According to this http://www.socceramerica.com/article/67032/mls-player-tracker-with-complete-rosters.html we've got 21 spots occupied, so 7 free....but we've still got the MLS rights for 4 players and 4 HG signings would put us at 25 or 29, depending how you're counting.
The Red Bulls are apparently holding their own pre-draft combine. http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/redbulls2.php?article_id=43542 At first glance this seems like they are trying out for RBII. It should be noted that at least one of those players, Scott Thomsen, is an Academy graduate.
We all felt it was a possibility. What we didn't know, initially, was Miazga's stance on the whole thing. I admit, I am a bit surprised, but if someone doesn't want to be here, so be it.
I've said it for the majority of this season, I just didn't think Miazga would be around for the 2016 campaign. At this point I hope that the front office has a plan in place to fill his spot, to extract the highest possible transfer fee, and that Miazga lands in a good situation for his own career development, namely a place where he will see the field regularly and not rot on the bench like so many American players before him. Even though I'd resigned myself to losing Miazga, I think that RBNY should hold on to Lawrence for at least one more year. I think replacing your starting CB pairing is tough enough without having to also replace your best full back.
Today's rumor mill: MLS Transfers believes Swansea may offer a $9M bid for BOTH Miazga and Lawrence Tim Sebastian, 31 year old German center back for RB Leipzig, may be joining us next season. Looks like he was a key starter for the past several years until injuries held him back this last season.
So assuming Miazga is gone, our current roster looks something like this, keeping in mind that they are still attempting to negotiate with Perrinelle, SWP, and Reynish: That's not a bad spot at all to be in at this stage of the off-season. The midfield is pretty much set, especially if SWP signs on. My understanding is that Etienne may be able to fill in for Kljestan at CAM if needed but someone more well versed in the young players can confirm that. Only glaring need is centerback help, and a lot of it.
To me we need depth at midfield, CB, Forward and also a more reliable backup GK as Meara is always hurt, it seems.
I can't actually find any information about what happened last season. Someone on metrofanatic suggested he lost his starting spot mostly due to injury but most of the poorly translated German websites seem to suggest the team just upgraded as they pushed for promotion. Hope its just a matter of form rather than injury to be honest. A guy who was rock solid for years in Germany's 2nd division should still be plenty good enough for MLS.
I also would expect that the Red Bull organization owes NY a good one after some of the acquisitions flopped so mightily.
Babysitting Brian Nielsen for two seasons has to count as a favor to be paid back, right? Sekagya worked out alright though
Fine for depth/stop-gap. Unfortunately I feel like we always have depth/stop-gaps and no consistent top level anchors. Olave/Holgersson clicked and then we dumped Holgersson. Miazga/Perri clicked and then Perri suffered a horrible injury and we're quite possibly selling Miazga.
Muyl signed! http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/redbulls2.php?article_id=43552 We've waited so long for something like the USL affiliate and for Red Bull to sign more academy products. Happy Holidays indeed! Najem and Corboz still up in the air, but maybe with all this public display from management they will put pen to paper...
The main Leipzig paper has been reporting this since yesterday morning, so it seems likely to happen. Tim Sebastian was one of these "overqualified" players that was lured (€€€) to RB Leipzig when they were still in the lower divisions. He spent several years as a starter with Rostock & Karlsruhe in the 1st & 2nd Bundesliga up until the 2009-10 season, then joined Leipzig for 10-11 after they were first promoted to the 4th division. I distinctly remember when they signed the guy in summer 2010 because his prior resume was so far above what would normally be possible for a 4th division team (€€€€€). He was a completely solid starter for his 5 seasons in Leipzig, although keep in mind that the first 3 were in the 4th division, the next one in the 3rd division, and only the last season (14-15) was in the 2nd Bundesliga. He did perfectly fine last season in 2BL and is not especially injury-prone. The issue this season is more that he is already past 30, the team is aiming for (and will probably win) promotion to the Bundesliga, so they upgraded with a hotshot kid from Kaiserslautern who is 8 years younger, and could very well be their starting CB in the top league for the foreseeable future. Long story short, I'd expect him to be perfectly suitable for MLS level, and probably has at least another 2-3 seasons left in the tank - which seems to be the maximum lifetime for RBNY central defenders. This would be a nice addition. Also, he's got a bit of the Luke Rodgers chrome dome thing going for him, which has to be a good sign!
Thanks for some reliable info! Good to hear he's not injury prone and even better to have a flimsy excuse to compare him to Luke Rodgers, I'm already a fan.