I am not sure about how many Crew fans want Abou Ali to move on. I agree with you, Abou Ali looked very promising, until his injury. I only asked the question because many folks have been discussing Abou Ali joining Nancy at Celtic, including the IW.
Sure, I get it. If it happens, it's whatever. I think a near-total refresh is needed though, and honestly that's gonna take 3-4 windows probably, and that's only if Issa (or whoever the GM is) works a lot faster. Maybe Nancy was a huge cockblocker and Issa will be unleashed now, hard to say.
I just said that I’m concerned about Nancy poaching players, there is no concrete info on anyone specific. The British press has linked him to almost all of our starters, but I wouldn’t put money into that necessarily. The latest is Hugo Cuypers. I have no information on the situation.
To that end, the poaching wouldn't necessarily occur this window even if it did happen. Nor would it be limited to the Crew roster. He knows the MLS player pool, more broadly, and must have a list of players in the league he'd be interested in having under his control. As has been said before, the one guy on our roster who seems interested leaving and might be a good fit for Nancy would seem to be Arfsten. Thing is, Nancy can't poach our players as easily as, say, the coaching staff. And the organization would be stupid to sell Arfsten now. He's under contract through 2027 with a 2028 option year. And he's likely to make the USMNT WC roster this summer. Let 2026 play out and see what Max's market value is then.
You over-estimate me. But I appreciate it! *Edit: I will say, I read it as something not great between Nancy and Gazdag... didn't even consider it may have been more regarding potential new coach. Like licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop, the world may never know
I don't think a full on rebuild is required,,at all. Abou Ali looked good in linited time. Rossi is a quality deputy. Arfsten, Moreira, Farsi, and Zawadzki are all quality pieces. Amundsen & Herrera are are fine. Chambost, Cheberko, and JRR are decent filler. Schulte bounced back a bitcat the end and Bush is a quality #2. We need a #1 creator in attack. Gotta jettison Gazdag. Even if he is more productive, he isn't that type of player. Other than that? At least 1 quality starter in CM, if not two. And some CB depth so Zawadzki can help us all over the roster. And better depth attackers (Picard/Aliyu upgrades + another CF). A Lappalainen replacement.
It's interesting to see where this roster is today, compared to where we were in December 2022. https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/columbus-crew-announces-end-of-2022-roster-decisions I highlighted players still on the roster (including Bush, since the club may re-sign him) And where we are now (we'll be at 23 if Bush is re-signed): In case anyone's forgotten, we won MLS in 2023. But that Dec. '22 roster had a lot of dead weight and ill-fitting pieces on it. Mensah was shipped off to San Jose. Room did nothing to earn his $800K salary until he was eventually off-loaded. Williams didn't play one minute all season. Molino barley played. You get the point. We assumed 2023 was clearly, so obviously a rebuilding year. And yet... In terms of expected contributors when you look at that '22 versus the current '25 roster, I don't think we're in bad shape right now. The big difference in the two rosters is that the '22 version had four players who could affect the course of any game: A. Morris, Nagbe, Zelerayan, Cucho. The 2025 roster, as it stands today, has how many? You can make the case it has none. Maybe Abou Ali will develop into that kind of forward. On paper, Rossi and Gazdag could be pushing to be considered, but I just don't see it (for Gazdag, certainly not). TL;DR - I think we have talent, but not enough of the exceptional talent that's necessary to win hardware. That ignores the elephant in the living room issue that, in 2023, Nancy arrived to lead those guys and develop that roster with a clear vision in mind. For 2026, we still don't know who our head coach will be.
Multiple clubs want Eneli. Red Bulls are selling and Edelman is available. 22 years old and a pretty decent AM/CM/sometimes winger. Berhalter (who had an option i didnt realize) is out of contract after next season, so there is talk of a transfer unless they agree to a new deal. I'd take all 3 in a heartbeat https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6879167/2025/12/10/mls-free-agency-eneli-stroud-rsl/
Bush back for 2026. https://www.columbuscrew.com/news/columbus-crew-re-sign-goalkeeper-evan-bush-x5040 Gonna put him on Senior for now, but last year he was Vet Min/Supplemental eligible. I. Roster Links A. MLS Fall 2025 Roster Profiles https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/majo...-roster-profiles-following-2025-roster-freeze B. 2025 MLS Roster Rules & Regs https://www.mlssoccer.com/about/roster-rules-and-regulations C. Fall 2025 Salary Info & 2026 FA links Please note the FA list is only for those players who are FA's in the winter of 2025. So contracts/loans that expite in June (Herrera, Cheberko) ate not listed, nor are players who are out of contract but do not meet the age/years of service requirements to be MLS free agents (Aliyu?). https://mlsplayers.org/resources/salary-guide https://mlsplayers.org/news/2026-free-agent-list -------------------- II. Signed Roster A. Senior Roster (1-20). 15 of 20. Counts vs the salary budget of $5,950,000. Max salary budget charge is $743,750. Teams not required to fill spots 19 & 20. A minimum salary budget charge is imputed vs the club for unfilled spots below 18. In addition to the $5.95 mil budget, teams can spend outside this figure via GAM, TAM, DP & U22 costs outside the Salary Budget, and the Supplemental Roster costs. Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$, Guar $$ 1. Diego Rossi, WF, 27, 3/5/98, 5'7", 143, Uruguay, DP, GC. $2,725,000, $3,426,827. Thru '26, '27 O. 2. Daniel Gazdag, AM, 29, 3/2/96, 5'10", 168, Hungary, DP#2, GC. $2,000,004, $2,597,643. Thru '27, O '28. 3. Wessam Abou Ali, F, 26, 1/4/99, 6'1", 172, Denmark/Palestine, DP, INT#1. $1.8 mil/$2,157,375. Thru '27, O '28. 4. Patrick Schulte, GK, 24, 3/13/01, 6'5", 200, USA, TAM. $825k, $957,083. Thru '27, TO in '28. 5. Steven Moreira, D, 31 8/13/94, 5'10", 159, France/Cape Verde Islands, TAM. $820k, $902k. O '26. Senior. 6. Andres Herrera, FB/WB, 27, 11/03/98, 5'10", 165, Argentina, INT#2, TAM. $650k, $737,158. Loan thru summer '26. O to buy. 7. Hugo Picard, F/M, 22, 5/09/03, 5'6",160, France, U22, INT#3. $675k/$731,244. Thru '28, O '29. 8. Malte Amundsen, WB, 27, 2/11/98, 5'10", 179, Denmark. $624,996/$697,496. Thru '27. Not INT. 9. Yevhen Cheberko, CB, 27, 1/23/98, 6'0", 166, Ukraine, INT#4. $610k, $658,250. Thru '26 (June). O for rest of '26. 10. Dylan Chambost, MF, 28, 8/19/97, 5'10", 154, France, INT#5. $450k, $557,219. Thru '26, '27 O. 11. Ibrahim Aliyu, F, 23, 1/16/02, 6'0", 169, Nigeria, U22. $474,996/$526,375. O in '26 & '27. Not INT. Senior. 12. Mohamed Farsi, D/M, 25, 12/16/99, 5'10", Algeria/Canada, INT#6. $425k, $455k. Thru '27, O '28. 13. Sean Zawadzki, M, 25, 4/21/00, 6'0", 160, USA, HG. $400k, $446,870. Thru '27. 14. Max Arfsten, F/W, 24, 4/19/01, 6'1", 172, USA. $350k, $389,375. Thru '27. O '28. -----------Vet Min Line--------- 15. Evan Bush, GK, 39, 3/6/86, 6'1", 187, USA. Likely vet min. Thru '26. ----------------------- B. Supplemental Roster (21-30) Does NOT count versus the salary budget of any team. All Generation Adidas players are Supplemental Players during the initial guaranteed term of their contract. 1) Spots 21-24. (Supplemental). 2 of 4. All players in Slots 21-24 must make a base salary at least equal to the Senior Minimum Salary ($104,000 in 2025). These slots may be filled with: Senior Min players ($104k) which may include: i) HGs, ii) Gen Adidas, iii) designated Superdraft eligible players, or iv) Homegrown players who may or may not earn more than Sen Min due to the HG Subsidy. Players in slots 21-24 must make at least $104,000. Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Nicholas Hagan, GK, 29, 8/2/96, 6'4", 176, Guatemala/USA. $104k, $122,600. Thru '26, O in '27 & '28. 22. Amar Sejdic, CM, 28, 11/29/96, 5'10", 159, Germany/USA. $104k, $118,550. O in '26. Vet Min/Supp. ----------------- Senior Minimum players can be on either the Senior or Supplemental 21-24 Rosters. Assuming Sejdic's option still has him there. He and Hagan could be Senior, too --------------------- 2) Slots 25-30. (Reserve). 6 of 6. Must be paid a base salary of at least the Reserve Min salary ($80,622). Must be 24 years of age or younger during the league year (by year of birth). May be filled with Reserve Min players ($80,622) which may include GA's earning Reserve Min, HGs, or HG's earning more than Reserve Min via the HG subsidy. Cannot be filled with Sen Min Players (unless a HG earning more via HG subsidy). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar 25. Taha Habroune, M, 19, 2/5/06, 5'8", 168, USA, HG. $104k/$116k. Thru '27, O '28. 26. Jacen Russell-Rowe, CF, 23, 9/13/02, 6'0", 161, Canada, HG. $120k, $130,789. O '26. Supplemental/Reserve. 27. Ceasar Ruvalcaba, D, 24, 7/13/01, 6'2", 170, USA, $80,622. Thru '25, O in '26 & '27. 28. Tristan Brown, M, 18, 10/17/07, ??, ??, USA, HG. $80,622/$84,986. Thru '28, O in '29 & '30. 29. Cole Mrowka, MF, 19, 4/6/06, 5'11", 165, USA, HG. $80,622, $100,630. Thru '26. TO '27 & '28. 30. Stanislav Lapkes, GK, 19, 3/3/06, 6'4", 176, Belarus/USA, HG. $80,622, $99,712. Thru '27. O '28/'29. ----------------- HG subsidy is $125,000 per year in aggregate. Plus $200k of GAM/TAM can be used to sign HGs to their 1st contract. ----------------- C. Loan/Stash Roster: (Slot 31). 0 of 1. Slot 31 can be filled by a player 24 or younger who is on a season long loan to a lower division club in in the USA or Canada, provided his Budget Charge is </= the Sen Min Charge ($104k) and the MLS club does not exercise any recall options during the MLS season (save for short term call-ups). 31. Open ----------- III. In Discussions (1) 1. Rudy Camacho, CB, 34, 3/5/91, 6'1", 174, France, INT. $525k/$601k. Senior. --------- IV. Departures (4) 1. Darlington Nagbe, CM, 35, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, TAM. $1.425,000, $1,565,833. Senior. Retired. 2. Lassi Lappalainen, M, 27, 8/24/98, 6'0", 168, Finland, INT. $325k, $368,750. Option declined. 3. Derrick Jones, DM/CB, HG, 28, 3/3/97, 6'4", 176, Ghana/USA. $350k, $387,500. Option declined. 4. Abraham Romero, GK, 27, 2/18/98, 6'2", 185, USA, $104k. Vet Min/Supp. Contract expired. ------------------------ V . International Players (5 of 8) Abou Ali, Farsi, Herrera, Cheberko, Picard. Camacho would vount as INT players if he is back. New verbiage for 2024, do NOT need a Green Card. "For a player to be considered a Domestic Player in the applicable season, residency must be established, or the player has to have appeared for an immigrant visa interview by the opening of the Secondary Transfer Window." https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-...new-sporting-initiatives-ahead-of-2024-season ------------ VI. Green Card Holders/Counts as Domestic (4). Rossi (Green Card), Gazdag (not an INT slot), Hagan (USA parent/ passport), (no longer listed), Chambost (no longer listed). Again, the Amundsen mystery remains. But he firmly is NOT an INT. Nor is Gazdag. Nor is Chambost as of last year. Moreira started counting as domestic on the Fall 25 roster profile update, along with Chambost. If brought back, he would count as domestic, as would Aliyu and JRR. ------------ VII. DP + U22 Initiative Slots (4 of 6) Team can choose 2 paths. One, 3 DPs + 3 U22s. Two, 2 DPs plus 4 U22s + $2 mil in GAM. Teams must decide by the close of the transfer window this year and start of the year going forward. DPs = 3 of 3 1. Rossi 2. Ali 3. Gazdag U22s = 1 of 3 1. Picard 2. Open 3. Open U22 players count $200k vs the budget if the are aged 22-25. $150k is 21 or younger. U22 players must be on their initial MLS contract unless they are HGs (2nd), and must sign it before turning 22. Can continue to occupy the slot until the year they turn 25. Salary cannot exceed Max Budget unless it is a HG/Superdraft on 2nd contract, who can earn Max Budget +$200k. Clubs may pay acquisition costs without limit (out of pocket, no GAM/TAM). Crew choose 3+3 path for 2025, but can change midseason. Aliyu is s U22 via Houston's roster profile. If brought back, he'll be a U22 again next year for us. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/mls-announces-significant-roster-rule ------ As always, correct my mistakes.
I'd be inclined to give Issa a couple of months since we're almost up on the January window. Maybe he pulls a rabbit or two out of his hat. As for Gazdag, if there aren't any reasonable takers and you don't have urgent need of a spot, it's not unreasonable to take a little time and see whether his problem was just philosophical. Just dumping him would be a very expensive last resort.
If Nancy were still here, I think dumping Gazdag this transfer window would make sense. It was clear it wasn't going to work out. They didn't appear to see eye to eye and I think Nancy made Gazdag feel very uncomfortable on the field. But with a new coach coming in, it makes sense to give him at least until the summer transfer window.
That is a perfectly reasonable course of action, and I think it is the one we will most likely take. But I will stick by my guns on Gazdag. We lack an upper quality difference maker. A creator of goals. One that bends defenses, can make a killer pass AND create something out of nothing for himself. Or at least beat their man with the ball at their feet. He isn't that type of player. While we can certainly be a GOOD team taking the wait & see path with Gazdag path, we won't be a contender. If a DP has to go, it has to be him. Now, sometimes a TAM level guy can provide that, but not as often.
Finally, something to be happy about... IT'S RYO SHIMAZAKI DAY, KIDDOS! https://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft/news/mls-superdraft-2026-tracker-order-selections
Ruvalcaba and Arfsten were superdraft picks for us. Tom Scoops recently said Corey Wray was the reason Patrick Agyemang was even draft eligible. He asked MLS to put him on the list, which required him to go to the combine, and that is where a bunch of teams finally noticed him.