DC making offseason moves, USWNT-Brazil match-ups, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kick
Happy Tuesday! I indulged in watching some American AKA gridiron football over the weekend and am happy to report that my beloved Ohio Bobcats won the MAC Championship. Of course this means I was insufferable while my husband was watching Texas lose. Now, we are back in the work week and back to association football!
D.C. United nears deals to sign two from abroad and transfer Matai Akinmboni (Washington Post $)
D.C. United and Bournemouth are reportedly near a deal for Matai Akinmboni after long negotiations. Meanwhile, they’re working to bring Korean goalkeeper Kim Joon Hong and Brazilian winger João Peglow to D.C.
Around the MLS, some other teams are making… interesting offseason decisions. I honestly don’t know what to make of this one. Did Philadelphia decide the children aren’t the future after all, or what?
USWNT to play Brazil in pair of April friendlies (SSFC)
Both of the Olympic gold medal rematch games will be played in California.
USMNT’s Christian Pulisic has torn calf muscle – AC Milan (ESPN)
The injury could keep Pulisic out for a few weeks but is unlikely to impact his USMNT play.
Rangers Women sneak through with 24-1 win in Scottish Cup (Pro Soccer Wire)
Now, that’s rough.
That’s all I have for now, but I am expecting lots of NWSL news today, with roster decisions due by 6 p.m., so keep an eye out!
I know teams have started devauling the SuperDraft, but damn to give away 3 seasons worth of picks for monopoly money aka GarberBucks?
Philly has often traded away their entire allotment of draft picks, preferring to have more allocation money and relying on their academy for young players. They just usually do it season to season, rather than several seasons all at once. Their academy has obviously paid huge dividends for them, so it’s hard to fault their choice, but they’re also still starting Andre Blake and Jack Elliott, who both came to them through the draft.
And honestly, I think Colorado did some good business too and may even get the better end of things. $350,000 isn’t that much if one of your draft picks hits, and especially if two do. In 2023, for instance, they drafted Moise Bombito, then transferred him this year for over $7 million, the highest price gotten by an outgoing center back from MLS. Philly’s pick this year is #8, and for some comparison, DC chose Jacob Murrell at #7.
It’s like buying a bunch of lottery tickets. They paid a bunch, but they get a lot of chances. I think I’m happy with this deal if I’m a fan of either team.
Probably a win/win for both teams, yeah. I’m kind of thinking Philadelphia will continue declining if they don’t hit on a coach and get more aggressive in building their roster. As fun as it is to murder us twice a year with the old guard, keeping so much of their roster instead of rebuilding was probably a mistake and cost Curtin his job (unfairly, perhaps if none of it was his call).
I almost feel like we should’ve tried to undercut the Union with our own picks. Our drafting has just not been there. Management and the coach seem happier to get some USL pros and try new things with our former academy guys than college players.
It may well be that Philly are losing a viable avenue for a cost effective option to replace Blake as he continues to get older. Blake continues to be an incredibly good MLS goalkeeper, but one could argue the goalie corps of these MLS drafts still has value embedded in it. It’s also a position your academy might fail to produce in, and being able to see emerging talent from all over the country in college is a boon.
I get dismissing college level midfielders and forwards as too old to truly develop and not good enough, goalies are a different story at that age.
I like the idea behind Kim Joon Hong. Hope it’s an accurate gut check.
As for Peglow, we need to replenish our attacking corps, and I get the need to roll the dice on players that the big boys wouldn’t (cuz obviously they’d get them immediately). Some of these attacking deals won’t pan out, but I’d rather live in hope at some point, cuz without relegation, survival is not a concern.
I’ve been kind of critical about Peglow, but to be clear, I think he could be a fine addition to the club. I’m just hoping that he’s not necessarily being looked at as the starter on the wing (although shelling out $700K for a backup doesn’t seem that great either). I’m hoping it’s sort of a goalkeeper situation where they announce that they’re getting Luis Barraza, but then later they’re linked to someone who will be the presumptive starter.
Peglow seems to have pace, which the team sorely needs, and some attacking versatility. If he and Pirani – two Brazilian youth national teamers – can have an amplifying effect on each other, then that would be ideal.
But yeah, we’re only like three days past MLS Cup, and the roster has like 18 players on it. We’ll be getting more players as we go.
I’ll certainly not shy away from criticism if he’s a dud, or not remotely worth the money, I’m just saying DC is feeding on scraps at the international scouting table.
Maybe. Kim Joon Hong seems like a pretty decent look. Steve Kapuadi is exciting to me. Peglow isn’t, but the team seems pretty high on him.
They would also seem to not be in on Navas, who certainly isn’t a scrap, but they seem to be looking for younger talent.
None of these are Gabriel Pec or Joseph Paintsil or whatever. But we’re also still right at the beginning of the offseason.
Well, 700k isn’t nothing, but it’s also not a DP spot. We need our DPs to be at least close to Cucho or Gil levels. Peglow can just be a salary cap try.
The list of players that San Diego can choose in the Expansion Draft is out. The only player available for DC who is coming back in 2025 is Mateusz Klich. Everyone else available had their options declined or is out of contract.
The list also includes Chris McVey, even though San Diego reportedly already traded for him. So that probably means they’re not picking anybody else from us, but who knows!
There’s a former DC name available on the unprotected list that I fully expect San Diego to get — Paul Arriola. As soon as SD got announced as an expansion side, I fully expected Paul to end up there
Yeah, he would make a lot of sense as the local boy. I actually went through and looked up all the former DC players who are available.
Yamil Asad
Paul Arriola
Ruan
Steve Clark
Junior Moreno
Brad Smith
Miguel Berry
Lewis O’Brien
David Ochoa
Julian Gressel
Moses Nyeman
Tommy McNamara
Rio Hope-Gund
Felipe
Eryk Williamson (sort of)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5984779/2024/12/10/usmnt-folarin-balogun-surgery?source=user-shared-article
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisdeubert/2024/12/11/nasl-seeking-half-a-billion-dollars-from-mls-and-us-soccer-at-trial/