The dust is settling on Major League Soccer's secondary (aka 'summer') transfer window, with a significant majority of the league's 20 teams re-working their rosters ahead of the final three months of the regular season.
History tells us not all moves will be smash hits, but I'm feeling confident that at least a few of them will be. With that in mind, here are the top fives moves MLS teams made during the summer transfer window:
1. Union wheel and deal
The Philadelphia Union have been flagging recently, but what better way to energize the fan base and the locker room than bringing in guys like Alejandro Bedoya and Charlie Davies?
The Union brass have already highlighted the character that Bedoya and Davies – both Boston College alums – bring to the Union locker room, and that’s without even getting into what they can offer on the field.
Davies brings the Union a proven, speedy option to spell the bigger C.J. Sapong in the Union attack, while Bedoya has been hailed as the potential glue guy in the midfield, the same type of role he played in with the US national team this summer at the Copa América. He’s not going to blow your socks off with his speed or skill, but he will work his butt off, put himself in the right positions, and get on the scoresheet enough (with both goals and assists) to make himself a veritable Philly soccer star.
2. Portland shore up their backline
The Timbers needed defensive help even before Nat Borchers went down for the season with a ruptured Achilles, and they shored up in a big way this transfer window. They landed a long-time, left-footed EPL veteran in Steven Taylor, an internationally experienced center back just about to hit his prime in Gbenga Arokoyo, and look to have found a solid, attack-minded left back in Vytas Andriuskevicius.
It’s always tough to say how guys with no MLS experience might adapt to the league, but there’s no doubt Portland have brought in the depth needed to maintain a stronger backline than they had to start the season, which will be crucial in any attempt at a postseason title defense.
3. A star rises in Seattle
A lot of fans are getting excited over Nicolas Lodeiro’s first 90 minutes in a Sounders jersey, and after the season they’ve had it’s hard to begrudge them a little bit of hype. It was an excellent performance, but I’m not ready to crown Lodeiro as Seattle’s savior quite yet.
I’ve tracked Lodeiro’s career since he first caught my eye when I stumbled onto a Uruguayan championship final while on vacation in Montevideo back in 2009, and though his track record when on the field certainly gives reason for optimism, his ability to stay on the field raises a red flag. He has rarely been able to play a full season for any of his previous clubs and revealed after Sunday’s game that he had never played on turf before.
But the injury history is really the only asterisk here – if he can stay healthy, with the help of Seattle’s top-notch sports science staff, he has everything it takes to become the league’s next great South American No. 10, in the mold of Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Javier Morales.
4. Cross-continental swap meet
Though there were trades galore this summer, very few of them in this window – this year, even – actually involved a player-for-player swap. Perhaps the most prominent one that did occur saw an Orlando City MLS original, El Salvador captain Darwin Cerén, head west to San Jose in exchange for mercurial Quakes playmaker Matias Perez Garcia.
Ceren’s addition may underwhelm San Jose fans who were looking for some splashy attacking signing to boost a team that has struggled to find goals from players not named Chris Wondolowski. But it does give the Quakes more depth and a player of significant ability in a system that asks a lot of two central midfielders that will often find themselves outnumbered. It will also allow the rest of the lineup to remain stable.
For Orlando, Perez Garcia represents the first major signing of the Jason Kreis era. It remains to be seen how Kreis will use the experienced playmaker – who never really found a consistent position in San Jose – as he re-shapes Orlando’s identity. It seems hard to believe that a player that created the fourth-most chances in MLS in 2015 while drawing the third most fouls would simply back up Kaká from the bench, but he will offer a reliable creative presence when the Brazilian is unable to take the field, as has been the case on more than one occasion this season.
5. Rapids get the missing piece
Sebastien Le Toux is not going to suddenly transform the (mostly) defensively-sound Rapids into a scoring machine, but his acquisition from Philadelphia does bring a different dynamic to Pablo Mastroeni's team after a rough 18 months of Luis Solignac. He is a 50-goal, 50-assist career player in MLS, can play multiple positions and will do all the running Mastroeni asks of him. It's the kind of ability and pedigree that Colorado just hasn't been able to bring off the bench this year, and could ultimately prove the difference between just qualifying for the postseason or something bigger.
Le Toux may end up being a great fit in the altitude of Colorado for another reason. His incredible fitness has been well-documented, and despite him starting to get up there in age, the new environs should not pose a problem for the Frenchman.
Bonus: The moves that weren’t made
The summer window was also notable for the moves that weren’t made, and they’re worth addressing here. US international Mix Diskerud remains at New York City FC without finding any takers – if he wants to move within MLS, he will almost certainly have to wait until 2017, potentially going another half-season without significant playing time. He could, however, still make a return to Europe before the transfer window closes there at the end of August, but that would leave NYCFC with limited options to fill his place on the roster in 2016.
One potential fit for Diskerud would’ve been the Chicago Fire, and though they brought in some much-needed forward help in Solignac and David Arshakyan, they stood pat in other areas of the squad. They opted instead to accumulate a variety of assets, namely draft picks (including a first-rounder next year), general allocation and targeted allocation money despite the availability of USMNT vets such as Bedoya and Diskerud. The Fire perhaps wisely chose to pass on a risky, high-salaried player in Diskerud, and will be in position to significantly improve their roster ahead of the 2017 campaign
