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We’ve spent the last two weeks previewing all 29 teams over 10 days in as Daily Kickoff a style as we can. But, as expected, there have been changes since then. A few teams have made major moves that might make us rethink our preseason opinion. Let’s talk it out.
Chicago keep making moves
Even after Chicago spent a reported $12 million to bring in Gent striker Hugo Cuypers, we weren’t particularly kind to the Fire in our preview. Franky, we aren’t going to start now. They have a long way to go to earn back trust after the last 13 years or so.
But what we will do is concede that we’re officially intrigued. Chicago made two moves after our preview that have us wondering if the playoff drought will end this year.
Last week, they completed a long-rumored move to bring in midfielder Kellyn Acosta via free agency. Acosta has been successful at every MLS team he’s played for and should immediately improve Chicago’s midfield. He’s also won two Supporters’ Shields in his MLS career, won MLS Cup with LAFC in 2022 and, most impressively, helped push Colorado to the top of the West in 2021. He just wins. And he knows how to win in MLS. If you bring him in, you automatically raise your floor.
The Fire also set themselves up to raise their ceiling, though. Chicago have mutually parted ways with Designated Player Jairo Torres and opened up a DP spot. Torres’ MLS career can comfortably be counted among the most disappointing in the history of the DP rule. After arriving for a reported $6 million fee in 2022, the winger scored as many goals as you and I have during his 36 appearances with Chicago.
Now, Chicago can go out and potentially bring in a high-level DP that elevates their attack even further. There’s not much time to do that before the season starts, but waiting until summer to assess their needs before making that signing could be the right move here. With Acosta in the fold, they might be set up to add that DP just in time for a playoff push.
Inter Miami take another step back
While we’ve all marveled at the moves Inter Miami has been able to make over the last two windows, there’s been a subcurrent beneath it all that’s basically amounted to “Uhhhh hey how is any of this legal?”
MLS roster rules are tough to grasp, and you never know for sure exactly what resources a team has at their disposal thanks to the unknown amounts of allocation money each team holds. Until you hear otherwise, you generally just have to assume everything is on the up and up. In this case, everything is on the up and up, but the Herons have redlined their roster build to its limit. To become roster compliant before Wednesday’s opener against RSL, they’ve had to remove a couple of players from their roster.
They sent out U22 winger Emerson Rodriguez to Colombian top-flight side Millonarios FC. They are reportedly finalizing a deal to send midfielder Gregore to Brazilian club Botafogo for around $2.8 million. And, maybe most importantly, it’s been reported that their rumored move for young Argentina star Federico Redondo may fall through. It’s not clear the exact reason why at this point, and there’s every chance it will still get over the line, but dealing with roster compliance issues can’t be helping.
We’ve talked multiple times this offseason about Inter Miami needing depth and health to reach their ceiling. That’s especially true for their place in the league standings. Pushing all your talent in for a knockout tournament is one thing. Surviving a 34-game MLS season is another. After losing U22 winger Facundo Farias for the season and midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi for the opening months, we already had reason to worry. Right now, it seems like there could be even more reason for concern.
New York add a U22
Our last new notable move came over the weekend when the Red Bulls acquired winger Dennis Gjengaar from Norwegian top-flight side Odds BK. He’s young and we don’t know if he’ll translate to MLS, but it’s an additional weapon for a New York side that desperately needed additional weapons last season. With fellow winger Lewis Morgan coming back from injury, this feels like a smart move to bring in depth and support for a potential position of need.
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