Agree that getting a first rate cb who is good in the air is our #1 need. After that I would go for DM. Cerrillo is decent but we have no depth there. Wouldn’t hurt to pick up someone with some “bite.” Also agree that for depth we need a 2nd #9 that is better than Berry.
Agreed. We need 3 players right up the spine of the team for depth. How crazy is it that we are talking about adding 3 players for depth, when in the prior 1 1/2 seasons we swapped out all but 2 starters.
We could also use some wing depth. Fagundez was our main backup wing when Paintsil was hurt or covering at striker because Jovelic was hurt and when Pec was getting married. With Puig out, Fagundez may be needed to play centrally more. Reus could play there too in spots, but he's a very different player and he will also be needed centrally. Perez is our next true wing and we played him there before he was sent out on loan, but assuming Nashville is keeping Perez on loan for 2025, we won't have him back until at least the summer of 2025 when we have the right to recall him. Vivi is our other wing player and he is also unlikely to be back without a green card, although we did pick up his option. Lepley could play there, but he would be out of position. That leaves Cuevas, who really only played on the wing in late game situations where we were trying to hold a lead or when we switched to a 3-5-2, Harbor Miller, who is really young and, like Cuevas, is more of a right back or wingback, and Ruben Ramos Jr., who can play wing and has great potential, but turns 18 right around when preseason training starts and has only gotten 13 minutes of MLS playing time thus far. Ramos actually ended the MLSNP year playing more centrally in an AM role. The reality is that if we don't have the speed of Paintsil and Pec, we lose a lot of our offensive potential. It would be nice to find a versatile, speedy, U22 who could play anywhere along the front line and even at AM.
From the Baxter article, it looks like we need to save something around 1.5+ (changes in roster statuses and bonuses). With the TAM and GAM it’s hard to tell what we really need to adjust, but we probably need to drop Caceres (600k, but keep him as a coach?) and trade Brugman (1.4m, contract is through 2025) That seems to get us there, but we’d probably need to eat some of Brugman’s contract. So if we can get Yamane down to 300k (from 600k) we should be good to go. Fagundez and Reus should give us enough attacking midfield depth. The question is, where do we go from there? I’d like to add some players, but where are we going to get the money? Honestly, I think the team is good enough to win it all again if we can keep Jovelic and Pec. I would be making whatever deals we can to sacrifice the future for this year. I don’t know if MLS would let us, but maybe give Fagundez an extra guaranteed year for a smaller per-year salary. I don’t think we can get much with our draft choices.
Definitely need to go all in on this year. Gotta think that after this season we lose Pec, and maybe even Puig, and have to reload for 2026.
Kuntz may leave before long too. https://sports.yahoo.com/galaxy-gm-kuntz-honed-championship-120025562.html
Jozy hasn’t played since June, 2023 as far as I can tell. Apparently some players stay on the list even after they’ve moved on to other things. Omar, OTOH. had 10 starts and 15 appearances for Dallas in 2024.
I wonder if any of our internationals are close to a green card? Off the top of my head, only Brugman and Puig have been here for a bit.
TransferMarkt has updated its market value for MLS players and a bunch of Galaxy players have raised their numbers because of the 2024 season https://www.transfermarkt.us/mls-ma...hampions-la-galaxy-stand-out/view/news/447299
I don't think the Galaxy are as pressed for funds as has been posted here if the goal is simply to bring back the existing band. I agree that Dejan and Pec's aging out of their U-22 and Young DP statuses is costly, but that cost is the difference between the max budget charge (and possibly less for Dejan who is not out of contract) and the $200,000 U22/Young DP budget charges. That difference (per BlueTestament.com) will be $543,750 each. However, the same site says the Available Roster Spend for 2025 went up by $650K to $11.105mm. Just subtracting Caceres contract should get the Galaxy close. There is also some additional GAM money for making it to the CCL and because it is expansion year. The real question is do the Galaxy want to bring in 1 or 2 new U-22 players. They may not be able to do that without resigning either or perhaps both of Brugman and Fagundez to new contracts and probably an extension.
I think Kuntz has the right idea. Keep as much of the core intact as you can and then see what you can add because you have a target on your backs and next year will be more difficult. 1867639906954359054 is not a valid tweet id
When a coach starts talking about their star player's "right next club," he's trying to sound supportive in a way that will persuade him to stay on his team a little longer 1867675866613813529 is not a valid tweet id
Anyone have a soccer America subscription anymore that can tell us if there is anything else interesting in there? I can only subscribe to so many things.
Some interesting stuff in here. Brief interview with Kuntz starting at 17:30: Season Finale: How Champions A - Offside With Taylor Twellman - Apple Podcasts some details on Riqui immediately after the tear.
Kudos to you for being able to listen to Twellman without wanting to violently assault him. I really can’t stand the guy.
It won't affect the overall salary cap because its likely we may lose a role player or two, like Nelson. Josh (Corner of the Galaxy) suspects he may be one of the first that we lose due to the way he performed and he may demand a higher salary due to his performance than we might be willing to keep him for.
I hope not. Aude is a downgrade imo. He is slightly better going forward but not enough to make a difference. On D he seldom dispossesses an opponent. Worse his soft pressure play allows repeated passes & crosses to enter the box. Our cbs get blamed if a goal is scored but often there shouldn’t have been a pass/cross in the first place. He also gets juked out too often.
Agreed, I'd much rather loan/sell Aude and keep Nelson on an longer deal. Nelson does what we need of him offensively, but defensively he is MILES ahead of Aude. And it's been frequently misreported that Nelson is 29 years old, he's only 26 so he has a long portion of his prime still ahead of him.
Dave seems to have made a nice career for himself. I remember during the Jorgen days that I longed for Romney. At least he was serviceable as a threat for corners and freekicks into the box.