Semi-Official 2026 San Jose Earthquakes Roster Thread

Will they make any moves...

Earthquakes Roster Snapshot Pre-Summer Transfer Window

 

Will we make any moves?

We should make some moves. But I’ll be surprised if we do anything significant.

We need a #10, a backup #9, and another #6 or #8. That’s at least. We could use another left back too, to back up Ricketts. And we need another backup to Daniel, because Earl Jr. isn’t good enough. And he’s hurt. And I’m not sure if Montali is ready for the first team.

Will RottenFish splash that kind of money? F- no.

We might get two or three more players. Maybe one of those will be quality.

The other teams in our conference will reload, and we’ll be screwed.

Go Quakesfans!!

 

My list would be #9 depth, then maybe left back / winger (lefty - right now we only have Ricketts as a left-footed winger / LB), and then a ball-winning, rangy 6/8. Nick Fernandez has 1g,3a assists in about 180 minutes at CAM (2 halves and a near full game). He's been very productive. Bruce just needs to grow a pair and not be afraid to play him. Here he is ripping the ball away from a Portland player and feeding Judd for his 1st of 2 assists against Portland in the 1st half of that game.

 

Skahan had two assists. Fernandez had just one, but it included stealing the ball and was sweet. That was excellent by Nick.

However, il Bruce doesn’t trust Nick. He should, but he doesn’t. And Niko (much to my surprise) and been the engine that drives our team. So we really need someone who can fill that role. So for *me* I want a #10 first. Your mileage may vary.

We are in agreement that we need more players though! So there’s that.

Go Quakesfans!!

 

No, Fernandez also had 2 assists in the game officially. On the 3rd goal he had the 2ndary assist which was initially mis-credited to Benji who was not involved in the play. It was a give and go with Skahan off a short corner. He’s been incredibly productive in limited minutes, even when playing with the B team on the road, Bruce should trust him more, especially. after seeing that performance - 2 assists and a couple of key tackles where he took the ball off of guy’s feet. He took him out at the half because we had a 3-1 lead and Bruce wanted to park the bus.

If we sign another 10 Nick won’t get any minutes and we’ll have lost an opportunity to develop a promising player on a low salary. Not saying he’s better than Niko - Niko’s work rate and strength on the ball is clearly better, but Nick has 2g,4a in 4 starts and it took Niko about 3 years before he got his first assist. Certainly as a backup to Niko, Nick is fine.

The announcers couldn’t even manage to say his name on that 2nd goal which he totally made happen along with Judd’s great finish. And at times he’s been called the wrong name, “Rodrigues”, etc. Somehow people don’t see him. Whoever was doing color in I think the Seattle game was calling him out a little but it’s rare so far. I think part of it is that he’s had limited minutes and doesn’t have a distinctive look, so they just don’t know who it is. I think they’ve also misidentified him as Beau once or twice.

 

I agree that Bruce should trust Nick more. But he doesn’t. And you’re right, he did have two assists against the Forest killers.

I would play Nick more often, but Bruce isn’t taking my calls.

Go Quakesfans!!

 

Well we song

Well we don’t know what he’ll do in the future. The last game we played, he played Nick with the 1st team guys when he could have started Harkes so we’ll see what happens.

 

Yeah, hard to guess.

I want to see Nick at CM, and Harkes on the bench.

I want Timo back at left mid, getting spelled by Skahan, who’s been good there.
Bouda on the right mid, or maybe someone more in form? Maybe a stint with the B-F Nats will help Bouda re-discover his mojo?

I like the Ronnie and Beau show, but we need better subs because both Jona and Noel are weak.

We could use a backup for Ricketts too, because Ricketts is the backup.

In any case, we need help.

Go Quakesfans!!

 

I listened to the latest Soccerwise pod and they were speculating on what moves teams would make over the break. For us, they said, well, don't expect a big DP move, but we have $5M in GAM, and we could pick up some scraps from other teams who are adding players and need to make room. A couple of names they mentioned were Gazdag from Columbus and Yannick Bright from Miami. Not too interested in Gazdag - he's been a flameout for Columbus and now doesn't even start much anymore I don't think. I'd be interested in Bright - he's the kind of rangy mid with bite that I think we could use.

In any case, this seems like the most likely course of action. We'll acquire one or two MLS veteran guys with GAM, and call it a day.

> We could use a backup for Ricketts too, because Ricketts is the backup.

At this point I don't consider Ricketts to be Jones's backup. I think he's shown to be better. When Jones comes back next year I'd look at moving him back to RB (where he seemed to be more effective FWIW). Or we can move Ricketts back to left winger but he's not gonna play there much if Timo is around and healthy. I think Ricketts has become a key part of our success and needs to be on the field. He puts out so many fires with his recovery speed.

I think Darius Johnson can maybe push Bouda for minutes on the right or at least spell him. We've got Skahan and Darius as depth on either side and Marie as well. Unfortunately they are all righties, so you either play them on the right as natural wingers or on the left as inverted wingers. But the only natural winger we have on the left right now is Ricketts (and no I'm not gonna count Romney!). That's why I was suggesting we acquire another lefty LB / winger during the break. We have plenty of righty wingers.

 

ESPN Perú indicate that Pumas UNAM is looking to sell Peruvian international midfielder Piero Quispe . The San Jose Earthquakes, Argentina's Huracán, and Mexican side Atlante have all emerged as interested clubs looking to acquire him.

 

This does not sound very promising. Consensus is that he’s pretty good technically but a bit slow and can’t hold up under the physicality of A-League. Sounds like Jonathan Gonzales v2 at best. Not sure that he’d move the needle for us.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Aleague/s/FGhW3L5GyB

 

This is Piero Quispe highlights in A League. Half way through the clip, I can't help but shift my focus from his skillful touches to the hyper physicality of these A League teams. It's like he is playing against a bunch of Osvaldo Alonso or Diego Chara every game.

 

Highlight videos are always deceiving, but he looks a little more "attacking" than I imagined. Bruce could be looking at him as CAM depth, though according to fotmob he plays mostly left wing. So he could also spell Timo. But he's another righty. I think we need another left-footed winger. We have 0 unless you count Ricketts, who's probably gonna play LB for most the rest of the season. OTOH maybe he's good enough at crossing with his left.

 

Fotmob shows that Quispe has mediocre shooting numbers, very good passing numbers, mixed in possession, the most concerning being bottom 2% in dispossessed (i.e. he gets dispossessed *a lot*). Defending is mixed with potential red flags for dribbled past (bottom 12%), and FWIW, goals conceded and xG against while on the pitch - which could be a function of being ona bad team, but Sydney is upper mid table.

https://www.fotmob.com/players/1251269/piero-quispe

 

Another rumor:

According to Spanish language Rincon MLS and the Transfermarkt Rumour mill, the San Jose Earthquakes have expressed formal transfer interest in the 23-year-old Argentine center-forward David Romero, who currently plays for Club Atlético Tigre in the Argentine Primera División. The Earthquakes are one of several international clubs actively scouting the striker. Brazilian giants Flamengo, Palmeiras, and Cruzeiro have made inquiries, alongside Italy's Cagliari and Mexico's Toluca. Romero is highly valued, with a market estimate hovering around €5.00 million. At this stage, the Earthquakes' contact remains at the inquiry and monitoring phase; no official bid or contract offer has been formally accepted by Tigre.

 

I'd be very surprised if this happened. I don't see us spending $5M in transfer fees on a player, with the team up for sale - the buyer would be on the hook for the amortized amount, and with $5M in GAM sitting unused in the bank. I think Bruce is gonna make 1 or 2 MLS acquisitions with the GAM. Nothing else really makes sense. I wonder if we get occasionally picked up as an MLS team "with interest" because it's known that we have at least 1 DP spot open. Plus we are paying Timo $4.3M, and we've only spent in the neighborhood of a $5-6M transfer on a player once, and we are still on the hook for that.

 

Yeah - Fisher doesn’t outbid other teams. Ever, AFAIK.

 

Let's face it -- ever since John Doyle's days, the Quakes method of acquisition is to buy a player who is on the downhill slope, not someone reaching for the stars.

 

I started tracking the rumors thusfar in my google sheet.

 

I still doubt that we will be signing an intl player, especially one with a multi-million $ transfer fee. 1) We are for sale, we don't want to hang another bill on a prospective owner, and 2) We have $5M in GAM, and 3) Bruce is an MLS veterans guy first and foremost. If we make moves this summer I think it will be one or two MLS veteran players for GAM.

That said, he has also said that he expects that a lot of WC players will want to come and play in the US after the World Cup. So we'll see, he may have his ear to the ground on that. But if *other teams* sign WC players, that will also make some MLS vets expendable to them, and some of those might interest Bruce. One example that the Soccerwise podcast guys threw out there is Yannick Bright from Inter Miami. That's a player that I think could help us with a bit more bite in midfield.

 

Cool! Huge list! Keep up the good work bro!
Seriously, please continue your efforts.

I wish the list was longer, but RottenFish sucks, so it’s a short list.

Go Quakesfans!!
F- Fisher!!

 

maybe we will get one of the international players who ends up seeking asylum!
I'd hazard to guess that an Iraqi or an Iranian player would be popular around here?
What other countries could we pick from?

 

We may not exactly be in the golden age for asylum seekers right now...

 

The one Iranian player who was basically blacklisted for criticizing the regime (arguably their best forward, Sardar Azmoun) and excluded from the WC roster?