SoccerWise - Matt Turner Lyon Move, USMNT Transfers, MLSPA Battle Towards CWC + MLS Highlights

Episode Date: June 10, 2025

Tom & Gass are finally back from their travails. They catch you up on all their adventures first. Then they dig into all the latest transfers, news, and performances around the USMNT. Of course they have to touch on Landon Donovan's most recent comments around the current player pool. Finally they touch on the highlights from the MLS weekend on and off the field.20:55 Matt Turner Moves To Lyon27:40 USMNT Transfer Update Jonny To Atleti30:35 Josh Sargent’s Future33:20 Diego Luna & Jack McGlynn’s Futures42:00 Max Arfsten Shining With USMNT & Future Plans44:00 USMNT-Turkey Reaction50:20 Thoughts On Landon’s Latest Comments60:00 Rapids Sign Israeli International CB1:03:45 Starlow World Cup March1:07:15 MLSPA Battle For CWC Prize Money Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

The Goon Squad is out of the penalty box. The boys are back. Soccerwise is live for the first time in I guess two weeks it's been. David Goss and Tommy Scoops with you here for what is going to be an eventful show. We've got a couple of big pieces of news to hit on. We've got stuff going on around the USMNT. Of course, Tommy Scoops, your source for all of it. If you don't already, subscribe to our Patreon, get your access to our Discord, which gets you the ice cream shop feeds. You don't even have to be on social media. If you don't want to see all of your friends living their best lives better Than you and being like yeah, cool. Whatever. I'm not really into that and

And you can talk to all the other fans and talk to everyone else. We had a TST chat in there We'll talk about that in just a moment Tom. It's been a little while you're coming in hot coughing off the hot coffee Just to get me really settled and ready to roll and I missed you. I missed you too gosh It's nice. We've I think we've had very long phone calls over the last two days It's just tailgating for this episode to be back. I feel better my Let's see. I went since our last show. I had a Saturday night wedding Just let's just say it was it was all vegan on a farm Stuff I had a double double cheeseburger on the way there

on a farm. It's tough. I had a double cheeseburger on the way there. The... Wait, you ate the double cheeseburger. Then went to a wake. Which I guess technically this isn't offensive. And then you took the selfie with the pigs. I did.

Well, like, I didn't do so. Dude, the pigs were like dogs. The guy was like, yeah, just pet it on its belly and it'll roll over. I was like, I don't think I'm gonna do that. And then he's like, try it. Then I held a chicken. If anybody wants to pay money for these photos,'m just kidding I'll put them in the discord actually I think that'd be funny you've seen the Andy Samberg well Mark

Wahlberg oh my god of course you kidding me say hey hey go what's up goat what's your deal say hi hello to your mother for me your mother so that was Saturday and I was two and a half hours away Sunday I drive back and then drive to go to JFK to fly to Argentina. It's incredible. Sleep on a plane. Because you've got to fly to God's country, aka New York, not New Jersey. Only direct flight.

Then obviously I'm in the land of incredible red meat in Argentina, so I had a ton of that. Leave Argentina on another overnight flight, land Friday morning, drive into the Poconos for my freshman year roommate's bachelor party, and guess what dudes from PA do at Airbnb in the Poconos? We grill, brother. So I think yesterday I took a few stints in the sauna, went to the elliptical, sweat some stuff out. I feel good, Gus. How do you feel?

I don't feel as good as you. I was telling you before the show, my wife's been working a lot recently And I was away all of last week, so I was in st. Louis where I got some great Vietnamese food I love the Vietnamese food in st. Louis. I haven't been in 15 years It sounds like a mad lib. It does sound like a mad lib, but it's not people who know no I was gonna try and get some Bosnian food, but everything was closed when I was there I was gonna try and get some Bosnian food, but everything was closed when I was there. But I was in St. Louis doing a recording for what is going to be one of the official US soccer podcast episodes, which was just announced yesterday that I will be one of the co-hosts.

Did you know the announcement was coming? Yes, of course. And I was super excited about it. I will be hosting it alongside Ali Bedoya and Megan Klingenberg. That episode we recorded in St. Louis. It's like one of those moments. And I think we're both lucky enough, we'll talk about what you did in a little bit of like, you're sitting in a space and you're like, reminding yourself, I'm here and I'm getting to experience this, to listen to people who have achieved

at the highest levels, like break down their thought process and like listening to former captains of the national team talk about Impostor Syndrome and you're like, how is that a thing? Because if you want Impostor Syndrome, the Webster Dictionary is sitting here right now and experiencing it right now. But it was epic. I'm really excited. I've never worked with Kling before and she's really excited to sort of come out of playing

and be a part of this. And Ali Bedoy is one of my favorites and has been for a while. So I'm excited to dig into it and sort of get to know the personalities around the game, around the national team with these as we go into the next year or two plus, which I've been working on a special project to launch that. And it's like really solidified where we've come from in 91 and 92 and where we are now. And it's like, okay, this is really, really special. So that I'm really excited about.

And then I went to North Carolina and was at TSD, which is always a blast and always really fun. In doing so, my wife ordered delivery every day because I'm the one who cooks. And I came back, she didn't eat any of her food. And I told you this I Created a system which is it's not unhealthy if it's not a meal And if you don't heat it up it doesn't count as a meal So you can eat all the leftovers you want and it doesn't matter

My wife does this a lot too, which is just like kind of pick at something but not heat it up and be like like yes Like no, this isn't a meal or whatever right? So I think that's funny. I love the ingenuity Goss of the man who brought you the Goss theorem. He's just always thinking he's on the cutting edge I'm gonna ask for your TST stories next but I do want to say one This podcast that you're doing for you a soccer. It's gonna be incredible I cannot possibly be more excited to listen to it. I do have one follow-up question though yeah, you said it was a dream job and I'm just sitting here like

damn man thought we had something. Just hurts. I don't know. Yeah that was a tough one for me. I don't really have a way around it. What I would say is this was the job I dreamed of when I was younger because little could I know. Because you was younger because little could I know me I know that I was gonna be streaming live on YouTube one day with Tommy scoops himself I think back then if you had asked me I probably would have my dream would have been to be on FSC with Max Brenos call it what a game on Sundays when I know it a eguain g, and all those other legends, Mascherano. That probably was my dream at the time alongside hosting a show for US Soccer.

So it's a fair shout. Remember, I'm not the writer. You are. If I had spoken it, it would have come out more coherently, but I'm not the writer. Wow. I can't believe this is, this feels weird. I thought I was going to get a shot back of like, Oh dude, like what about that morning footy video you put up where you were laughing harder. I thought that was yeah

I the key to my game Victor webinar my style going full Shaolin Your game yeah, that's the key I gotta keep you up your game. I can't I can't come in too quickly So speaking of dreams You went down to Argentina. I saw you at La Bomba Nera. I saw you at the Monumental Wearing a dope jacket. I'm glad you were in jacket weather. That was probably the part I was most jealous about. Yeah Descending down into it. You were at the transfer room conference. Is that what it was? Getting the branding right? Yeah. What was the experience like?

It was great, man. First of all, Buenos Aires, it's a beautiful country, great people, great city. It's a city. Did I say Buenos Aires? Argentina is a beautiful country. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city with great people. A lot of different neighborhoods I got to explore. The best I can.

Doing a lot of work, obviously. But can I say one thing? I didn't see a singular stop sign in that city. Not one singular stop sign. Did you get hit by any cars? No. Every driver was awesome. It seems like the system works.

Yeah, it was like controlled chaos. I remember I was sitting in an Uber with a rep from another M.S. club and I was like, dude, have you noticed a stop sign? He goes, no, not one. So I thought that was cool and just respect that. Just let it rip it and rip it. The going around the city, like dude, you cannot walk a block without seeing a Diego Maradona mural or something.

It was really, really cool. His legacy lives on there. He is very clear. Like there was some messy stuff, of course, but man, Diego is just another level to even Lionel Messi, right? So that was really cool. Again, these are things that I already knew, but just to be immersed in it, being around the conference, the summit happening at Estudio Massimilimental, incredible. I would just walk away from inside, again, and this is with representatives from clubs of all over the world and agents and agencies. like, and let me just walk away from that for a second. I'm going to

have my coffee. I need a minute. Let me just go walk down the stands and sit in the stands at the Serial Mas Mahdi Manzal. And just, it's just unreal. Like those are some of the moments that are really cool. I got to sit in on one of the meetings and part of me was like, not skeptical, but I was like, dude, you meet up with so many people. Some of it is let's establish a relationship from one club to another club or an agency to a club, and what actually gets discussed here? I sat in on one and it was like, hey, how you doing? And then boom, immediately, hey, what do you think about this player?

Hey, what are you looking for? Hey, I'm going to keep tabs on this guy. So I was like, oh, wow, this is more than just like, what's up, man? Yeah, I'm the GM. This is how I got started. And cool, if you have a player that our scouting team likes like I'll call you like it was I don't know It was it was really cool and non-stop looking into cameras. I got to be with my guy. It stays our Merlot Who's incredible who is it the first time meeting him in person?

I saw we were friends and and we talked and we talked in English because he's the man and my Spanish is muy muy mo Did you like touch rings and then there was a glow? He was funny. He was like Cuz I had started taking Spanish classes like five months ago And then that those classes ended and then I bought a house and then I haven't had free time to do anything And he was like to our friend days Espanol and he was like do you remember when you told me you were learning Spanish? And I said, yeah. He goes, so is that a fucking joke? Huh? Just like completely mess. Like dude, he's the man. He's awesome. And just watching him work is great. So that

was, that was incredible. Um, I would like to go back to Argentina at some point, hopefully, uh, hopefully some point, but uh, it is a 11 hour, 10 hour flight. Uh, Jeff forgot about it. It's very far away. Um, so Gus, how's carry North Carolina well wait I'm not done yet all right La Bombonera Monumental one of them one of one of them hosted the conference and one of them there's no fair no no no it's redone though right it's been like slightly read Monumental yeah yeah yeah the last time I was there again as I've told the story was when I figured out I was not gonna be professional soccer player because I got ran off the field by River plates you've watched Alex Ramos play soccer Yeah

But like till the last time I said that was a river plate got relegated and I think we did the stadium tour and then that weekend was the game that they lost got relegated and they like the fans like Trash the state like ripping out chairs and just obviously like upset that they got relegated So it's been redone since then for sure And they like the fans like trashed the state like ripping out chairs and just obviously like upset that they got relegated. So it's been redone since then for sure. And it's like around the stadium is super modern and like around the stadium feels like a modern like American Stadium where there's car dealerships and stuff like it's not like it's in a good location but like the immediate it's not a neighborhood like La Bombonera

is like tight streets every shop and like you know you're getting close to the stadium because a Mile away literally everything on the walls is blue and yellow like yeah if they had stop signs Which again they don't the stop signs would be blue and yellow right like it was everything so I appreciated that Appreciate it that a lot because that was really cool, but like again like I understand the modernness and stuff But just like like the soul around La Bombonera was incredible But again, I wasn't in the bowels of that stadium like I was River Plate, which is really really cool. I Would like to state for the record that the true La Bombonera is in Toluca, Mexico And all the other ones are knockoffs and real ones know and non real ones don't So just putting that out there.

Are you telling me I'm not a real one? Was that this? No, not at all. That was not the point of that. But it's a really good way to take it. We look forward to Soccer Wise's next live show in Buenos Aires. We are going to be across all of Argentina soon. So that's something to look forward to so we can get Tom back home to where he sits best. Do you have, do you know which type of steak or is it just generic? So that's something to look forward to so we can get Tom back home to where he sits best.

Do you have, do you know which type of steak or is it just generic? Like I'll eat anything that... Oh, I was definitely going to take whatever. I had, there was so, so I went with, with Ciel Merleau to, he was like, Hey, my friend owns a steakhouse. I promise you, you're going to love it. And so he, he was more or less like, let's just get a little bit of everything family style type.

And the biggest flex that they do, and they definitely see tourists, obviously. Very clearly I'm not from Argentina. So I think that they enjoy those moments of the steak is so tender, they cut it with two spoons, which is one of the coolest things I've seen. So that's good. So yeah, I was in Cary, North Carolina, which is often confused with Buenos Aires, which I think is something that people should understand before I get into this. But I was at TSC, which was super fun. I met a few people from the Discord, Cole, who was volunteering at the tournament, came

over and said what up. And then someone named Paul who came, I believe from Cleveland or maybe Columbus one of the two and showed up on Friday and it rained for like seven hours sideways to the point where like the tent collapsed underwater because there was so much rain and he and his friend showed up just like hang out and watch TSD and one of them was like I don't mind the rain so gave me his poncho which was very very nice so I appreciate that. That's incredible. Yeah it didn't it was a little too late so I was already soaked from head to toe through my shoe through my pants on my right side but my left side stayed moderately dry and

TSD is just fun like Thursday I think I called nine games from 8 a.m. through 1130 p.m. with breaks in between. And you're like, I stand on the field when I call the games. And so you're not just like, oh, you get to watch Nani and like all that stuff. You just like get to watch soccer. It's just really fun. And I stress this a lot because maybe I don't go to as many games as other people do because we're covering stuff and whatever and everyone else season tickets and also like the feel of being so close to it.

It's just high level stuff. It's really, really fun. There's like the crazy quirkiness. So like Nani went out and recruited this kid, Brendan Lamb, who came out of Atlanta United's Academy who I covered in MLS next ranks. And then he's at UVA now and he's played really well in this tournament the last two years So like clearly someone in nani's camp reached out was like hey Do you want to play for our team and you're like this is wild or there was like a team from Philly? Which was all like recent college grads Lehigh Penn State LaSalle

Duquesne all of that a lot of them play on West Chester United as a New Yorker. It's hard for me to say that which is where AJ Marcucci is from and I think it's where Matt Freeze is from but I'm not 100% sure it's like a youth club that leads up to... He's from Harvard, man. Yeah obviously. The Big Dog you know USMNT now. Saddle Matt, Matt Freeze, legend. Yeah which we'll talk about coming up soon but I think that's where they all like it's a youth club that leads into you know I don't know whether it's just Men's League, UPSL, NPSL, whatever it is. And they're like on the field with these guys. And you're talking about Bruno Alves.

And like everyone kept putting a hand on him when he'd come across the field and immediately he'd slap it away. And the ref came over to talk to him and he walked away from the ref like, there's zero chance Bruno Alves is listening to this conversation right now. Like he's got no time for this.

But it's really cool. And I think one of the things I love about soccer is like how different it is. And so with the 77 format, we've seen the success of like arena soccer players, indoor players, people who play in these cash tournaments. I chatted with Chris Duvall for a while. Hell yeah. Who played with the Red Bulls before he broke his leg and then never ended up having the career he should have had, which is really unfortunate, landed in St. Louis and plays with one of these like elite men's league teams that plays in some, you know, cash tournaments like TST and just like talking through the experience of like playing for fun, but also being super competitive and good.

It reminds me and you know, we've talked about this before, like there's so many good soccer players in the world, not just professional. Like you go to a field and you're like, man, that person can bring a ball down. And like, man, that person can, you know, do a step over, beat people one-v-one. There's just like the way the sport is built. And then this tournament, the equalizer is like,

it's not that long and it's small. So a lot of different styles can fit on the field and survive and stay in the game. And so Nani can be on a field with a bunch of recent college grads who aren't going pro and they can still kind of hang, not win all the time, but kind of hang. So it's just a really, really fun event.

The women's side's growing, which is really, really cool. And that group stage started later. So Friday I got to go and watch as a fan for a couple hours, watch the US women's team which ended up winning it So congrats to them our social admin Morgan Tenza was crushing it on photos Did you see this they got a bit the the video of the team that scored and ran up and celebrated with McAfee That video of Morgan Leaving those dudes in the her dust with her camera on and getting the shots that all the time because I was because I did

Like I wasn't when I was watching that video I wasn't assuming that Morgan was gonna be in it and then she just came I was like, oh my god wheels Oh, that's Morgan. Let's go. Yeah. Yeah, Morgan was flying crushed it the whole time I think ended up being the like for photog for US women's team the whole run because she did such good work and We have a lot of friends of the show there. So Casey White, who's been on this show, was coaching. Lori Lindsay, who's been on this show, was coaching. Jill Lloyden, who's been on this show, was playing in goal.

And it was really funny. She was warming up for the game that I was watching. And it's like, you're talking about people at the highest level, and they're kind of back in it, but not fully. So she was like, they're doing shooting drills, and she's talking to me, and they're like, you're talking about people at the highest level and they're kind of back in it, but not fully So she was like they're doing shooting drills and she's talking to me and they're like you're back in spins around makes two saves Screams like having so much fun and then walks back off and you're like, this is so cool And I wish I was this good at anything. Someone asked what my favorite moment was. Yeah

It's hard to say I don't know that I have like one that stands out. I will say the most fun game I think I did was this team dueling for Lincoln, which is started as a nonprofit in St. Louis and is this like St. Louis super, you know, Men's League team and they came and they beat this group, the game, I, two of the games I did, but one of the games I did, they beat this team from Switzerland.

That was like, I think it's a youth academy of, and everyone was like, Footsall national team players for like Switzerland, Portugal, Germany. And it's like all these people who are like, yeah, I played college seven years ago, but like, I still love it. And they were like, they're like the quirky team.

They do like a bunch of set piece plays. They've got like a huge center back who they'll use sometimes, but then mini guys, and then Robbie Christos, their center forward. I don't know if that's a name that rings a bell for you. He's like slough legend, like Matt Kerman finalist back in the day. He was supposed to be Ibi Sevich. Like he was the other like Bosnian elite center forward coming out of St. Louis and he was like always injured and it never worked out. And so he's just like, if you play to him, it's gold, but you got to get it to him. And they're just like one of those teams

that manages the whole thing. And it was like, once the lights go down, it's like amazing. So yeah, there's a team from Switzerland of Albanian, mainly Swiss people that I'm obsessed with. And when they lost, I was heartbroken. Had already left. And I was like telling everyone, I was like,

FC Roja Eagles, that's the squad, that's the squad. And then they lost and I was like, god damn it. So overall, it's just really fun. The target score stuff is fun. I love having to walk off stuff, having the pressure. There's a game I watched between, I think it was the, no, La Bombonera who won it last year and this team of 7v7 players that was mixed from Brazil and Mexico. And it went down to 2v2.

Corey Rockwell was refereeing it. It was the last game of the night. It was chaos. Ends in a fight. I got the phone out. I'm like, I got video of this. Whatever goes on. Everyone's like arguing. You don't know what language it's in. You know, fans are screaming, like all of this stuff. So it was really, really fun. So shout out to Paul. Thank you for the poncho, by the way. Thank your friend as well. Shout out to call shout out to everyone else. Andy came by and said hi. Everyone else who came by to say hi.

It's like always the best thing because we do this. There's some people in the chat and whatever, but it's like we're talking to a computer. So it's really cool to meet people in person. And I wish that I had been at Rentschler Field on Saturday, except for the rain, because I think it's one of the best soccer atmospheres in the country. It is one of the best football stadiums that you can play soccer in.

For some reason, the sight lines are really good, and there's always a really good crowd. There's a really cool story out of this, which is Patrick Augeman's family walked to the game, because they live so close, and he's starting for USMNT. But before we get into the game, we gotta do what Tommy does best,

which is we gotta get to the scoops. And you broke the news yesterday to open up this little transfer window tied period, which is that Matt Turner, maybe we'll find a starting spot. Yep, Matt Turner is going to Lyon. The deal's all great. It's being finalized for eight million euro fee

from Nottingham Forest. I'm glad for him that this ended quickly because last year, around this time, there were multiple offers from clubs where he was gonna be the starter and Nottingham Forest was not prepared to sanction a loan and the only offers that were coming in was a loan. So I was a little bit worried about,

hey, would that happen again this year? Would he be left, you know, when the music stops, no chairs are left in terms of starting jobs. That's why he went to Crystal Palace. And Palace wanted to keep him. But Turner obviously wants to go somewhere where he has the chance to get consistent minutes. And my understanding is, that is what this Lyon move is. So they do have a starting goalkeeper named Lucas Perry, but he's been linked with Roma. They've already submitted a bid. Newcastle really, really like him. So the understanding is Matt

Turner is going to be the number one if assuming this guy leaves. Look there's no guarantees in football. You know you can plan the best you can. Maybe a deal falls through. Like God forbid you know I'm not even... Deals fall apart even when they're agreed right. So I'm talking about for Lucas Perry and again I'm not suggesting that's gonna happen but the planning is Matt Turner is going to be the starter at Leon as far as I understand and as far as he is concerned It would be great news I Have near at this point. I have zero doubt that if Matt Turner plays games He's good enough to be a starting goalkeeper for a good team at the international level

that's club and then playing for your national team. And it feels like every time he comes into camp and plays, it's like he's working his way back to being Matt Turner. And that's just a regressive way to go about this. I think it goes into a larger issue with the whole pool and we'll talk about it as the show goes along. But it would be really, really promising if he felt and Leon's a good level. Great. You know, Tessman's playing there already, obviously some level of American ownership on now both the men's and women's side. And so dabbling in this like pool of players.

But I think Matt Turner's proven that he's good enough to play at that level. And this is a problem with goalkeepers. This was the problem with the original move. And you get it of like, take the big take the big opportunity See what happens that like second move down has to be the right move to find your position It's Tim Howard to man you and then settles in at Everton Zack Stefan never found that second move right Luis Robles went over to Europe never found it ended up being the Red Bulls like you have to Not you probably personally this probably falls more on your agent of like planning for that second situation and finding the right one and

Matt Turner now has like wasted a year plus where he hasn't been able to get better I don't think that's fair to say it that way because I thought not in force was absolutely the right move and again hindsight's 5050 or 2020 5050 hindsight 20 issue with nottingham forest was it was less goalkeeper and more just chaos of oh, yeah Yeah So that that's's like hindsight 2020. And yeah, you could say that there was the worries of the instability and the chaos that was at that club.

And like right now, again, they still have chaos at the club because of Nottingham Forrest. But like right now, it looks like, well, they finished sixth in the Premier League. Like what was wrong? But Turner, at every turn, they bought another goalkeeper. And then he eventually lost his spot. And like again, let's start

He wasn't good enough at not even forced. I think he recognizes that too But like I don't think that was the wrong move as a right process wrong result And then it's not his fault that nodding him last year said we will not take a loan offer Until three days left in the transfer window when they said, you know what? Actually, yeah go find you can go find a loan deal like the right numbers will sanction it. And then it's like, well, everybody has their starting goalkeeper already. So do I want to be third string in Nottingham or second string at Crystal Palace? Let's do Crystal Palace. And oh, by the way, he

won a trophy. He started three of those FA Cup games in the run to the like, yeah, of course, he needed to be somewhere where he was starting. But like, in a vacuum, yeah. But given where things were, and the difficulties that getting out of Nottingham Forest when it's not going well, again, that's not unique to Matt Turner. This is what's happened to other club, other players, right?

So just because it didn't work out, it's like in football. When somebody goes for it on fourth down, it's like you say it's the right play call if they succeed, or you say it's the wrong play call if they fail. Like I think the Nottingham Forest move is one I would have absolutely made if I was him and it didn't work out. And partly it's on him, but hey, partly that happens sometimes. So going to Lyon, if you start, I think that's great. The way that they've handled Tanner Tessman, both in like these are our promises.

This is what we see for you. And then fulfilling that and watching them grow. Again, these are two different players, two different stages of their career. And most importantly, two different positions. You can't tell a goalkeeper we're going to bring you off the bench for a little bit until you get your feet on you and then you play. But again, given the recent track record of Lyon with American players is the only kind of primary example I'm going to have from people in the knowledge. Like they've done right by Tanner Tessman. And Tanner Tessman has done right

by himself. And so for Matt Turner, you bet bet on yourself and like I really like this move. And I would say he also fits the profile of like literally former Arsenal players who didn't break through. It's a great point. Who now start at Lyon. But that's where they sit. Or former Arsenal goalkeepers that have gone elsewhere. They all do well.

That's where they, but that's where they sit in the in the hierarchy. So that's where they're trying to pick players off But because of that they don't have a ton of extra money to grow depth and goalkeeper is not a position where you're probably gonna Overspace he can't use more than one and they're gonna compete for European spots. So there's games to be played. There's cup games There's European competition games plus the league and I would say Matt Turner in no way is too late If he can be the starter this year and establish himself and play every week he will be fine going into the World Cup because he has been pretty impressive even when he's like not a locked in number one because he's a really

talented shot stopper and a really talented goalkeeper. That is the big news that has come out the real official one. But now that European seasons are over, we have the combo of American players and Canadian players in Europe who are available plus European teams are starting to look at MLS players in their transfer window. So there is like a lot of names floating around right now. Yep. Yep. So let's kind of go on down the list. Also, shout out to Aurora for sending me this and my name names on it. I was wondering why you kept trying to turn and then didn't commit to turning. You just. I didn't realize how far I'd have to go. I thought I wouldn't have to go that far. Shout out to the chat who's watching this.

I should have just played like, oh gosh, you did great there. I saw a G and everything was covered by the mic. Oh really? There it goes. This is good ASMR. You're a real athlete bro. You also, you were on the phone with me yesterday where I went in and had to request something with my name and I said Gas and you were like have I been saying your name wrong? That scared me. And it's like nah it just felt like an idiot. So yeah, there's I've got a lot of latest news here on on US national team players that I'm expecting to leave this summer. Let's start with Johnny Cardoso as myself and Ben Jacobs reported a couple weeks ago.

Elérico Madrid are firmly leading this race. There's been some reports in Spain that say deals done. I'm told it's still not done but that doesn't deviate from anything I heard a few weeks ago because this I wasn't expecting anything to happen at all like after the gold cup and same thing with Turner like that's not gonna get announced anytime soon just to Get ahead of questions like in two weeks if it's not announced so same thing with Johnny Cardo So I'm still firmly expecting him to end up at Atletico Madrid, but that's not a done deal yet I will say from from what I've heard from Atletico Madrid sources. They're very confident as well So that's one to watch that deal be around 30 million euros.

And I think that it's a good step for him to go to Atletico Madrid. And I know he struggled a little bit this weekend and he hasn't played his best. If you've only watched Johnny Cardoso with the national team, you'd be like, why is Atletico Madrid buying? But this is a really good player, still a young guy. Like at some point he's going to put his best form with the national team. And hopefully it happens over the next year. But just trust me on this one,

like if you watch him at Venice, like it's a really good player. And you know, I will always say, Diego Simeone is the best coach in the world, and there's never a negative to go there. Get your black suits tailored, get them lined up and get locked in. But it's such a cool place to go for him.

And I think the evolution of his game, to be a physical ground coverage type guy with the skill and quality he has to be a passer, this is obviously tough to say coming off and outside the foot pass in his own box that went off of Artaguller and in his own goal. And that's not saying like it was an unlucky bounce. It was an absurd moment from Johnny to try and take space, take a long touch. The whole

thing was a lack of understanding of the speed of the play and what was going on. All of that should improve under Diego Simeone, but I do think it helps round out his game. And Atletico have progressed in many ways and they have consistently tried to find players like this who they can sort of infuse their DNA into and take them to a higher level. And I think he has the potential to be one of those. It's also just like a cool place to go. They're in the Club World Cup for a reason.

Like they're one of the great clubs in the world and this is like an awesome step for you to take even though Baptiste were awesome this year on their own. Yeah, exactly. But he was ready for the next step. I mean, he's been here, been there for 18 months and this was happening last summer. He had been there for half a season. Tired of getting cooked by Cucho and training too. Get out of here.

And like Tottenham had the pre-arranged like, you know, priority. We can sign him for 25 million. Wolverhampton really, really liked him. Juventus as a team. I heard AC Milan, but like Atletico Madrid and from what I heard from England, it was like that Tottenham feel he wanted to stay in Spain and Atletico Madrid in Spain. I think that's a really good move all in all. The next guy up, Josh Sargent.

That's another guy that is going to move this summer. I was told that there's already been bids from England and Germany. He was in team of the season for the championship. I'm very curious to see where he lands next. He's been in Norwich for a few years. I think the stability was good with him. He's been very, very good, very productive when he's been healthy in the championship. And over the last two seasons, he's been one of the very best forwards in that league. And with Norwich not getting promoted, it's absolutely time for him to leave. Again, it's funny this time last year, Cincinnati came really close. Like that was agreed on the player side. Like if Norwich, Norwich were holding off like 25 million, you know, if

they said, you know, 15 plus add-ons, he'd be playing for Cincinnati right now. So it's just funny how these sliding doors moments happen. And when I was asking, Hey, should I expect an MLS club? And it was just like, Nope, Premier League, Bundesliga or somewhere else. Like that's how it's going to happen. Again, there's nothing that's there just yet. But again, keep keeping an eye on Josh Sargent this summer. He clearly has to do something to get himself in the team, which I think is really tough because he played so well this year.

What else could he do? We've just been asking him to be healthy. He finally is healthy and he has performed exactly as I think a lot of us would anticipate he would have. I still think he is the most versatile center forward in the pool as a finisher and a chance creator, someone who you can play off of, but also can finish and lead the line.

And now that you're seeing him every week, you're seeing all of that. I think lucky for him though is he's been in England for a while, obviously the Premier League's a different level, but still you have experience there and he already was in Germany. So if that's where it ends up, I know there's some Italian connections as well. If that's where it ends up, at least he sort of has some familiarity and background with

all of that. I just would be shocked if he had a good year and at least isn't getting call ins over the course of the fall and into winter. But I'm shocked that he's not a part of things right now too. I agree. I again, Pochettino has, you know, it's just that he's not a part of things right now, too. I agree. Again, Pochettino has, you know, just today, he's forgotten more about soccer than I'll ever know. Right?

It's easy to criticize him. But I don't understand. Great Zach Lowline. Well done, Tom. I don't understand how you can say football reasons for a player that was in the championship team in the season. And like, again, the other forwards, Damian Downs,

is here on merit. Ajumang, White, they're all here on merit. But like if we're just going to go football reasons here, like before the call up Ajumon scored two goals for Charlotte, right? And and charging with team in the season for the championship. So I don't know if it's clearly football reasons. And I'm just curious. I would be curious to see Bochacino expand on that. But whatever, that's neither here nor there. Like you said, Gus, I think if he makes the right move plays well, he's out Absolutely still in the mix like maybe this was part of like hey sending a message to some guys

You know Joe Scali isn't here either. I don't know. I like again whether Pochettino has his reasons and and again tough It's tough to go against. Oh, we will talk about not being here in a little bit coming up We have a question from the chat about Diego Luna because the assumption they the chat is saying is the assumption is he won't be here but they've not really heard anything connected to him. I would say what is that where is that assumption coming from? Is it just because we're... I believe I do believe Pablo said in an interview over the last few months of like well after the summer window I'd be surprised if Diego or something or just how good he's been maybe that's where it got connected to I think it's then the outside assumption of he's been how good he's been maybe that's where it got connected to I think it's then the outside assumption of

He's been so good. He's kind of the next one. Yeah and In general right like all of these should be case-by-case basis, right? Like there are some guys where it was obvious that it was time to go. Um, Diego Luna I think that he it is going to be his time But dude, you're getting called in from MLS. You are the absolute star of Real Salt. Like you continue to grow. You're under a great coach.

And there's no guarantee that you're going to play this exact role and have this exact importance. Actually, let me take a step back. I don't think that you can replicate this level of importance and the team being built around it might be a step too far. But I think, think you know my point here that like Pablo has like particularly with some of the departures, this is Diego Luna's team, man. Like you're not getting that.

If you know the teams that can afford you, you're not going to have the team built around you. So for me, it'd be a risk to go. Yeah. I'm not saying that that's that I that I just flat out say no to everything, but it's not, it's not like one of those where oh, I don't care like he's got to go to Europe, right? I would just make just make it happen. Yeah, so I think the World Cup timing makes this weird I also I don't hope this happens and I don't think RSL is in a place that it has to But this could be example in the future of a cash for guy of like is the next step for you?

No to replace Kucho and playing a CCC and playing for RSL the way it is set up right now is not going to be contending either for the Shield or for MLS Cup. I mean the Red Bulls just made MLS Cup final after being the 17th. First of all you have to get in the playoffs to do that. And I think that's fair. Yeah and that's why I'm saying I'm not 100% sure of this. But I do think there's a world as things go along of like, I mean, what Seattle did with Jesus and that's a little different because it was like Jesus needed a move and there was other stuff. It's not just like he's playing great and needs to quote unquote, but

it could be fun going forward. Jack McGlynn, obviously a cash for himself. I believe one of the people who's getting sort of little rumblings around Yeah, I could say for sure Houston have gotten goals. There are no there are no Concrete offers, but I don't know you name it England, Germany Italy Spain, whatever right like the he is Long like he's already obviously long been on radars I reported when he went to Houston, there was a bid from Sarri B. And it was similar-ish money, but I honestly think that everybody made the right decision for him to be in Houston because he's, again, another guy where he's in a possession-based system and it makes a lot of sense for him and he's gotten better as the seasons gone on,

typified by that goal that he scored. While he was awesome for Philly, that wasn't exactly his role. I remember Jim Curtin always saying, like, I've been telling Jack he needs to shoot more. He needs to shoot more. With Houston, it's on him. You don't have Daniel Garza. They have really good attacking players. But Ben Olsen has said, no, no, no, like you need to add the final product. We need you higher up the field. Yeah, we love the long balls you can play. So again, I think that's another good situation. I'd be really surprised if Houston agreed to something right now.

Again, the deal was like a little bit over two million and Philadelphia have a 50% sell on. Right. So bare minimum, you're starting at 4.5 million. And why would Houston do it if they're just making their money back? So the realistic fee that they probably need, and again, this is speculation rather than I'm hearing this directly from Houston. What, eight million? And the assumption for you, if you're Houston is the value is is gonna go up over the next year if he's part of the national team, especially if he's in the World Cup. That will probably be the peak of it.

You don't need to sell early because you're only getting 50%. So if someone comes to you now, if he scores against Switzerland, has a decent gold cup, and someone comes in there like, oh, he's playing well, we want him. It's like, I think Houston would rather say, well, we think it'll grow.

The other thing for Houston is, everything else came together so late. They haven't put their team around him really. They've made so many late moves, they've had to panic because of moves out that, Coco happened late, then the replacement, the injuries they've had, all of that, that I don't even know that they,

they shouldn't feel a lack of confidence that they can compete this year because I think the bones are there. I agree and what I would say too is that like what this is where I'm saying with case-by-case basis if he was in Philadelphia still I would be like yeah like time to go like let's like go to Europe right but like the fact that he just got to Houston and it's a different system and he's playing well again I'm not saying that nothing is going to happen particularly with like like, again, I know that big clubs are watching and teams have called and everything.

It's just one of those where, like, he just moved six months ago. I don't know, right? And again, he's a guy who I think his physicality has continued to improve. That left foot could play anywhere in the world. So I think that he would translate well depending on this team, the system, the league. I don't think we're going to dive a ton into the Turkey game because it happened. Switzerland's coming up tonight. Whenever you're listening to this or yesterday, it is what I don't know who's running tape at Turkey and who's doing analysis. The fact that he got in on his left foot twice, three minutes, especially the second time. It's

like, I don't know that the scouting report was there and like, especially the second time. It's like, I don't know that the scouting report was there and like whatever it right. It's a friendly. These teams don't play each other at time. Like it probably isn't really there. But anyone who's going to play the US, you want to give me a call, throw me a little consulting fee on the side. Soccer wise gives you the breakdown. Like spoilers. If it's inside of half field and Jack McGlynn has space he will shoot on his left foot and he's really freaking good at it. Take that away would be what I'd say. I'll rip through these a little bit faster.

You know Eunice Musa 3-0 model reported that Napoli have entered talks. I think that's interesting. If that happens I'm sure we'll have plenty more time to talk about it. Gio Reyna, I still got nothing on this one. He's going to leave. Depends where. Hopefully he finds somewhere we can play, be fit, be healthy. And we can see the best of him again.

Cool. I believe he is in a promotional shoot for Borussia Dortmund for the Club World Cup because they have special jerseys for it. Don't know what that means at all. Cool. Mateus Cunha was on the Wolverhampton calendar for June and I believe his move to Manchester United went official on June 1st. Hey that's a collector's item right there. That's eBay. That's eBay gold. So get your marketing brain off David Cost. So a couple others here. Max

Orfston as I broke the news last, Toulouse made an offer that was quickly rejected by Columbus. It was very low. So we'll see if they come back in with another bid. We'll see who else comes. But Max Orfson, that stuff is real. Westerloo duo, Brian Reynolds and Griffin Yao. I'm firmly expecting both of them to leave. For Griffin Yao, he's in the last year of his contract. Westelieu put a price tag that they probably won't get from what I heard. And as long as they're reasonable and they should be, or he's going to leave for free in a year. But some championship clubs, some Belgian clubs and elsewhere are trying to sign him. We'll see what happens at Brian Reynolds. Some German clubs and some others that we'll see exactly what happens. But again,

those are two guys I'm absolutely expecting to leave, ditto for Jean-Luc Abusio, Vinicius just got relegated. He stayed with them the last time they got relegated and helped bring them back up. I don't think he's gonna do that again. I think he's going to go somewhere else this summer. That is the very strong likelihood from what I heard.

And then Caleb Wiley, he's technically at Chelsea. The plan is for him to go get another loan and continue to get his minutes and develop. He played at Watford for the second half of last season He was really good at Watford. The first half is at Strasburg. He started off well, but then he got injured So Caleb Wiley continuing his development elsewhere. Chelsea's still really happy with him, but he's not gonna get minutes in the first team So this was always part of the plan reminder for DC fans Dallas fans There's there's sell- on there or potential at a minimum.

If they change federations, you get the solidarity payments because you're their academies. So there's a little bit of money in there for those clubs. I think with Griffin, yeah, that was like kind of the whole point. Yeah, there's a big, it's like a 33% something in that range. They basically punted the we're going to develop and sell which something TFC did as well with like Jane Nelson and guys like that. It's not a great sign all the time that these clubs are doing this, but it does mean that down the road there could be some money to come back on the other side.

On the Turkey game as well and in here, I thought Max Arveson was phenomenal in the Turkey game. He is one of the few players consistently pushing the game. And that's, you know, in possession, that's out of possession. It's where he decides to pick up his positioning. He is playing with the US like he plays with Columbus. And there could be some problems in that because not everyone else is playing the same way. And he's coming inside and he's a 10 and all of that. But for the Malays that you see at times with this group, it is like really welcome to watch. It is awesome. I am glad to see him play the same way. Like to him carry that confidence over. I won't be shocked if he makes a move because

I think he could play at any of these teams. But I think we've seen him develop this year into more consistent, more dangerous, a key part of the group in a way that he was not last year of like he was part of the success, but he was off to the side and it was built around other people. I think it would be cool to watch him do that for a little bit more and finish out this year and you go into a playoff game, you do a scouting report against Columbus and you're like, what do you need to shut down to beat this team? He's what top three right now? Yeah, honestly because of how well this team uses their wing backs and and like yeah for sure And like I think Mo Farci was a bigger part of the attack

Last year and two years ago. I think part of that was because Stephen Marrero is so good Arfstein has been Unbelievable, so it would be cool to see him make a move I would like to see him play out this year, but I think the Gold Cup will change some of that because I think he's one of the guys I'm looking at that could be a difference maker at the Gold Cup and it could probably pull in a much bigger offer from an overseas club. And I do want to say like again this this fee that the offer was low like there was some oh my god Columbus are holding a player back. Let him go No, no, this isn't a charity

Just because it's good for a player's development to go to Europe the crew don't have to sell them for you know A third of what he's worth. So just give me a break on that In the game against Turkey Obviously Jack McGlynn scored in the first minute or second minute Whatever it technically was. The US went up 1-0, then Johnny had the turnover, which led to the goal. The second goal came two minutes later. It was like 31st and 33rd minute.

All of this in the pouring rain in Connecticut. That put the US down 2-1. They made a bunch of subs at halftime. Tyler Adams came on. Some other big pieces came on. They had a couple chances, a couple looks. Tyler Adams came on. Some other big pieces came on. They had a couple chances, a couple looks. Tyler created one really nice one. I think it was for an Osmong header. The US couldn't score. They ended up losing 2-1. It is the third straight loss

under Mariso Pachatino. So he is the first US manager to lose three straight games in 10 years. Going back to Juergen Klinsman back in 2015. I think Jurgen Klinsman got fired in 2015 If I have my years, right so that didn't end up well for him I don't think Pochettino is in a similar place dangerous, but it doesn't help no and It's not a great thing to lose games came out and sort of the four two three one I think we've seen Johnny sort of struggle in central midfield with this group. There's something about whether it's partnerships or responsibilities on his shoulders

that isn't comfortable for him. A lot of it was with Malik Tillman who, I like a lot as a player, but I'd like to see him higher up the field and have less defensive responsibility because I think some of this game, you saw him be safe in possession because he felt like he should. and I don't know that that's

where he's at his best. McGlin on the wing was obviously dangerous in attack I don't know how much it helped in defense and you saw the second goal come from that wing and his ability to cover defensively and help a fullback and all of that. You know this isn't a perfect roster there's holes in this team it was not an easy day for them, but that's sort of the point of these matchups, is like you're playing really good teams in Turkey and Switzerland.

I agree. And like, there is no, I don't think that there's an obvious 11 for this group, just because of like you said, there's so many holes and there's so many like, I wanted, I started to say like, I want this to be the summer of Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, and Jack McGuinn. And then even as I'm about to say it, I was like, well, how do you play all three of them?

Where do you get wit from? Because I want all of them in the same spot, but I want all of them to get minutes. But it doesn't make sense if there's no wingers. But this group doesn't really have any wingers. Like the Aronson brothers can do that. But it's not like there's obviously no Poole Sick, no Weya, no Zendaya. I'm extraordinarily surprised that there's no Zendaya's but whatever This team kind of feels like you could play two forwards because there are there's a lot of good center forwards

But you know, then what do you do play it back three? There's just everything that I want to see then there's a counter of what about this and then it solves one problem and then creates another or it makes it a little bit awkward. So What I want to see like and I think if we're ranking this, like I think Malik Tillman, I really want to see him get run as like, like you said, higher up the field and hey man, you have to have the response. This isn't going to be PSV where, you know, again, I thought that he was much better with this this year of popping up with important goal contributions rather than he came off the bench and had the

assist on the fourth goal and scored the fifth, right? This year he was absolutely integral to them winning the title, and I'm like, okay, I want to see him do that with the United States this summer, but I could say something similar about Luna, I could say something similar about Jack McGlynn, so I'm curious to see how this is going to go. I think when you get to the gold cup, when you're not playing Canada or Panama or Mexico, I think you play Jack McClain deeper and then put another attacker on. So because like I don't think you have to worry about him getting, having a huge defensive responsibility. And I think that's when you see some of those players and you go from there. But like Patrick Ajamon, of course, but I don't think Brian White has gotten enough

of a run. I hope that he starts against Switzerland, but you know, that's just picking it up. The AjamJ white thing is pretty obvious which is the ceiling with Patrick OJ if he hits and it's comfortable is higher than what Brian White can give you he has not hit that ceiling a ton with the national team like he scored in the junior camp it's great he he doesn't seem to be getting service that's super comfortable for him there is not a ton of crosses coming in because all of those wide players want to come inside.

Exactly. And play in possession. I think Alex Freeman, it's gonna be a big step up for him. And so that, yeah, it's gonna be tough. I apologize for not saying Alex Freeman's name because that's absolutely- No, but you're talking about a guy who's in his first year as a full first division professional.

Now you're asking him to step up to national team and do so behind someone who's not a natural wide player and who doesn't really defend that much and isn't really going to play you down the line as much. So all of that I think is pretty difficult. I wouldn't be shocked if Arvstein got pushed higher up the field. So you get Tolkien on the field and you get Arvstein in a more natural attacking position. He's played there for Columbus this year and been equally as dangerous. So but I get your point which is there are enough players up there that you want to see that you probably shouldn't have the minutes to waste there, I guess is the term you would use. But there's there's a lot of mixing and matching, as you said, with this team. And I don't know the exact

formula for all of it. And there's not a ton of experience in all of it to sort of like lean on and say this is the base of it I think Tyler Adams they said picked up a little bit of a knock. They're like clearly managing him From club via the program that he has which to me is the most important like keeping Tyler Adams healthy is the biggest part Of this and I wouldn't want to see anything happen to him He is like the one stable piece that you would say as a leader and you build the whole thing around He will be unavailable for the Switzerland game. The hope is he'll start to be available going into the gold cup He obviously won't start every group stage game because that doesn't make any sense

Clearly with with where his body's at and then there's a bunch of other question marks around this group I mentioned it about your gajaman growing up in Connecticut. in Connecticut like not part of a major academy Basically not recruited for college went lower division. So that's three, baby Transfer to your eye, which isn't even a powerhouse then at the D1 level Uh go rams, I think and then he gets drafted fights his way through Mls next pro into the first team into the starting team the national team, and ends up getting to start in his hometown and blocks away from where he grew up. And as he said, he walked to games with his family to watch.

I think you talked about the US game. I think that game is like Landon's sendoff game, which perfectly takes us into our next conversation. I don't know if you've heard. Landon Donovan, not stoked right now, had some comments about the national team. He's done it on his own show. Could not remember the name of it right now. There you go. Thank you. I didn't know you were going to be so quick on it. Is it one that Gary Neville hosts? No. Is Gary Neville a host of the show? No. Okay. I just got to check because you never know.

Gary's kind of all over the place. He has a show with Tim Howard where he's talked about this a couple times from what I've seen about the national team and sort of the desire to be a part of it from the players and mentioned it as that first wave of sort of roster news came out two weeks ago, I think it was, where it was Moose is not going to be coming and Christian Pulisic then pulled himself out of the team and a couple other players that are big parts of the national team announced that they would not be part of this camp. Some like Josh Sargent not called up, but a few others choosing not to be a part of

it, taking a rest, having other issues going on in their life outside of the game and going to be a part of it, taking a rest, having other issues going on in their life outside of the game and going to be a part of that. And so Landon made comments about that originally saying he was frustrated by that. He thought that they should be there. And then it came up again, I guess it came up during the Portugal Spain game in the Nations League final in which after Portugal won it and there was the emotion from Ronaldo and other Portugal players about winning it Landon sort of made a comment saying like this is what I wish the US men's national team players

Would be like that they would be fully committed and want this as well Look how much these guys play and then they still are there for their national team There's like 500 things now being thrown around since then we've got parents on chat GPT throwing up social media posts, people investigating likes and reposts, former players coming out of the woodwork to post their own things, then likes and reposts on that, current players coming out and saying different stuff. I don't have a ton to say about the content from Landon and I don't really want to rehash every single argument across all Yeah, if you're looking for that there are a thousand shows and like again I again the Derry Neville probably host half of this He's been over there and and again now I'm not downplaying like these are all it is the right thing to talk about

But we were off we missed this and we don't need to just say the same thing other people did a week ago But go on so yes, so I what I would say and my reaction to all of this is similar to some people in which it comes up that Landon took a sabbatical and Stepped away from professional soccer for his mental health and then came back And I think was welcomed back by fans and supporters and many in the soccer world, not Juergen Klinsman, many others, very, very quickly at a time when this wasn't really a reality. It wasn't talked about. We weren't talking about the mental health of professional athletes and how to manage it at the right level. I think it was pretty brave of Landon to do what he did. Coming out of that then,

he was punished somewhat by the national team for not being there and not being around. was punished somewhat by the national team for not being there and not being around. And when he finished his career and he retired, finally, actually, I know personally that I interviewed him going into, I believe it was a homegrown game in which he was gonna be a coach or an assistant coach, I think with Stu Holden, and talking to him like,

what do you wanna do? And he had said, well, I don't know. I might wanna coach, I might wanna know. I might want to coach. I might want to broadcast. I might want to be a part of the game some other way. But I really think that I have a unique perspective that I can bring. And when he talked about it in a broadcasting perspective,

he said, I think that I can help players and I want to help guide players. And one of the ways I could do it is by bringing my perspective to broadcast so fans can understand the mental experience and what players are going through to bring a little bit of why to what's going on in their lives and on the field. I thought that was a really great message. And I thought that was a special thing to want to do. It saddens me then that on the back end,

we get cliche old man yells at clouds in this. And I and land if Lando wants to come on this show, I could not imagine he ever would want to. I'd be happy to talk about it with him. It feels very simple and easy to just yell about care more. Why don't they care more? Why does it matter? And it's unfortunate to come from the shift of, oh, I want to help explain to people that other things are happening

in these players lives. And in one of Landon's quotes, he said, maybe something's going on off the field. Then tell us. oh I want to help explain to people that other things are happening in these players lives and in one of Landon's quotes he said maybe something's going on off the field then tell us. That is not how that works. You do not create a better environment by saying make sure to list all of your family emergencies and medical issues on a list so that I can read them and announce them. No, you trust the players that what they're going through is big enough that they have to take this moment and there's a lot of other fights about travel and what's going on and how much people are committed and all of that and I don't want to get into all of that. I think what makes

it really sad for me is that this has taken this shift from him and I would say and I don't know how other USMNT fans feel but I'm a fan, someone who defended the Landy Cakes nickname and his decision to leave Europe and come and play in Major League Soccer week in and week out and do things differently in his career and defended him for it because the performance was there and also because it's his life. It is, I think, sad that he is now going to be the voice of sort of the opposite side of that in this scenario. I think that's really well said, Goss. And I think that's a different way to look at it than again, what this is a huge story. A lot of people have opinions as they should. And every other angle I think has been hit, whether it's, you know, does he care?

Does not as a good for him is not, you know, is this setting the right example, whatever, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I do think that's an interesting way to look at it of, I remember in that time, I wasn't as nearly as established as Big David Goss when he was retiring. So that was one of my, I interviewed Lana Donovan, I think I was still in college,

and that was a holy shit moment for me. This was an idol growing up, right? And I do remember that too, of like, hey, what do you wanna do? And it was the same thing. I don't know, I'm not sure, right. Like, I might coach, I might not. So I think that's a really interesting angle to play from. And again, what I would add to is that like, I bet that he that that's at the center of what he's doing. Like he cares deeply about the

national team. I'm sure he cares about Christian Pulisic, or maybe that's too much editorializing. But like, I will be the only pushback I'd offer here is like, I do think that this is him caring very deeply. And the other side of this too is Gus like being behind a mic, dude, you got to have the opinions, you got to sit on a podcast and sometimes things get aggregated and sometimes they don't. So I think that's all part of it too. Probably. But also to bring it up on a Portugal broadcast means it's really in at your top of mind and you're pushing it forward. I guess we will continue to see how this develops.

I don't know how to even describe what any of this is. I look forward to the next screenshot of whatever social media posts. Let's move on for us though. We're going to dig into a little bit of MLS that we've had. So there's a game on Thursday evening. News to me. In Major League Soccer, the classic Thursday night soccer NYCFC against Atlanta. There's a game Friday night.

I think the Timbers are playing on Friday night. And then we have the Club World Cup. So we're going to do some Club World Cup preview stuff on Thursday. I've got no idea what the Club World Cup is going to be. I'm not going to lie. I'm a bit of a sucker for a tournament. I'm stoked about women's Euros this summer. I'm stoked about women's euros this summer I'm stoked about women's Copa America this summer

I get sucked in so there's a chance that with four soccer games on every single day and like all this weird stuff You're gonna be watching. I'm gonna be low-key into it. I know I'm probably gonna be into it more than other people There's a decent chance you hear a chunk about it on soccer. You're gonna it's be 7.30 on Saturday. And if you're not at the game, because I know that all of the people ask, hey, permission. Hey, we're in Deva Gasta City. Are we allowed to play?

Are we allowed to go? Yeah, yeah, of course. You've got to check in. You are going to be talking. You're going to disregard Lionel Messi, Miami. And you're going to be so locked in on Al Ali on Saturday night, I would bet everything on this. I went to-

I'm gonna get a text about Ali from you, 100%. Now that we're going all the way back into the vault, I was at the premiere, boom, big flex again, or maybe not premiere, of the Bob Bradley documentary about him coaching Egypt. There was a documentary. Yeah, there was like, it's an awesome documentary because he was coach of the national team

when the Port Said violence happened and then they shut the league down and he coached the national team with no league going on. He is a huge part of why Mohammed Salah got to Europe because he had to get out and find a place to play. My GOAT is Mohammed Abu Traka in all of that. He is one of my favorite like five soccer players of all time. He is an Ali legend and when it got announced and you know, you're like around people and they're like, oh my god So crazy like Byron's coming to Miami and I'm like

Give me all Ali on a Saturday night in the rain. I'm counting this as a win for me already Yeah, so no, you better believe I'm hyped about it. I'm hyped to see the MLS team Seattle are not coming in on the greatest of form. We'll talk about that in just a moment. And obviously LAFC have earned their way in, which is gonna be fun to watch. And I don't know what Inter Miami is gonna be, but like, yeah, you're right.

If Fluminense say Dortmund playing on Tuesday at noon on June 17th, this guy's locked in. This guy's gonna be there for that one. Let's recap a little bit of the weekend It was a short weekend because the international break Austin knocked off Colorado 2-0 in their game a Good win for an Austin group that is trying to find their feet and like figure out who they are for Colorado Which has it had a pretty full team?

Including Georgie Mihailovich where there's a combo right now in the chat about whether or not he got shafted out of an opportunity to play For the national team. I think it's a fair combo in all of that though to in Israel this season. The fee is 1.6 million. It's all agreed from what I've been told, so it just needs to be finalized. And this is a promising talent at Centerback. A couple of interesting notes on this is that he's eligible for the U-22 initiative. And the Rapids could put him there. They are deciding what makes the most sense based on what deals do or don't get done or what their plans are between now and the window opening. Because he could be a U22 initial player or they could have him, they could manage him into the cap depending on other things that they're doing this summer and then sign another U22. Or if it makes more sense to use, put him as U22, they could still sign somebody else with whatever salary they were going to put him.

All that being said, that's also being determined. My larger point, I think, is what I'm trying to make is that's not the only thing that Colorado might be doing this summer, but this is really good on them to get this done early. They have been really creative with centerbacks. They've used DP centerbacks. They've traded. They've used DP centerbacks, they've traded, they've used U-22s, like they've been one of the teams that I think has circled that position as one where they can

be a differentiator against other clubs. And they've signed 17-year-old Australian Youth International Lucas Harrington. He's going to join in January after he turns 18. We might have a Riley McGree situation here where like they're gonna they might get bids for a player before he gets here like he and again Shout out to Colorado Rapids for having the foresight to like not just spot the player But like and almost like Chicago John Duran like yo We need to get this done right now because if we don't he's not like we're not gonna be able to sign him and he's With the Australian u20s and from when I've been told and like I'm not gonna lie to you not watching that tournament right now. I thought you said you were you were the

one of the two that said you'd cover the U20s Aussie game. What I've been told is that he's killing it there and that like other club like when Colorado signed him he did have offers from Europe there were a lot of teams that kind of wanted him and what is really cool is that between Colorado like what they laid in front of them in terms of development and platform, and the kid himself and his camp of like, it's going to be better for you to go to Colorado and play first division, first team games than say, you know, a big, the U21 team of a Premier League side or, you know, insert whatever, right?

Like, so I think that is unique. And I do hope that this works out well. And that we see more of that in the future where players are like alright, man Like I could go to the 10th place team in Italy and play for their you know second team Or I go to the Colorado Raptors in the Philadelphia Union or FC Dallas or blah blah blah blah Okay, this is the dreams that Tom has on his free time I'm a sick about yeah I that Tom has on his free time. Thinking about. That was sick though. Yeah.

Yeah. I just like, I was with you 70% of the way and then I was like, okay, cool. I saw you bailing out, that's why I ended with blah, blah, blah, blah. If you had used the phrase primavera, then I would have been backing because I think that's the term they use.

It is. For those teams, but you lost me on that one. Yeah, for Colorado, I think continuing to try and increase that position. Maybe we see three center backs from them. I wouldn't be shocked Teddy Kudibiecho's back now. So they're getting a little more like attacking play from the width, but it is not a huge part of their game.

And maybe if they go five in the back, you can sort of push wing backs higher up the field. It can help you press a little bit in there and keep all of your attacking players centrally where you want them. It's an idea for them and it's an option. You talked about Australia. Now, I don't know about Australia, but I believe Uzbekistan has qualified for the World Cup.

Get on your DNA test and see if Tommy Starlow has any DNA connected. Because this guy, the star is shining. The World Cup watch is on. Tom Starlow needs to be at the 2026 World Cup. If it's not going to be for the US and it should be, Mark should have started on June 7th or whatever Saturday was. Any other country that thinks they can get a shot at this guy, I don't know if it's France, I don't know if it's England, I don't know if it's Brazil. I don't know where his family's from. I've never even talked to them. They lived in Wisconsin, I think, so

who knows what that means. Yeah, you never know what anything could be happening. Maybe it's German, whatever it is. Get your research teams out because Tommy Starlow is ready to rock. He's ready to roll a 7-1 win for the Chicago Fire against DC United. This has happened to DC a couple times over the last few years and it's tough. The last few months? My understanding is the last two times that Troy Lizeyan and DC United have played a back

four instead of three center backs was this game, 7-1. And San Jose, 6-1. I think you have the data. No more. No more. That's it. No more three at the back It it would probably have helped the seven goals against not sure it's enough for a win Like there's not much in the attack right now. I think you have enough data to suggest

Yeah, you're probably right that 13 goals against across two games is probably not a number. That's tough That you want to stick with. Gavin Turner. Luis Barraza, we are all praying for you. Gavin Turner made his debut. It's Gavin right? Their highly rated academy talent. Yeah, yeah.

Good player. His debut. This reminds me, it's funny because they lost to Chicago. It's Christian Cups made his debut when Chicago were down 7-0 to Nashville. They all count the same. So congratulations to Turner. They do all count the same. Bomba gets a national. So they all count the same. So congratulations to Turner. They do all count the same. Bomba gets a goal, hasn't scored as much as maybe we would have expected coming

into the league. I think he's found his feet pretty well. He's sort of one of them. Yeah, he's one of the like second half of the season guys, especially if there is a DP 10 that happens. Zincredago played in there in this game. It was fine against DC. I don't know if it's fine against every team that's not like a knock on him. I just don't know that he can control the game enough to be your 10. And Gutierrez doesn't get the start,

comes off the bench and scores. It has not been the year I thought it would be for Brian Gutierrez. And there's transfer stuff out there. Maybe that's hard for a young player. It's a new coach. Maybe that's hard. Obviously the elbow against NYCFC,

fairly unacceptable. And so there's just a lot of back and forth for someone who for a bad team as a young player was extremely consistent. And now as he's playing for a better team has sort of struggled to find himself again. And so fingers crossed that this Chicago team can sort of help him or they find the next spot for him if that's what it has to be to figure it out. Other big results from the weekend. The Vancouver Whitecaps working through some level of sickness coming out of the CCC final.

Clearly sickness more than just the performance and having to watch it back or maybe not watch it back. They were able to put together a fairly strong starting lineup, not a ton of depth. They had a local homegrown score goal and they ended up blowing out the Seattle Sounders in I think the Seattle Sounders last game Pre club World Cup is there like quote-unquote warm-up all of that is a little bit Skewed behind the big news around this Seattle group, which we haven't been on the show to talk about since They wore shirts the previous match sort of protesting the lack of a agreed upon deal between them through the MLSPA and Major League Soccer and the owners to figure

out how to handle what is a huge windfall of bonus money that's coming up from the Club World Cup. Yeah, so let's go back to, you know, the players have wanted a different deal for the bonuses that come with the club World Cup. The CBA that was ratified in 2021 capped bonuses for cup competitions like this at one million. And MLS acknowledges this as well. This was way before we knew this expanded club World Cup and particularly the money that was going to be on the table for clubs that qualified. And MLS has said that they understand this too and they want to work.

These two sides are not close, it has gotten very contentious. So the Seattle Sounders wore those shirts that read Club World Cash Grab in the warm-ups to their game not this weekend but the weekend prior. And as I reported, as has Jeremy O'Shaughn of Sound Red Heart, that Adrian Hanauer, the Seattle Sounders owner, was very angry and after the game immediately went into the locker room and just ripped the players, angrily confronted them about the protest. So from my reporting on these talks, the top line here is they are not close, the MLSPA and MLS, and it has gone contentious. And honestly, like, it's gotten a little bit worse than it was a couple weeks ago. So, MLS were going to make an offer the Monday following that game.

And then that offer didn't come on that Monday because the owners, obviously, like Agent Hannaur as I reported, owners were not thrilled by that. And the discussions had to be, does this look like we're giving into a protest, whatever, whatever. An offer eventually comes on Friday for 20% of performance based incentives. Right now, the players are getting $1 million per team of the bonus of that $9.5 million that each team is getting. On top of that $1 million, all clubs were able to take some money that they were getting, 750,000, and convert that into GAM,

which then goes into the roster, the salary cap. Like, that doesn't count exactly as bonuses to players, but the way the league views that as all three teams, sources have told me, have done that. So that's 1.75 million, the league stance, is going to the players of that 9.5 million. If they don't have a new agreement, that is where the players' part ends because they're capped by this CBA, this archaic rule. Again, I think that the league has said, like, look, yeah, like, let's talk. So the offer is 20% of future performance based add-ons. The players want 40%. They initially asked for 35%, but what I was told

is that the MOSPA, and they put this in a statement, and I'm trying to get the words out because I don't want to get it wrong. The MOSPA in a statement called the league's proposal, quote, retaliatory, unquote, and quote, ignored months of attempts by players to engage. So the players said, cool, if you're going to try to lean on us because the players went public and make the deal worse, guess what? Our offer got worse too. We want 40%. So, that's how things are going right now. It is the question that I keep getting asked that might be at the top of your mind of what happens if there's no agreement by the time Miami kicks off in four days from right now. I honestly don't know. We'll see, like, things don't look great right now. Maybe it gets done, maybe there's some common ground that everybody can find over the next few days,

but man, we're four days away from this tournament, there's nothing been agreed, and that was the impetus for the players going public because of their frustrations of, why do we not have this set right now? The tournament is happening very soon. Yeah, you always say on this show that deadlines cause people to make decisions, like when we talk about transfers. We've known about the Club World Cup for a year plus now. We've

known that at least two of the MLS teams that were in it, the third MLS team doesn't change the reality of the payout for each of the MLS teams. Yeah, why are we working on this deal now? Why was this not agreed months ago, a year ago, whatever it was? I can understand some part of it of like, the MLSPA agreed to a deal, they locked themselves into a number,

but you just have this like world changing situation that occurred that no one could anticipate. There is no precedent to the payout that is coming from the Club World Cup for teams in a competition. So I think it's fair for everyone in the room to be adults, acknowledge that and say, okay, how can we work together going forward to grow things? I'm going to pull back to the word that I used for the Landon Donovan thing. This is sad. Like this should be a celebration of the fact, especially for Seattle,

where Seattle has, I think, pushed the envelope in Major League Soccer. And I think the reason they were the first team to win CCC and go to a club World Cup and are now in line to do it again is because of the expectations they set internally that were higher than other MLS teams, that we are going to compete with anyone, that we do believe we belong on the field, that we're going to try and challenge to have an international every starting position, and we're going to grow the depth of this field, that we're going to try and challenge to have an international every starting position and we're going to grow the depth of this club and we're going to push ourselves and it hasn't always been the highest amount of money on the top end

but I think it's operated in ways very professional, very aggressive that other clubs haven't. So to this now be the convo, six days, seven days out from them making their debut in this tournament of like, yeah, we've all laughed about it. Jordan Morris came into media marketing and was like, I don't know what PSG is gonna be. Yeah, we don't know exactly what it's gonna be on the field, but I thought this time period would have been a really cool celebration for this club to say,

look where we are, look where we stand, look what we've done. And so for this now to be what you're talking about first, coming into this and then you get the chaos on the field against Vancouver, I just think it's all really unfortunate and it's not the way that you'd want to go into all of this. I agree. And I don't know what Diego Simeone is seeing on tape, but this is going to be a vibe over

the next few weeks. Yeah, I think on Thursday's show we're going to dig into some more stuff on the field. Maybe there's going to be more stuff off the field, but yeah. Again, it's unfortunate for all parties. some more stuff on the field. Maybe there's gonna be more stuff off the field, but yeah, I'm Again, it's unfortunate for all parties. You know, I say I stand by the players like God like get your money If you think something if you feel what's right protest, hell yeah, that's that's all of our rights, right? So good on them for having the bravery to do it and coordination and support and everything else But again, I do hope that there could be a resolution here. And so, like, again, what you were joking about the club or a couple before that you,

you know, you're starting like, yeah, I'll probably get locked in. Like, yeah, this is I promise you, I'm going to be watching when Seattle plays PSG. I write like this is going to be a fun thing. Well, you know, there are a lot of debates and arguments and opinions about the tournament as a whole and the workload for players. And do we what is what is the impetus? Behind it is is really growing the game everywhere or is it really about getting checks? I you know all that aside once the ball start rolling

We'll probably be watching and I I'm always somebody who I want to talk about stuff on the field or like things pertaining on the field which is be transfers directly But that relates on the field except all transfers. But that relates to on the field. Listen dude, start the rumor. Goss 34. There he goes. He got it. Where's he going? But no, like I'm too stupid to do anything other than talk about soccer and things relating to on the field. So I'm out of my depth when I'm talking about some of these like labor negotiations. Yeah, unions and negotiations and all of that. And again, like the business side of this stuff. Like, you know, I'm more comfortable talking about Matt Turner going to Lyon.

And I'm more comfortable talking about Obed Vargas playing against PSG. And that's what I want to do. But this is more important. We had a really fun show. Thank you to everyone who joined us live. Thank you as usual to you, Tom. Be back tomorrow with Jordan Angeley to cover a ton of crazy NWSL games. I think it was five games with goals in the final 10 minutes or stoppage time to change the results.

We will then recap some USMNT stuff going into the Gold Cup. And of course, we will have that Club World Cup preview coming for you on Thursday. So thank you to all of you. Didn't have the live shows last week. I'm glad we could be back. I'm glad everyone could be back in the chat. Appreciate all of it and shout out to Diego Luna.