move to the Championship become a lock starter. It’s not like it’s beyond his talent level to go to the Championship or Eredivisie. Maybe Belgium or Portugal. He’d have double digit goals and assists if he went to Rangers or Celtic. My guess is most teams in those leagues though can’t afford the 6-10 million RSL probably want for him.

     Reply

   • Luna’s an enabler. What he does makes him a force multiplier. But he needs actual talented guys around him to enable…because anything times zero is, well, zero.

     RSL is so bad at some positions they make me wince, and I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched Salt Lake games where he makes a dozen killer passes in the course of a game that would have sprung anybody talented…but on RSL the guy trips over the ball or bricks a touch because some of their guys look like they have wooden paddles for feet. On the other hand, put Pulisic or Balogun or Pepi in the kind of spaces Luna can put players in, and their eyes will get huge and the ball will be in the back of the net before you can say: “unbalanced backline”.

     I hate to say it, but he’d do way better at Club America than he would on most MLS squads. They at least have the technical ability and soccer IQ’s to combine with him and benefit from the disruption he creates. I know he’d prefer Europe but sometimes you have to take the bird in the hand and I know they were very interested.

     Reply

     • Heard on Yanks Abroad YouTube channel that Luna is opting to stay in MLS to stay in contention for WC. He doesn’t want to make a bad move and not get minutes. This seems just a rumor not a sourced “fact”, but does seem plausible.

5. Whoo, boy, for anybody tracking feel-good Wrexham…this is gonna be a learnin’ year for them unless they upgrade quick. They’re plucky and full of belief, and (somehow!) actually got a 1-0 lead on Southampton, and it’s obvious the Soccer Gods are apparently fans of the show…but it appears the Soccer Gods had only granted them 90 minutes of good fortune (which included some eyebrow-raising no-calls, they got away with clubbing one guy down in the box and an overt handball, also in the box, and like, 2 minutes apart.) But the difference in athleticism was glaring. Wrexham looked like a £9 million team just up from League One, Southampton looked like a £55 million team just down from the Prem, and Damion Downs, when he came on, looked like a man among boys, though that “assist” should have been a goal. Reality also re-asserted itself at the end, Wrexham gave up a second goal a couple minutes later and that was that. Preview of things to come for Wrexham, I suspect.

   Gio Reyna was also nowhere to be seen for Borussia Dortmund in their final friendly against Juve, and of course, Juventus appears to be back starting yet another year with McKennie on the bench, and I’m now taking deadpool bets on how long it’ll take the Old Lady to realize yet again they can’t actually make do without him. Weston’s definitely challenging Dempsey for Most Unappreciated Club Player By His Own Front Office Ever, no lie. And if Josh Sargent and Brian Reynolds are going to make bigger moves I really wish they’d get on with it…this business of clubs dragging out transfers to the end of August is ridiculous because it completely sets a player up to fail. And is Diego Luna going to stay stuck with RSL for yet another season? Lordy, world…he’s right there. We literally watched him the whole summer right alongside Malik Tillman, who is apparently worth €40 million, but hey, apparently nobody can use Luna. Rock on.

   Reply

   • Not sure what’s going on with Luna. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of buzz. He’s also not been the same since GC 7g 2a in 17 app prior just 1g in 8 app since. Did have a beautiful hockey assist on the Gozo goal Saturday and then got ripped off on the late 2nd yellow.
     ———————
     Not sure if they have just turned down any offers from lower leagues, but you’d think there’d be some offers but nothing has leaked at all. The last rumor was Celta Vigo a month ago was interested.
     ——————-
     I think just as we’ve seen some of the stalwarts from the Wrexham lineup sent on their way this season Phil Parkinson will be let go before January. They’ve been able to afford superior talent the last 3 seasons, now they can’t just outspend people they need good tactics too. You can’t just give away 75% possession and expect to compete. 80/20 possession in the second half.

     Reply

     • They’d be the least athletic team in MLS too by a fair piece. I was watching Wrexham last season and you could see the good vibes from outer space they were so loud, but good vibes and a fanatical fan base and the world’s attention only gets you so far. I remember hearing one scout had told Ryan Reynolds right after the season that he only had four guys on the roster good enough for the Championship…and they clearly did not upgrade nearly enough. It’s pretty obvious that the sharpest break in the English pyramid happens somewhere around the bottom of the Championship, and you might have a team or two like Birmingham City that’s too big and well-financed for League One down there because of circumstance or poor management, but wow is the cliff ever steep between the two leagues.

       It’ll probably take a minimum of a £30M payroll to even sniff the Prem for Wrexham. I know they earn like very few non-Prem teams but do they even have that to spend? Because it looks like they’re going to be fighting relegation this year.

     • When you get to The Championship most of them have ownership groups headed by venture capitalists. Rob and Ryan have brought in other investors like the Allyn family (former owners of Welch Allyn, medical device manufacturer, and the Tylis Porter Group who include the owners of Necaxa and celebs like Eva Longorria and Justin Verlander. But none of those are throwing around the kind of money that some of these clubs do. Sunderland were not big spenders last year and they won the playoff. I don’t think it will be this season but if they can stay up I don’t think it will be long before they’re in contention for promotion.