Happy Thursday, everyone. I’m about to take off for the USWNT send-off match in the Bay Area this weekend, so before I get hyphy, here’s the news from yesterday:
Carlo Ancelotti will be Brazil boss in 2024, says president Ednaldo Rodrigues (BBC)
Carlo Ancelotti will finish out his contract with Real Madrid before taking over as Brazil’s head coach in 2024. That’s according to the Brazilian FA’s president.
PSG tell Kylian Mbappé to sign new deal as Luis Enrique appointed head coach (The Guardian)
PSG is telling Kylian Mbappé that he either signs a new deal with the club, as they appointed Luis Enrique as the new coach, or he leaves this summer for a transfer fee. We’ll see who blinks first.
D.C. United’s summer transfer window options, summarized. (DP)
Our very own Ryan with a breakdown of what options D.C. United have for the summer transfer window, which is now open.
Jackson Yueill replaces Alan Soñora on USMNT Gold Cup roster (SSFC)
Jackson Yueill is back with the USMNT for the first time in a while, serving as an injury replacement for Alan Soñora.
AC Milan make new €20m+ bid for Christian Pulisic (ESPN)
AC Milan is trying to land Christian Pulisic by offering 20 million euros, but will that be enough for Chelsea?
Angel Di Maria returns to Benfica as a free agent (ESPN)
Angel Di Maria will not be headed to Inter Miami along with the rest of Messi’s friends. He’ll head to Benfica on a free transfer and serve as a veteran on that squad.
FIFA referees to announce VAR decisions over loud speaker at Women’s World Cup (The Athletic)
We’re finally gonna get some announced VAR decisions at the Women’s World Cup. They should have this across soccer.
That’s it for today. Stay cool, y’all.
I hope Pulisic can make the move to a club where he will get consistent minutes. I don’t get his situation at Chelsea but it’s clear that it’s time for him to move on.
As for M’Bappe, it sounds like it’s also time for him to move on. He should not have to put up with such bullying from club management.
PSG – Mbappé is the most toxic relationship in football, but they both benefit in some way. He’s maybe the best player in the world and holds all the cards. Can you imagine he doesn’t sign an extension and they force Enrique to bench him?
M’bappe” is hoping DC United gets an opening in international slots. He wants to hang with Messi between games and stuff.
End of season message from OGDC ownership: https://oldglorydc.com/2023-end-of-season-message-from-the-owners/
OGDC is in the hunt for new head coach.
I think Jackson Yueill and Christian Roldan continuing to get callups for the national team, having long ago proven they have no qualities worthy of it, is a sign there is no intelligent design.
Anyway, I’m both hopeful that Pulisic gets the move he wants while also doubtful that AC Milan is really the one to go for. He’s best on the left wing, and Rafael Leao owns that spot almost to the extent Vinicius Jr. does for Real Madrid. I assume this means they would play him on the right, but I don’t know if he actually has the foot speed, strength, or maybe even crossing expertise to make that worth it. On top of that, Serie A defenses overall are still pretty damn efficient. That said, hard to turn down a chance to start over at a champions league club, so I hope Chelsea finally sell for a discount before they run down his value any further.
Wayne has said that they’re unlikely to be able to keep O’Brien past his loan date. We all knew it was coming, but it’s still a bummer. They were able to be smart and lucky to get O’Brien in the first place. Can they make the move they need to replace him?
I doubt we’re going to find someone at his level.
True, but we’re going to need a serviceable body. Right now, we’ve only got Canouse and Durkin for two consistent midfield spots, as Klich has been moved further forward. That’s zero depth.
Palsson will most likely move into midfield now that we have four healthy CBs. Then Asad can fill in further forward and push Klich back when needed or they can go to a 3-4-3 with Taxi and Dajome next to Benteke.
I think we could still use another body at CM, but left wingback is a much more pressing need to me.
I think we could definitely use both. That said, I see an injury to either Durkin or Canouse currently sinking us more than one to Santos.
When Santos starts, we’ve gone 7w 4l 2t. When he isn’t starting we’ve gone 1w 5l 3t.
I’m not trying to say he’s been perfect, we could certainly use an upgrade, but with Jeahze out for the season Santos is far and away our best option at LWB. He doesn’t add a ton to the offense and can get beat for pace easily and yet we look the best when he’s on the field. Green might be able to improve enough to be serviceable, but as of this moment, Santos and Benteke are the only two players that I feel we really can’t replace and a change in formation/tactics could adjust for an extended absence from Benteke.
As I said, we could use both, I think we’re more screwed if we have a soft underbelly in midfield, which, since we’ve had O’Brien, we don’t have data for
Additionally, the importance of Santos and Jeahze I would argue was a mistake in squad building, at least in hindsight. I’d agree if you said missing Santos would be a big factor in us missing the playoffs should that occur, but that’s more about how much we banked on those two from the beginning and gambled poorly.
Without cover in the middle of the field, I guarantee we’re screwed, whether or not Durkin can step up as a starter- injuries and suspensions happen at DM
Jeremy Garay, step on up!
Someone who wasn’t good enough to get a chance last year under three coaches in a talent lacking season? I’m not convinced that’s enough
Not to mention Garay hasn’t exactly been a mainstay in Loudoun’s starting lineup this season.