News: Revs Roster 2018 -- II

New England Revolution sign midfielder Luis Alberto Caicedo on loan
March 8, 2018, 12:35PM EST
Charles Boehm

 

What do people think the mystery signings ("we're close") position is"" My guess is he's a striker. I doubt they would be shopping our miliar dollar man if they weren't thinking they had a quality replacement is the pipeline

 

Striker would make sense. But a center d wouldn’t shock me. We clearly lack depth there.

 

Fulham Youngster Could Move to MLS on Loan

New England Revolution are interested in signing Fulham youngster Luca De La Torre on loan for the Major League Soccer season.

The Whites are considering whether a move to the United States would be the right step in the 19-year-old’s development.

Californian De La Torre – a United States Under-20 international – made five appearances for Fulham’s first team between October and January but has not been selected since.

 

this is a good move but I hope this was the signing Brad was refering too

 

I am underwhelmed by the revs being essentially a development club for Fulham but then again, they are currently 4th which means they're as good or better than any MLS team.

 

I like what I've seen of de la Torre, which admittedly isn't much. I think he'd help the Revs... but he's a band-aid. He (...likely) wouldn't be here after this season, so why bother?

 

From Luca's POV of the POV of his people, why would he/they choose New England of all places for his development?

 

To Brad's credit he did work with the Spurs youth team and from what I recall reading had a pretty good reputation working with younger players

 

Believe Friedel also coached de la Torre with the US U-19 National Team.

 

I think the positive spin is that the Revs have in the past shown a near absence of ingenuity when it comes to finding talent that is not someone's reject. I didn't know they had it in them. Here's a kid who almost certainly plays at a decent level, who won't cost much and can help the team. It also suggests that - after the Sporting debacle - there is still the possibility of forging relationships with clubs at a higher level.

 

I'd love to see if Friedel can work an agreement with Spurs, Blackburn, Villa or Liverpool and actually utilize it and not just have something on paper

 

Of course, the new player could also be Gershon Koffie.

 

Per the article: There are discussions with a club in American MLS and both parties are set to find a solution for the player. Koffie has previously been lent to the New England Revolution but joined the Bajen in front of this season after the US tour.

 

This only excites me if there is an option to buy. A one year loan for a team in rebuilding mode is useless.
An option to buy shows true ambition, as well as a semblance of a plan for the future.

 

Trade Nguyen, Cropper and Koffie's rights to Chicago for....

 

Yeah, it seems like we're stockpiling DMs. I'm hoping this guy is being viewed as a more attacking player (plenty of that in his highlights) or at least a box-to-box player.

Could be the perfect opportunity for payback.

But, Koffie, been there, done that. Is he an "only MLS" player - wonder why he can't stick overseas.

At some point, MLS was saying that they'd only approve loan deals with an option to buy. I don't know if that's changed, but I'd think it would be unlikely Fulham would be willing to give up control of this player. Maybe making the purchase price prohibitive would be a way around it.

 

I'd be very surprised if they even answer calls from the 508 area code. Plus with the new guy coming in is there really a need for Koffie?

 

According to this tweet, by one of Sweden's top soccer reporters (and the most profiled Silly Season/transfer expert) Hammarby sports director Jesper Jansson has confirmed that Gershon Koffie is close to a return to Revs. No word yet on whether it's a new loan deal or a sale. I think Hammarby would absolutely be more interested in a permanent transfer rather than another season-long loan. Wouldn't expect a huge sum though.

Jesper Jansson bekräftar också att Gershon Koffie är nära att återvända till New England Revolution i MLS. #sillyseason

— Daniel Kristoffersson (@DKristoffersson) March 15, 2018

 

Edit: Now with video as well (all in Swedish). Mainly about Hammarby's signing of former NT player Erkan Zengin and Serb Nikola Djurdjic, but starting at 3:20 the conversation turns to Koffie for about a minute. Nothing really new but it confirms there are negotiations. https://www.expressen.se/tv/sport/fotboll/allsvenskan/jansson-om-zengin-hade-en-trevlig-kvall/

Rough translation:
"Understand he wants to return to MLS. Close to a solution? Revs owns the rights"
"Yeah, it's a complex system, and there's someone on that other chair, in New England as well, but Gershon is incredibly professional and working hard here. Last year it was... an unfortunate start, an unfortunate... ...no shadow falls on Gershon, but we have to take it as a learning that we cannot handle situations in Hammarby that way."
"It was Michelsen (former HC) who was pretty rough on him?"
"Yes well, you can evaluate a player but you need to give them a shot before you make your decision."

 

UUUUUUUUgggggghhhhhhhhh Maybe his short time away somehow made him better? If this is true then thats it for BF in my opinion

 

Don't understand bringing back Koffie.

At all.

 

Agreed. It only makes sense if it's part of a larger move.