SoccerWise - MLS Soccerwise | Transfer Deadline Day Live Special

Episode Date: September 2, 2026

The clock is ticking down on the 2026 MLS Transfer Window and the "Ice Cream Shop" is open. Tom Bogert hosts while also taking 15 phone calls, with Matt Doyle and Brian Dunseth alongside to break it all down as the scoops come in live.For the sharpest coverage of American soccer, we’ve got you covered:https://linktr.ee/soccerwisehq

Greetings, folks, and welcome to Soccer Wise. I'm your host, at least for today, Matt Doyle, joined on this transfer window special by the great Brian Dunseth, my fellow Jen Exeter. Thanks for having me, man. Look at you two savants. I'm scared to death being amongst you guys right now. You should be.

This is the gauntlet right here, especially at the close of transfer window, because this is a day for Tommy Scoops. This is how, this is why he's the big dog. Tom, how are you doing today? You holding it together or are you falling apart? We're doing good. It was busy the European transfer windows and most of the European transfer windows yesterday.

Obviously, the flow bag on saga was crazy and everything else. And obviously, an MLS, the closer you get to the window like any other league. The crazier things go. So today it's going to be a big crunch, but no different from basically the whole last week. So that's fun. With Dunny, Dunnys is doing this. Did you do this when you played? Did you do like, were you like nice to other players?

Or like, man, like nice to talk to you like at the beginning. in the game because I think that you're trying to set us up for like the first 50-50 done he comes in and just like that we're going to take it easy because he's like being a nice guy pretending on my back's a little tight I'm a little slow today and then yeah listen I got the dark arts I there's a reason why I call it the dunceferi um I once read the report of a referee's post-game match in which I got a yellow card and I said some really explicit things to the linesmen which at the time I was I was completely unaware of because of the red missed but I appreciate that You acting like you remember my playing career.

Unfortunately, Doyle was the only one that was subjected to the end of it, which was acutely painful. Donnie, you missed a really big detail of that story. How did you get the referee's notebook? Was that given to you or was that taken by Brian Dungeon? So it was when they would print out the post game and it was actually given. Print these, Trey. Yeah, it wasn't Trey. The printer was still working, rest in peace, Mike Fecky.

It was all about the cat, right? Anyways. Ryan, my buddy, who was the equipment guy of the New England Revolution at the time, somehow got his hands on it and was like, texted me and he's like, I got to find you immediately. And, you know, like the old crew stadiums, the locker rooms were right, like, in front of each other. He's like, meet me outside. And then that subsequently was the descriptive, it was spot on, I think,

because I normally would see red miss, but yeah, it was a good old days in Major League Soccer. Do you have that framed behind you somewhere? Like if you pan with your camera, no, like that would be. I do, I did stumble because we moved like House a couple years ago. I did stumble on my grades. And in fifth grade, I was suspended, no, sorry, fourth grade, I was suspended for being too competitive in kickball. And then they tried to fail me in English. So, I don't know who won.

It was a weird battle. somebody won. I certainly don't think it was my parents getting drugged into. They tried to fail you in English because you were too competitive in kickball. Am I reading that right, the cause and effect? I think there was, yeah, there was synergy somewhere in there. But fast forward, it made sense why she tried to fail me in English, considering I went to Cal State Fullerton, never declared a major, somehow stay eligible for three semesters and never had to do study ball. So, you know, it all, it all pays off somewhere. I mean, Cal State Fullerton is Ivy League of the inland empire as far as I know and we're just going to stick with that. Tom to you you held that up

I can't tell if that was a glass of ice coffee or a white Russian which is that that you're working on right now ice coffee ice coffee the danger it's dangerous because it goes down so fast or even then it does it does I can get wired just so everybody knows David Goss is on assignment in Peru he'll be back next week so the inmates there have got control of the asylum at least for the next seven days very obvious from this meandering start that we're on. But we do have a lot to get through. There have been a lot of moves so far in this transfer window, which closes tonight for MLS at 12 a.m. Eastern time.

No, it's central time, isn't it? Because it's still on Chicago. 1 a.m. Eastern, midnight. 1 a.m. Eastern. Thank you. So there is some stuff to go. Tom, I assume there are some potentially big moves that could still happen over the next 12 hours. hours. Yeah, I would say, at this point, usually it's things that we've heard about, and we're

going to talk about it all through the show, and a lot of the things that we're going to start with are things that are happening. But there is, I think, a couple of things out there that could be big that I'm not expecting to happen, but I guess I'd be surprised if something came out of left field, but that's what's fun about deadline day. And we'll see where we go, Doyle, before we get the deadline day, some big news in the U.S. Open Cup that went official this morning if you want to run that down. No, you got it, man. You segued right into your own thing. Go ahead.

So the MLS and U.S. soccer announced today that all 27 American MLS teams will be back in the U.S. Open Cup next year. This news was first reported by our guys, Joe Lowry and Ben Wright at Backhield, and myself and Pauls Noreal confirmed it a little bit later. This is obvious. I will celebrate it as good news because it is good news. It shouldn't have needed to have changed. But the differences now is MLS teams will enter in the round of 64, and that round will be, played my assumption is like the week before the MLS season kicks off which will help with fixture congestion and it'll be a good way to start the season from there I'm told that the

fixtures will be planned out a little bit longer in advance which gives teams a chance to sell the tickets and plan around it and hopefully we won't see such bad attendance numbers as we have in the past and the prize money is doubled and there are some other things that MLS were happy that felt like got more professionalized or a little bit better moving forward but it's still a joke that not all 27 American MLS teams was in the Open Cup for a couple years, but I'm glad it's over. Yeah, professionalized is, I think, the key word there. That was always the stick that MLS used, I think in some ways justifiably to beat USSF over the head about the way the Open Cup was conducted. I don't know that they've gotten their way here. I think in a lot of ways,

what we saw from MLS was just a reflection of the fact that these owners do not. want to participate in tournaments that they don't control all the revenue streams for. That's why Leagues Cup was created to semi-replace the Open Cup and semi-replace Concaf Champions Cup, which of course Concaf Controls, not MLS. But as a fan of American soccer, as a fan of MLS, I'm happy that they're back. I'm happy that it sounds like the tournament is going to be better. To me, it's already meaningful because exactly is the Open Cup. Um, I, like, it feels like a win, win and hopefully win for the federation as well, for the fans,

for the teams, and then hopefully for the federation. Are you seeing anything different from where you're sitting, Dunny? No, I think for me, the bigger conversation is I respect both sides for trying to be nimble and sorting this out, because I think one thing we don't often think about is the consideration from the players union. When you think about the bonus structure and the involvement and all. ultimately the negotiation tactics to go back and forth between the players union and the league. I think two things that play for me that are incredibly important.

Number one, you understand the kitty now is around what, a million dollars on top of Concaf Champions Cup qualification. So that makes it that much more interesting. It's a trophy, so effectively what, four to five matches, and you have probably the easiest route to lifting a trophy. And then finally, I've never understood, and I'm glad we're kind of getting past this with the from like the academy next pro and then to major league soccer why if you've signed a first team contract if you have a professional contract with the club why should you be separated from the ability to play in a tournament like this so i'm glad we're kind of getting past that i think we're just in the next phase of evolution but as you can see over my shoulder you know i value u.s open

cup it was something that was incredibly important when i was a part of columbus crew and winning it with Lamar Hunt inside the building that he built in Columbus years ago. So the value obviously has changed perspectives, you know, because as you brought up, Leagues Cup and understanding everything else that comes into play. But I don't know, man, I guess I'm sympathetic to a little bit of Americana homerism when it comes to what the U.S. Open Cup did mean and currently, I think, should mean in the grander landscape. But I understand why certain coaches maybe separate the priorities of Open Cup a little bit deeper.

Yeah, that's not unusual. We see that all over the world, right? Like, Barcelona doesn't care about the Copa del Rey until the quarterfinals. Yeah, like, it just, that's how it works with these cup competitions, even in the biggest leagues in the world. But, like, once you get to that level, everyone realizes it's a trophy, it's a chance to hang a winner's medal in a frame behind you while you're doing a podcast, you know, all the stuff that the global elite do. Dunny, but to bring it back to one point you were making about the participation conditions for players on the first team roster, that's always been a little bit, or off the first team roster, I guess, that's always been a little bit nebulous and not concretely explained, I think, to even super engaged fans like people who listen to soccer wise. Can you walk us through that a little bit and how that sort of handicapped teams for this tournament?

Well, I think the reality is that you had to prioritize different situations, right? Not one size fits all. So let's theoretically throw out like Real Salt Lake, right? Because I'm here and I see it on a semi-regular basis covering it on Apple TV. The reality is that Pablo Mastroni had to think about who the opponent was and then kind of figure out the right amount of experience and then kind of youthful exuberance and bleed these kids into moments where it becomes beneficial. But on top of that, I also feel like in this conversation, the lower rank team should always be the host in whatever matchup that you have. And then especially for those lower level teams, you're generating a cash flow while not ideal, not getting 100%, that at a bare minimum, at least they're able to bring some type of the kitty back home. But yeah, listen, I think when you're looking at kids that had been signed that either find themselves still in that late academy, early MLS next phase with rail monarchs, there was

struggles, there was difficulties, and how do you align with the roster to get them these games, but not using it as one of your minimalistic call-ups that could have devastating effects down the line. If you called them up for an open-cup match, that means maybe later in the year, you've burned that call-up and he's not available for a game in which you really, really need on one of these young players. Yeah, that was part of the CBA. It's something that I think will probably be a subject of ongoing discussions between the team, the league, and the federation. Tom, have you spoken with front office types? Have you gotten a sense that they're going to be taking it more seriously with these changes?

Not having talked much to them about the Open Cup or the roster rules they're in because it's the last 72 hours of the transfer window, been locked in on that. So they'll, nothing new on my end and that it's, there's different variations of clubs who care a lot and clubs who don't, but everybody by the time that you get to, you know, the round of 16 or whatever, very much does. And that's just going to be one or two wins now at this point. So long live the open cup. Yeah, long live with the open cup.

It'll be a better format going forward. This was big news yesterday and big news going into next year as well. And we're two weeks away. I think two weeks from tonight, we have the Open Cup semifinals, four teams that could really use a trophy. So keep an eye on that one. But let's, like, we're all here for the transfer news. That's why we're doing this special edition of the show, 24 hours ahead of time.

It's why Tom's banging his microphone and making so much noise while he's muting and unmuting. But we've had some big moves already in this window. I think the team that has made the most noise, somehow it's the Colorado Rapids. The Colorado Rapids developing and selling Lucas Harrington in the span. of six months, finally selling Rafa Navarro or Hafa Navajo, I guess we're going to do the Brazilian pronunciation for a record fee to St. Louis City. Now they have at least one incoming record signing, a second winger, I think. Take us through all of it, Tom, and what this team is thinking and what you're thinking about them as well. Yeah, let's just go to the latest news

here around the Rapids. We can kind of get a deep dive for some of these clubs later, but for right now the rapids uh the latest news is morgan whittaker a club record deal is paperwork's all filed everything just needs to be accepted by the league so that deal is done he is on his way to colorado right now flying today after he did a medical in london on tuesday after the deal was agreed sources tell me it's a 10.7 million dollar fee and i will say that morgan whitaker was bought for nine and a half million by burrow 18 months ago and there was a 20 percent sell on to plymouth his old club he had 14 goals and seven assists on the wing for Burrow last year. It's a really good season. I'm surprised that it's 10.7 million. I thought it was absolutely going to be at least 12 or 13. I was actually talking to another

CSO about this who was like, damn, like, that's a good player. You're probably going to have to overpay because anytime we try to go to the championship and sign a player, you have to overpay. And then when I told him about the fee today, he's like, wow, that's not bad at all. So that's a really good signing, I think, for the Colorado Rapids, who are remaking their attack. You talk to our Hafa Navajo, whether it's announced or not soon, it's the deal. deal's done. He's in St. Louis. Damien Downs, that deal is done. He's in St. Louis. There is no worry about either of those not happening as far as I understand. So just be patient on the official announcement. Sometimes teams wait until everything's not even just done, but a visa and stuff like that.

Shouldn't really matter for St. Louis on this one. But the Rapids are remaking their attack. And for Matt Well as a system, there's an argument that, not an argument, there's a lot of emphasis on wing play. and the club needed additions at winger, and that's why they wanted to focus this money on Whitaker, on a prime DP winger. Hoff and Navajo, they tried to have a contract, talks with him a while ago, didn't happen, so it was time to move him on if an offer came.

The offer from St. Louis came. This is all ground that we've covered in previous episodes. And beyond Whitaker, the club is also finalizing a deal to sign Ibrahim Sadiq, a winger from AZ Alkmar. That won't be a DP deal or anything. This is somebody to add to the depth. They've traded Dante Sietli back to Montreal. all. They've brought in a U-22 initiative center forward. It'll be Darren Yappy and Sayyid Abu

Farkey. That deal was announced, I believe, yesterday the Israeli $6 million forward. So the Rapids, completely new look at that. Tom, can I ask you a couple questions? Number one, how surprised should we be after all of these years that all of a sudden the Colorado is spending money? I mean, they've, you know, they scoured the globe for all of the young international players. They obviously hit the lotto when it comes to Lucas Harrington. They're cashing in what seems like an absorbent amount for Hafeo Navajo considering I would have probably said he's between five and eight million would be the going price as opposed to what we're seeing I understand the complexity of an inner

league move versus outer league where the 20% sell-on maybe isn't involved I do have questions about does he get 10% of that 12 million he's supposed to and I don't know if that's a CBA thing or if that's still like a line sheet right off conversation but then ultimately how does how does hafail navajo's i guess departure because you could see how emotional it was i guess what i'm wondering is how it creates that power vacuum of not only performance but leadership on top of integrating for matt wells effectively four new guys on top of maziz who took no time to bed in who i think is fantastic player um it just seems like the risk is as important as the reward in this conversation for Colorado at this stage of the season.

Yeah, no, it's complexities. The first question of them spending money, to be fair to them, like, they spent decently on Georgi Mahaovich initially, that Georgianmajavich was sold, and they spent every dollar of that to get Paxon-Harenson. And then with Lucas Harrington going for $17 million and Hapa Navajo for 12, they won't have spent all of that back, but they've spent a fair chunk of it, and we'll see what else that they do maybe in the winter as well. So I'm impressed and it's good that they are spending this money

And I know that's a very low bar to say, Donnie. Not all teams have been doing that. You look at the team that they played in the Rocky Mountain Cup last weekend. Haven't exactly spent the money that they've received. And fans are rightfully upset. So the Rapids, whether or not it totally works out or not, a few things. Like the contract, I found that it was really, I thought it was a really nice moment. It was really sweet.

But it was kind of like, well, he's crying because he's leaving. But like he didn't really like him in his camp, they didn't come close on a new contract. I was told that, I mean, I don't. I don't know the ins and outs of the ass of the talks. I don't know exactly what he's getting in St. Louis. And sources say that a new deal is part of that transfer, which is what makes sense so that they keep his long-term future and he wouldn't be going somewhere that he didn't want to sign a long-term contract at.

But I found out of auto. I was like, why kind of didn't you just want to stay? So that put everything in motion. But the Rapids have 31 goals in 22 games. They're basically winning 1-0s. They won 1-0 against Realty. So like this really good run of forum, it's basically 1-0s. So even with Hoff and Navajo, two things can be true.

He's a really good player. he's going to be awesome for St. Louis. But it's not as if the rapid's attack was flying without him. So they wanted to completely reset it, particularly figuring out his future. They assumed he was going to leave. It's just the assumption was going to be Brazil or Mexico. And it ends up being St. Louis. And they're going to use the money to try to bring in different profiles.

They've completely remade the wings. Like you said, the attacking midfielder came in. He's looked pretty good. And then the hope is that this will get more out of Paxon-Arensen, because he hasn't been living up to his price tag. But if Paxon-Earinson is like a lower usage player and somebody who, I don't want to use Daniel Gosdog, but something in that mode where he's more of a goal-scoring attacker

than like a creative player and somebody who, if Aziz is on the ball more, if Morgan Whitaker's on the ball more, then maybe that'll get more out of Pakistan. That's, by the way, Matt, that's what I saw, was Maziz and Paxton were playing kind of dual pocket 10 creators. They were interchanging and moving all around. And it was almost like,

Paxton realized he didn't have to be the man, that he could be kind of a complimentary piece to another complementary piece that then solved all of kind of the worries and the pressure of a young guy being, is that kind of pseudo number 10? Yeah, he's a weird player because he's obviously skillful

and he's got an engine, but it's still not clear whether even that is his best role. I remember before the season, he was saying that, like, his best times in the Eradivisier came when, he was playing deeper as a number eight. And if you look at the struggles this team has had this year,

like they want to play a ball possession game, but they don't. don't have anybody deep in midfield who can actually pass the ball. So I'm wondering if part of the solution is to drop Paxton Aronson back a line, play him as a number eight like he played in the Netherlands, and let Aziz run the show with these new wingers. Georgie Manungo, I think just probably had his best game of the season.

And then whether it's Darren Yappi or Abu Farkey or maybe even Donovan Philip, the rookie striker they got who gets tearing up next blow. Pro either way, they've done a lot of business this summer. It's a different version of Colorado Rapids than old heads like me and Dunny are used to. I think it's fun. I like to see teams leaning into being sort of player development vehicles and they've done it with guys internally and they've done it now with guys that they've taken in and then sold on. And for 99% of teams in the world, that's the business, right? That is what you have to do to remain a going concern.

There's a little more leeway in MLS just because MLS owners are kind of in a different tier financially than most owners in the world. But it is nice to see that I do know that Rapids fans would rather see a trophy. They are one of those teams that's playing two weeks from tonight in the Open Cup semifinals. They're actually playing against St. Louis City in that semifinal. Hoffa Navajo cannot play in that game. He is cup tied to the Rapids. that does mean that Simon Betcher will likely be starting, though it does look like there's a lot of other stuff going on for St. Louis City.

They themselves have had a very busy summer window so far time. Can you take us over to the Mighty Mississippi? Yeah, Damien Downs is being brought in. He was in addition to Hoff and Avonel. I'm told that as alone through the sprint season. It's an interesting play. I didn't know that they were going to be able to fit both underneath their cap. I was told that a couple teams called about Simon Betcher

and the plan was not like we we want all three of these guys to be here in the team which makes me assume that there's a possibility that Navajo and Damien Downes can play together and I think that goes down to Rafah Navajo the way that he plays and why that I've said enough about Dejaniolich and so I don't want to keep saying the same things about like I think he's a really good player I'm just kind of surprised that a couple people would say you know he doesn't add enough in the buildup whatever he's not somebody in this

system that can play with another striker. Hoff and Navajo with his all-round game, can. And I think that that gives them more positional flexibility, versatility. Carlo Holza can play more centrally. He can play more wide. So those two players, I'm assuming, will basically always start. And then if Damien Downes makes sense, he starts.

If it's Alex Matan, that makes sense, right? And I think that's going to be really good because Yon DeMay is a great coach. So we've spent a lot of time talking about. I know that Doyle and I are big on him, Donnie. I'm sure you've been impressed as well. And they're bringing in a central midfielder on loan from National. which was basically the only thing that this club really needed in terms of depth. It's Charles Emil Brunette on loan.

He wasn't going to play for Nashville. Nashville are also sending Chris Applewhite on loan to Austin FC. Goes to show that that team is really deep and this makes sense. Whether he plays a ton or not, I think is besides the point. But now they have more cover in Central Midfield after Edward Lovin left. Obviously, Daniel Edelman and Chris Durkin will still be the starters. But I got to tell you, there's a lot of consternation from St. Louis fans as recently as one week ago, this is a really freaking good window

there's just no two ways about it Dunny I don't know No I do and the only concern that I have is and again I'm thinking about it more from a player's perspective when you build a roster for a certain way to play and I'm not necessarily saying that that roster was built just for you on demand

in the way that he wanted to play but again there becomes like a weird vacuum effect that starts to happen and we can talk about leadership and we can talk about culture and training habits and all those things there's an injection of fresh blood. So all of a sudden, and we saw this with the Ovalich and Schmets and Craig Weibel talked about it.

All of a sudden there's like a killer, like a killer attitude. Everybody's excited. Everybody realizes, oh, you brought the man in. Like, let's show the man like how good we can really be, even if you're in a terrible run of form. That's the only thing is how do we, I guess, effectively judge the right balance of it's going to take time for the players to figure out, you know, culturally what's expected to understand on the field, tactically what's expected, and then ultimately the strengths and weaknesses. How do you kind of map over some of that early struggle that's going to inevitably happen and that you hit the ground running? But for Damien Downs, it's an odd one because you think about the pathway of this last

24 months from being in the national team and Southampton and coming back and all of these things. And I heard you guys talk about him the other day. Who is he really? Like we know there's a hell of a potential for this young man. But finding stability, getting games, pound in the back of the net as early and often as possible, those are things that I would assume have been sold to him on this second version of Marisa Pochitrino and the U.S. men's national team

to be as dynamic and consistent as possible. I mean, I can't imagine that Maricio Pochitino has the radar at all at this point. Downs hasn't scored a goal in professional soccer in a year and a half. He went 04 the season last year. To me, this just seems like a nice flyer to take for St. Louis on a kid who has some physical tools, but never really put it together other than a short run in the two Bundes League a couple years back. And one of the things that we've seen really over the past three years is that the Premier League makes the market.

Yeah. And they are in the Premier League, they're now a little bit gun-shy buying from the Bundesliga. I think because of the struggles at Nicolte-Made and, of course, Florian Verts have had living up to those incredible price tags, there's now some skepticism about Bundesliga players. And so because it's not a clear path to the Premier League, which is paying a premium for players that they want, primarily from other Bundes League teams, but also from France, these guys can be had for relative pittance, to the point where MLS can get involved

with some of these players, like what we saw from Toronto, with the D-MID they signed, but also, like, it becomes a reasonable thing for a player who's trying to sort of recover his value and find a path back towards relevance to leave a Bundesliga team or to go out on loan from a Premier League team

and play an MLS. And it feels like that's what the story is with Downs. And look, if Yohan DeMay can get the most out of him, this will be a big win for St. Louis. It's been an interesting window. To me, I think they're actually a little bit worse than they were at the start of the window because Marshall Harttel.

Yeah, Marcel Harttel was awesome. For like a month? I mean, no, he was awesome for like six months, dude. Like, he's been really good since he came in here. I thought he was the most dynamic player they had in the attack. Yeah. That's not a high, wasn't a high bar to clear. I thought he was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Western Conference.

Like, he was so good. And look, I think they did the right thing by letting him walk. But like, this team has not looked the same over the past four games. Even though they're on now a 13 game on beaten streak, they haven't been quite as good. And we saw it in the last 20 minutes against FC. They weren't able to get on the ball and control games. Now, that doesn't mean it's not going to work. Holsa is not 100% integrated yet.

I do hope that there's, I don't know, maybe there's another addition to come in midfield, but I actually think this team's a little bit less dynamic overall. I strongly disagree, man. All right. Well, you know, they looked really good back in July and even running into July. But we'll see what happens from here now. To go over to the Eastern Conference, Columbus Crew, a team that for half a minute, they looked really good.

Tom's giving us the thumbs up. Does that mean you're about to take a call or can you talk? No, sources, Sancy Rodriguez, this shouldn't be a surprise. That deal is done. He is a Columbus crew player. What I am told, that's a new DP. This was the other Domino when they bought out Daniel Gazog, which allowed him to go to New England. Sancti Rodriguez was a deal that they were working on for weeks and weeks.

this is who they wanted. They think the eventual front three when Wesse Mabu Ali is back next season of Abu Ali, Bryce Mendes, and Santhi Rodriguez is extremely complimentary and dynamic. And they got their guy. It was complicated, not because of Columbus. Complicated because Botafogo are broke

and owe everybody money. And it's difficult when NYCFCC, I don't know if they've been fully paid for Sanjay Rodriguez. Based on everything else, Botafogo and that ownership is done, I'm going to go ahead and assume not because we know that Tiago Alamoamo has been paid for to Atlanta United.

So there was a worry that that was going to trip up the deal. At the end, Columbus crew were able to get it done and get it done on deadline that he flew yesterday to Columbus. So it's not a surprise that this deal got done. But sources can confirm a deal is done, Sanctu Rodriguez, to the Columbus crew. I was going to say that. Thoughts, Donnie? I'm trying to parse through my feelings about Columbus because obviously I have an affinity

for having played for the club. and still have a ton of friends there. But in these last couple of windows, I've been really confused. I've been really confused from a leadership standpoint, really confused from the decisions on the coaching staff, really confused as I thought they were development, like they were an academy-driven, let's give the young guy's opportunity, and it feels like this window has gone into complete different opposite direction.

I know you guys were kind of joking around about, oh, I'm Owen Prestus the other day and his move down to Nashville. it just seems like this could be the final swing, you know, when you're thinking about from a general manager's standpoint, especially with Besbechenko coming in. What does this really look like? What is ownership backing? And ultimately, still with Lorencois, for Isatel, having Lauren Kutuah in place right now is kind of a no-brainer, right? I mean, you've got control of a guy who's in an interim position who's effectively, I don't want to say forced to play all of his soccer. but there's going to be a real significant intent that he's going to put all these guys on the field at the same time and figure out a way to collectively get the best, minimize their

weaknesses and really, you know, punch above their weight and get back in the conversation, which doesn't seem like there's enough games for that to happen. But this is the final swing. It feels like for Isatoll with Pez Pichenko coming back to the group. Yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where Pesbichenko is now overseeing the whole project, right? Isatoll is still technically the CASO, but I think, yeah, Isatal now has another layer between himself and ownership. It started out really well with Laurent Courtois. I think they won four of their first six games.

They had that good showing in the group stage of the league's cup. They've not lost four straight in league play, five straight overall. They are, they played a four-four-two last week, which I didn't really understand. for a couple reasons. One is that they just don't have centerbacks who are comfortable playing in the middle in a two. But also one of the things that defined them a couple years ago was Stephen Marrera pushing forward from that right center back in the three. Now if you make him a traditional right back, he's just kind of a, like he's an above average player instead of a potentially game breaking player. So what we're seeing is that the personnel doesn't really.

fit the scheme and I'm not sure why the scheme changed and they were terrible on Sunday against the race. New England were able to cut through them again and again and again. Santee Rodriguez is a no-brainer signing. He's a talent upgrade but he doesn't fix

the stuff that's going wrong for them. So this is a team that feels like a lot more work needs to come either in the next 10 hours or this winter. Winter is the assumption and sorry Donnie but like I'm a big fan of Laurent Guantua and I still think that he's done enough to be in serious consideration for the job.

And I don't necessarily know that it's on him this part, but they were way too easy to play through for New England. And it's been like that, that's been the problem on the losing streak. And listen, they should probably have at least one, if not, no, perhaps. Yeah, at least one new central midfielder, but probably three, two or three new kind of like defensive spine signings in the winter. So I'm not entirely sure if that's all in Laurent Guzreux.

But he, and he's a really good motivator. that's kind of why I'm surprised that they were so easy to play against, but maybe I was a little bit overly optimistic on where they were a month ago. I was there with you. I got way out over my skis on that. I think I moved them into my top 10

in my power rankings. All right, Tommy, you could put it in the rundown that there's an update on a winger target for sporting Kansas City. Yeah, so Jan Gabojo, plays for FC to lose. Myself and Boltonori reported in June

when we were at the World Cup and living together at a very nice Airbnb. Poor Henry Bush now. We reported that Kansas City were in the running and trying hard to sign the winger Jan Gabojo in a range of like 20 million. Andre Louise was going to happen first, and this was at a time when both Manu Garcia and Deañovovich were still at the club.

So I think fans interpreted it as one or the other. I was told the whole time that this, if they were going to get Gabojo, it might come down to the end of the window because there's European interest and they were going to be able to sign both. I'm told that there had been some talks, but there was a report in France that, said he was you know everything was reached and agreed it was down to the player you know that came out about six hours before the french window closed and he wanted to go to leone or at least i think

his agents wanted some uh other movements to happen i keep on checking in on it of course things can can move but uh the last i heard as of an hour ago young go bo that deal's not on um i know kansas city really really like them and they have the money to go get them but um if if they were able to convince the player but last i heard it wasn't exactly it wasn't exactly it wasn't exactly hot and it was a little bit overplayed. Donnie, obviously sporting Kansas City is just one winger away from contention. I mean, they're right there, right on the precipice. Right on the precedent.

Yeah, listen, I think, it's so hard for me because I think about these kind of like such well-established clubs at certain stages. And in my mind, I can't parse or separate what they were with what they are right now. It's some of the, you know, even when I'm prepping for games, it's like hard for me to reset, recalibrate, like, oh, this has been a struggle. This has been years without playoff appearances. This is not the same stadium that has this probably the best atmosphere in major league soccer at one point in time that all of these things are changing.

And I'm not trying to place blame on anyone in particular. But man, this is a big turnover moment. I mean, we were kind of joking around, Colorado, St. Louis, Kansas City. I mean, these are significant sums of money. These are significant outlays. These are significant statements of intent right now. And for Kansas City, it feels like to your point, not just one-winger, probably another eight or so players, because you're not just focusing on the starting 11, right? You've got to create a competent group that is competing every day and not everybody understands that they're an absolute starter when the weekend rolls around.

Really quickly, it's getting sad. We've talked so much about Kansas City. confirmation that Botafogo will not receive a penny of the Sandy Rodriguez fee. So is Columbus just going to ship that money straight to NYCFC? I think that was part

so many debtors with their hands out even just in this league. What do you do with the money? Because I believe the fee was in the region of like 6 million. That doesn't cover all the money that they owe as far as I understand. No, it was a $16 million dollar sale

when Santy Rodriguez. Drsanti, 21 for Tiago Amada, and there were sell-ons in Tiago Amata. It's been sold three times in Atlanta. He just got, I didn't even realize he got sold to River Plate this summer for $20 million. Don't have money. How did they pay for that? I have no idea, but like that one, that one bumps me out because that's a player who I would have liked to see MLS, some MLS team bring back. How maybe it can happen this one.

I was going to say that's Austin of C in 2028. Yeah, absolutely. One of the teams that could have used him, and that I thought was going to go bigger this summer than they have, is a Chicago fire. Now, they did sign Robert Lewandowski. That's a huge move, but they did have, they do have another DP slot they could use on another big player. It doesn't seem like they're going to do that, Tom. They have a bunch of smaller moves lined up. They're still a really good team, obviously, and they're going to be, I think, a deeper team after this is all said and done.

Yeah, so I agree with you on the DPS sound. I want to start with that. There was very small, like a big midfielder target that they were, it was always a long shot. And it didn't come to pass. And what I was told a few days ago was the fire. The fire. He ended up at Astavilla, say it. The fire were going to sign three or four players.

And instead of kind of one big D.P. And that's what they think would make the team better. They've had more outgoings than I thought. was going to happen. But let's run down the latest of Chicago. First, Noah Allen, into Miami, advanced talks. I'm expecting a deal to get done, but as of an hour ago, there was no deal done. It's going to be a cash trade, but because Miami has already sold players this winter, what makes sense for teams is you sell one player a year. It does not make sense to sell two in 2026 and zero in 2027 when it comes to game. So the Noah Allen deal, as,

They want it to be alone with an obligation to buy in the winter. So then that counts as 2027, and you add the gam for 2027, because Miami has already added the allocation money from sales this year. And that's how really good teams keep their roster going. This is how they extend the salary cap. This is what happens when you have eight 10 players. This is why teams are able to continue renewing if you're able to sell one player basically a year, and that's kind of one of the things.

Noah Allen in Chicago did not see that company. Um, no Allen has had interest in Europe, particularly in Greece, because he's now a Greek youth international. He's on the verge of making a senior debut from what I've heard. Um, he's somebody that's around the pool and I wouldn't be surprised if that happens over the next 12 months. Chicago Fire don't have a need it left back. They have Andrew Gutman, but I think this is, oh, we can get a really good player for three million. Yeah, it's pure market opportunity. And then you play a back three, you can now you can play a back three with no Allen is left centerback. I think he's been really good for Miami. And also you could potentially,

potentially sell him next year for four and a half million to Olympiakos or Panath-a-Nicos or something like that. No, it's a great way to put it. And he'll fit really, really well in the Greg Burhalter system. So there's a lot to like for Chicago. So that's one to watch over the next 12 hours here. Again, I'm assuming per sources that this is going to get done, but as of right now, it's not done. A few things that are done for Chicago. CF Montreal are finalizing a deal to acquire Redoyovic on loan.

He's a left back, a U-22 that hasn't played much. Anytime that you have a U-22 that doesn't play much, you call Montreal. Bang, deal's done. Loan, going to Montreal. Joel Waterman, Canadian International, is traded to the Portland Timbers. As I've reported, I don't have the fee on that yet. I can't imagine it's going to be huge, but that's still salary. That's still one way to move in, move in and out.

Because they've signed a centerback, and I got to tell you to Greg Berthar and the fire scouting staff, they did not make it easy on the names here. They brought in a centerback, Andreas Hacha Olson. I didn't write down where he came from because this all happened at the same time. They signed a central midfielder, a Georgian player. I'm going to give it my best here, guys. Ansor, Mechwabichivili, central midfielder. Definitely a real name.

And they've signed an attacker, Johann Gomez, American and Mexican duel national. He's been in the German second tier. So that's like, what did I just run down? Six moves, basically in the last 48 hours of the window. It's been very, very busy for the Chicago fire, none of which are a big DP. Oh, I forgot. White Lightning, Jason shook a look, RSL. The pride of Erie, Pennsylvania.

Duny, what does this say to you? Because I felt like the fire were one more big move away from joining that. Really, there's a trio of teams at the top in Nashville, Vancouver, and Miami, who I consider to be the inner circle of contenders. I thought Chicago were close. I thought they were going to make the move that put them there. I feel like they haven't. Am I crazy for that?

No, I don't think you're crazy. But I would say that the idea of the move for Leon Goretska made a lot of sense. it was indeed as real as some of the whispers were we're talking about because that's a guy who reported that donnie don't doubt me was it you i mean it wouldn't be so they made they made it they made an offer they wanted him on tam and this was after the as far as i understand i'm going to be clear careful casamiro um is a one a tam tam huge option for um a contract i wonder how optional that is what would happen if he got crazily injured who knows um chicago tried to make i think that offer for Leon Guretska and his people were like, I'm just using a round number. I don't know

what the contract offer was, but let's just say it was 15 million. Wait a minute, you want to pay 1.5, 1.511? Why not just 5-5? It's like, well, you don't understand. It's the salary cap. I don't know how sold he was on company at all, and that cooled pretty quickly. Well, yeah, and on top of what is he 31, so wait until you're 34 effectively to get that payday a certain amount of risk. I did the game this weekend at Seattle, and I just want to be very clear. Joe Mansoito and what he's building in real time is extraordinary, right?

To have an owner that that's that committed, that in love with what he wants the Chicago fire to be from, whether it's the training facility or the impending stadium. On top of that, I think what Greg's done is he's reestablished how good he is in Major League Soccer for figuring out ways to, you know, I guess navigate and method. materialize a roster and continue this evolution. I would say also on top of this, Noah Allen, remember, there was a good amount of games where he played on that left-hand side

of his centerback partnership. So in a pinch, if you do need him, I know he's undersized in AJ Del Garza-esque for the MLS after darkers out there. But there's still, the one thing I think that Miami misses off this as a little subnote is urgency. Noah Allen, every time he was on the field,

you could feel like the competitive urgency for him to win, constantly win his battles. And I think that's a great locker room, you know, roster addition to this group. So I understand, I just, I really struggle to comprehend a world in which Chicago isn't going to be always active, always searching, always trying to better this group. We'll see how this all lays out. I wasn't surprised that Yovalich with the way that he started for Seattle. And then I wasn't surprised that Chicago was able to come back because I think they have the right grit and the right mentality, especially on the road to figure out points.

So I don't think they're the best team in the Eastern Conference. That's very clear that it's BJ and Nashville. But I do think that Chicago, if they can keep these pieces in place with this formation, that they're onto something. They really are onto something. Yeah, no doubt they are. I think they're probably a top four team in the Eastern Conference. To me, it's still Nashville and Miami levitating above the rest.

Chicago's in that next group with the next team we're going to talk about the New England Revolution. They obviously got their biggest work done near the start of the window by bringing in Jack Harrison. I think he has helped immensely with this team, just a force magnifier, opens up the field for Carlos Hill, has opened up the field for the forwards who are finally getting the ball in the box, making Peyton Miller look good as a winger, really just simplifying the game for him. And like credit to Marco Mitrovich I was not sold on the like the first half of the year New England was getting results because Matt Turner was playing out of his mind

because Carlos Hill is still really really good and I felt like that was it. I didn't see the build art patterns I wanted. I didn't see anything in the final third but he's not only installed all of that over the past month and a half but he's developed players like Brooklyn Raines, Peyton Miller, Ethan Kohler,

these are kids that he had for the USU20s. And Tom, it looks like another of that group is about to join the New England Revolution. Yeah, sources say the revs are in very advanced. SLOX assigned Josh Winder on loan from Benfica. This is somebody who was viewed as basically the best youth national team centerback prospect of, you know, his age group, you know, give or take a year or two. He's really highly rated.

He broke through with Louisville City. He was awesome. A lot of teams in Europe. And MLS wanted him. He ends up going to Benfica. He's played about 40 times for their second team. he struggled a little bit with injuries over the last 18 or 24 months. And needs first team playing time.

He was getting close to having like a rotational or like a squad role with the Benfica first team. He wasn't going to be a starter. But like he was going to get some minutes. And then the injury happened. And now what he needs more than anything is to be able to go play. Well, going to New England with Marco Mitrovich, his youth national team coach, somebody who really believes him. And what I was told really pushed for this one.

I think it's very exciting because his talent is is so very clear. It's just about can you say healthy? can you get games? I believe that he can. And I believe getting him on loan is a fantastic roll of dice. If they're able to get this deal done again, it is complicated because of the timing and the moving parts and everything else. I was told that there isn't a purchase option

in this deal, but basically listen, if you set a purchase option at $10 million, who cares? You can't negotiate a purchase option up. You won't do that, but you can negotiate it down. So there's no purchase option, but if there was an option at $7 million, it wouldn't matter because they wouldn't pick that up. If

the player loves it here, if both teams are happy and wants to make something permanent happen, they will negotiate, right? So there's no option, but that doesn't mean that this is definitely just a short-term stay if it gets done. I agree with you about Mitrovich. I wasn't sold in the beginning. And then I did the game. I believe it was Miami when they got the draw early when Miami's having those struggles and they couldn't find their first win. And there was a spirit. There was like a weird attitude. And again, I don't know, man. We kind of weaponized the conversation around vibes pretty frequently. Like, oh, they got to feel good. That's my entire beat.

Vibes. But, no, I think what I recognized is that there was an inclusiveness that maybe previous managers didn't view as important. And that was staff members, that was PR people, that was, you know, from radio and television. Yeah, and listen. I'll say the name. Caleb Pater. Caleb likes to isolate and control.

There's nothing. Listen, we all know that. There's nothing wrong. I couldn't have. I would not have guessed who you're getting down to there. I'm really shocked. But I mean that that, and credit to Mitrovich, that's low-hanging fruit, right? How do you get everybody on your side?

How do you insulate yourself and how do you protect yourself from those type of criticisms? Well, if you're making everyone feel good around you, then all of a sudden, everyone's going to have your backing protect you. It's pretty obvious and basic. But it felt like there was, I don't know, man. I would watch New England and I'd be like, eh, like, I can see that there's good guys and I can see there's good players. But I'm like, do they have it? Like, no, not in the way the Eastern Conference is built.

So all of a sudden, I think the pieces of the puzzles are really starting to fit. David Ruiz coming up, I think is a really interesting one. I'm like you guys, I'm dumbfounded by the Daniel Gosdog struggles in Columbus to see if maybe that changes. And then, you know, Wenders has shown that the potential of this young man is incredibly high. And we were kind of waiting that maybe Jose Marino would be the magic touch and kind of see if there was a way to fast-track him into the first team. I was not, just for the record, I was not waiting for Jose's Marineo to be the magic touch.

Did you not watch the Netflix? With a young, with a young center back. No, I was not. DeBloina and Sala were sitting there in the background? No, okay. There is a different timeline where Winder makes a different decision about his club at 18 and is actually in the U.S. national team pool, maybe even in the World Cup this past summer,

because he's that kind of talent. He just got derailed by making the wrong club choice and then a couple of injuries. I think this is a home run for the revs and I hope it works in the way that we've been talking about it working for the rapids in terms of their player development and then sell

because there's no question if it works out perfectly for Winder he's going back to Europe in a couple years and if you're the revs you're fine with that. You want that reputation as a team that can get the best out of young players. So the next time there's a talented 18 year old, either coming through your academy or coming through a USL team, instead of signing with Benfica at 18, they sign with you

because they know they're going to get 2,000 minutes a year and they know when they're 20 or 21, when they're more ready for the jump, that's when they go to Benfica or Porto or PSV, that kind of move. So it's smart work by the Revs. I hope we get to see the healthy version of Wynder because he was awesome last year under Mitrovich at the U-20 World Cup. Like he was Chris Richards level good for that team. And the Revs, having made a couple of moves already this summer, did need some depth on that back line. Maybe he even becomes a starter.

Another team that's made some moves, the big ones outgoing in Ezekiel Ponce, and then, of course, recently Jack McGlynn, Houston Dynamo. They also brought in Duncan McGuire. He has not moved the needle at all up top. So it looks like they're bringing in Lyle Foster, who's south-left, fucking World Cup. Yeah, on loan.

Yeah. What have we got, Tommy? Yeah, so a deal is being finalized for a loan through, I believe, until the summer. There's been too many loans. Finalizing a loan deal to sign him from Burnley and a purchase option at $7 million. He won't occupy a D.B. spot for now at the very least. And I do want to be clear that when they brought in, Duncan McGuire, they wanted to bring in two forwards because Poncei was leaving.

Like they knew that that was a probability this summer. So getting Duncan done early. But the plan was always for another center forward to come in just to make sure that they were well covered. And somebody that would compete with Duncan, but maybe wouldn't be the most obvious of, okay, here's $15 million for center forward. The other guy's just going to sit. So now they have two solid options up top. And this is a team that's been playing a little bit with like a non-natural center forward,

at center forward over the last few weeks in their run. of good, good form. They are up high in the Western Conference. Sources also say that they just sent Sam Vines on loan to San Diego FC. I've reported that around when the show was starting. So Houston are busy. There's still some other things that they're working on. I was told beyond Lyle Foster, we'll see what does or does not get done.

But Houston or one of the teams that are active here on Deadline Day. Lyle Foster, another championship guy from Burnley. They were in the Premier League last year. He's in number nine. he does not score a lot of goals. He has zero double-digit goal seasons in his career, and he's 25 years old. So I think it's smart that they get him on loan.

It kind of feels to me like it's going to end up being Mateus Bogush playing primarily as a hyper-mobile false nine, and then Guillermo and maybe Lawrence Anali, and then a little bit of Benny Ball behind that. Yeah, I mean, listen, I did this. the game, Austin, a couple weeks ago, Langer, Bussat, Batty Bogus, Gujarme, and Duncan McGuire. You add, I think, in this conversation, Lau Foster, where the player profile maybe is stretching a little bit more dynamic, a little bit more in behind centerbacks in transition moments,

all of a sudden they become that much more dynamic. Listen, the reality is he's going to get a lot of chances. He's going to get, if he just plants his ass anywhere between the penalty spot and the top of the six-yard box, he's going to get a lot of goals because that's just what they do. I mean, the overlapping runs, underlapping runs, I mean,

with Ace Acey spraying balls, you know, picking the ball up off a centerback and hitting a dynamic split, you know, they are, they obviously Benny, and again,

full disclosure, I played with him 20s, the Olympic team, like we go way back. So I've got a soft spot for him. But I've always loved his competitive nature, that's who he is,

right? Like who he is on the sideline, pacing, throwing his arms around, like being demonstrative, that's a little angry Benny, and you're going to get the best out of him. And I love it. That's how he's always been. He'll MF anybody that's in within spitting distance if things are going sideways. But what I also like about this is twofold. I don't know if you guys agree, feel free to disagree. Between Pat Onstad and Asherom Anderson, I love how transparent

they are publicly and in the media. I love how Asher is constantly on Twitter, describing the move, giving the background to it, understanding the nuance and the decision of why exactly they did this. Even when they're moving out some beloved young player, they're at least explaining why they're giving a little bit of feedback as to why the moves are happening. So, you know, credit to Pat, credit to Asher, credit to ownership, they realized when Mikhail left a couple of seasons ago that their season took a tumultuous turn. And since then, this roster build has been really impressive and I'm not surprised that they find themselves where they are in the Western Conference right now. Well, they hit on those centerbacks, Halter and Rush.

What a draft page. Who they got from the draft, right? It's like something crazy. Yeah, it's like Jack Elliott Regen, what, you know, the union were able to do with him a decade back. And if you hit on a pick like that, that gives you some leeway. And what they've done with their system now is sort to filter it towards forcing opponents into hitting long balls. And with those two guys back there and then three ball winners in Central Midfield, you win a lot of second balls and you go. And Lyle Foster can add to that, like you said, different profile, maybe running behind a little bit more.

There will be chances for them. Whether those chances turn into goals remains to be seen. A team that has not had any trouble scoring goals. FC Cincinnati, one of the highest scoring teams in the league. Tom, not a good defensive team at this point, despite having spent a lot of money on that back line. Yes, but they are working to address that in the transfer window. They've got two defensive additions coming. David Duder, a Czech international from Slavia Prague, to come in and play wingback.

He's 28 years old. He's won back-to-back league titles for his team. He's played at the World Cup, and he's somebody that comes from a market that they know well in signing Pavlovuka. they signed Pavel Buga for 2 million. Duderra's feat was a lot less than this. I think that they got a really good value on this player and somebody that at 28 years old, you expect them to come in and be good pretty much right away.

And this is going to be an important knock on effect for the team because that means he plays wingback and you have a natural player there. Pavel Buka goes back to the midfield, which I like a lot of what Pat Nudan has done for this team. And I sympathize with him for basically the last two and a half years. It's just put out fires at every point. It's, oh, another injury, oh, something else happened. Oh, Lucho's not here for preseason, and Luke Oriano's holding out.

Or, oh, Matt Miazga clattered into a post just when we were getting really good. And then Matt Miasga can't play 90 minutes. So, like, I understand he's had to move a lot of things around. I hate Sam Gidey at centerback because I think Gide is a really good player. They're going to bring in a centerback to Julian Malatini from the Bundesliga. He's an Argentine Youth International, 25 years old. So, again, the hope is when these players get their visas, they get in. You have another new starter at centerback, another starter at Wink.

back the defensive group which desperately needs to be improved, whatever, whether it's just personnel or structure, they've given up 51 goals. And that's too many goals for a serious team in the, in the playoff race and for a team that, like you said, Duelo has a DP spot in the defensive unit, has a max tam centerback in the defensive unit. Obinooboto is Max Tamish. I don't know exactly what that is, but they've got a lot of resources on defense-minded players to be this bad defensively. Yeah, I would also say inconsistency. right? You feel like they are they going to really outscore their opponent and just blast who's ever in front of them if they're feeling it or the moment that they can see that first goal.

It feels like they kind of just look around like, I don't want to say a crisis of confidence, but almost as if they forget how good of a team they really are. And that's been the most concerning thing is when you look at that team and obviously we'll wait and we'll get into the playoff conversation, then all the pressure will be on Evander to show up. and, you know, that umbrella has been hanging over him for the last couple of playoff cycles. But for this team, you expect them to be at the top. And I think that's been the oddity is watching

some of the decisions that they've made is a product of the window being as tighted as is down to the bottom. We heard Chris Albright talk about, and we know that they're going to switch the alignment next summer and how does that look and how does that change the ability for MLS to compete. I think Cincinnati is going to be one of the 1A tier clubs that's going to look to take advantage of that once that alignment does

happen. But in the meantime, still a lot of band-aids trying to protect this roster. Really quickly, because I've got a deal confirmed. Sources say FC Dallas are now finalizing a deal to sign Winger, Daniel Job, from Kong's Vinger per sources. The fee is in the region of $5 million. It is one of the top five fees in Dallas history. He will be a U-22 initiative slot. 21 years old, just turned 21 this summer. He had 15 gold contributions and 20 appearances in the second tier, I believe, of Danish soccer. But there's a U-22 attacker on the way for FC Dows. I got to tell you, as soon as I saw reports about this one and shout out to Buzz at third degree,

I think he was scouring the Scandinavian internet for this one. I checked to see if there was any connection between Talas' front office. and Daniel Jobs, current agents, because I can't get over the fact that they paid up to $7 million for a guy. Yeah, that is an insane amount of money. And that's the way it's being written up in Scandinavia, is that this was an insane sale for a guy.

Like, I think they 14xed their buy price for him over the course of six months. Hey, man, let's just dumb it down. The hunts are spending money. That's the only thing that matters, right? If it's smart money, bad money, indifferent money, Quilling Company right now, they got to sort out their defensive phase of play

because I believe it's something crazy, like 16 goals conceded in the last four or five games played, even with a couple wins. So I'm intrigued. I got a soft spot for Quilly and Mark and everyone down there. But I feel like this could be the team with Santi and Petter Mousup, top that you add a couple of pieces around them that takes a little bit more pressure and the

spotlight off them all of a sudden you know have a three four prong attack they they could cause some problems in the west now too so they finished up a nine game road trip this past weekend they actually went four wins three losses two draws on that road trip which is pretty damn good now they have eight of their final 12 um at home they're in good shape that said their game model they're not the type of team that is necessarily going to be more comfortable having more of the ball, which is what you associate with a long homestand. That said, I think any team in the world would choose to play eight of their final 12 at home rather than on the road. As for Daniel Job, I'm going to stay really, really skeptical about this,

not just because he's coming from a much lower level league, but also because Dallas's hit rate on their U-22 signing says, been abysmal. It has been a joke. So I, I am, I think they're a good team, but I think this is another team that had the chance to be more than that if they had gone big in this window. And this is not my version of going big. Donnie, what do you make of this team? I think it's a, I think it's a playoff team. I think the biggest challenge is going to be something really, really simple. Can they be high enough in the Western Conference to give themselves at least some semblance of a home field advantage at some point.

You know, because if you're going to go out and you're going to find yourself on the road in a playoff format, it's going to be a really huge challenge for this group. But I also think this is similar to Houston. I think this is one of those teams that can punch you in the face if you're not paying attention. I think it's one of those teams that you know it's going to be a knockdown, dragout fight. There's going to be urgency. There's going to be a certain amount of physicality. Oigodi and Kaike and all those guys, they're going to kick the crap out of you.

And that's not a bad thing. That's actually a real positive thing. So I think that's a bare minimum right now. The one thing you can control is your approach to the match, right? I mean, you can't control if you have a good game or a bad game. But effort and urgency are the two basics that you can always control. So I would put them in the Houston category. Obviously Houston farther, farther ahead in the offensive phase and collectively,

not individually. But, yeah, I still think Dallas is one of those teams that if you drive, draw them in the playoffs, you're like, shh, man, I don't want to deal with these guys. One more quick note on Daniel Job, I spoke to someone who would know better about me than the player. And the scouting report is an explosive winger, very good in one-on-one abilities and the ability to link the ball. But also, this is a data-driven signing in that I think that's probably reflected in part of the price is this is somebody who got on Dallas's radar because of data and analytics. hopefully he hits these are

wait wait wait Dallas doesn't Dallas is one of the few teams in the league that doesn't have a data an analytics guy I was told this is so they've got a program Oh they have the algorithm is this a clawed Clod driven signing is that the name of their data on this guy I sure hope that but this is this yeah this is that was

one of the indicators for this deal interesting Dunny mentioned Asazai Euragidi really quick there I'll mention Kevin Dankay. These are two guys. There's been a lot of reporting of teams across the pond interested in both of them. I think you've done some of that reporting. I know you have for Danke, maybe for Uruguida as well. Is there any, well, with the windows closed in most of Europe, it seems like that's unlikely, but it's still open in Turkey and Greece and maybe one or two other

places. Yeah, I mean, for somebody like Danke and Uruguay. So when I was told Irrigida, there was like a French team that liked him, but like he's, um, what was these times? Like three million to Dallas. And he's at that age profile where he's probably a championship club that's going to be able to afford it. Because like why would Dallas sell him for three and a half, right? Like he's much more valuable as like a really good centerback. They've tried a few times on Tam Centerbags and this is the one that's hit really well

compared to some of the other ones. So like you got to, it's got to be a bigger fee. And then obviously for the player to get a pay raise. So the stuff in France would make sense. And I'm sure he do. I know he do really well there. But like the finances didn't align and nothing got really serious. Nothing got advanced because of the asking price.

think for good reason from Dallas. For Denke, same thing. We're talking about England. We're talking about Whole City. Whole City made a bid of 15 million plus 5 million add-ons, I was told. And since he signed it for 16 million and a change, like 16.2, like 15 million guaranteed fees an absolute non-starter. What about 20?

20 plus add-ons, maybe. I don't know if that would get it done. I know 25 plus maybe a little bit of add-ons would definitely get it done. So Whole City could have afforded that if they really wanted the player and they made the bid and they didn't come back. Real Bettis, they inquired in the summer. got told 25 million and said, cool, thank you, never mind. And they came back in this summer and was told again, like 14 million plus

add-ons is not going to do it. You were not close. And they said, okay, maybe we'll try again in six months. But for now, those are the teams that I know that were in for Kevin Denke. When, since he bought Denke, my understanding was they did not buy him to flip him. They bought him because they thought he as a player, we're going to keep for at least half a decade and, you know,

hold on to and build a winning club around. So I assume was I misinformed with that or was he a purchase, okay, so they don't intend to sell him. Right, that's the thing is it's, if that happens, it'll happen, right? And they're fine, but it wasn't like we need this guy to be a resale value in four, in two years

or whatever, right? Like, if the opportunity makes sense and I'm told that like, Dan Kay, and he said this in an interview actually with Laurel Failure. the story. Like he said this as well. He would like to go back to a higher level at Europe at some point. So it's not as if since you're going to block him, but they're not going to give him away for the same price that they paid for, or less than what they paid for him

after he's done well. He hasn't done great. I want to be clear. But it's not as if he's come here like Lott's A lot and been like, oh my God, get whatever we can for him or some other bad signings that have happened in the league. So I totally get it with Sinci, even though it's been nice to see him and Evander pass the ball to each other occasionally now, a little bit more than last year. But again, that wasn't a high part to get over.

I've got another update here Kevin Kelsey Rangers that deal is now finally done I am told took a little bit here at the end he did he traveled to Europe several days ago the Scottish window is open until tomorrow night which I didn't know

and thought that they were aligned with England but Scottish window still open that deal is done Kevin Kelsey two Rangers 13 million plus add-ons huge deal so does he get his 10% then Tommy so this is funny because this is

actually been like, this is going to be pretty uninteresting, I think, to... Not for us. This has happened in several. So, contractually, written in the CBA, players are supposed to get 10% of transfer fees. It never

happens. I think that should change. I don't... I think this is on the PA, honestly. They need to enforce this if it's like players have to waive it. Well, all the players waive it. There might be new language and new contracts that are getting signed.

the summary in reaction to that because this held up Lucas Harrington a little bit, this held up Xavier Gozo a little bit, and this held up Kevin Kelsey a little bit. I know that for a fact, and I'm certain it's happened in other deals, when Tiago Almoda left for Bodefogo, and this is funny because what's 10% of zero? Zero, it wouldn't matter. The Bodefogo deal got held up, it got held up for a while, not a while, but like Tiago Amato even said it publicly. He's like, I don't understand. Like this is in the CPA. Maybe he said a con, whatever. He was like, why am I being asked to waive this? Um, so, So it's a weird one.

I know that Kelsey, that's one of the things that held this deal up. But at the end of the day, the deal is going to make it. What do you think of the timbers right now, Don't? Concerned. I like Marty C. Fuentes. I like what he's bringing. I like the little additives, the specific to outside backs, kind of rolling in the midfield, the old PEP, you know, Kyle Walker edition,

just using a simple data point. But, you know, guys overloading midfielers from different angles. And I think there's been a new lease on life for. for Aria Lasseter. Shout out to the dog. Roy, who used to bark when you would do sit-ups

on the national team. I was 20. Just coldly caught me off card. Everyone, whoo? Woo! Oh, I got. Patsy barking.

Does it everybody do that? I always bark when I'm doing my crunches. Yeah. Absolute dog, bro. You don't ask questions of a dog. Here's my concern. Felipe Mora. Gone.

Now, Kevin Kelsey. Gone. The temperament on Kelsey, I thought, was the only thing that was holding him back. You could always see potential with that profile, with that size, with that range, that left foot, those goals that he scored. He's still streaky in his kind of younger phase of development. But as I say that, I got the utmost respect for this kid because he's bet on himself, right?

He's been by himself 14, 15 years of age was the story that I was told. The trials, the tribulations, the life experience, both on and off the field. All of those things are important. I think Rangers are getting an evolved player. a player that's evolved since his time in Cincinnati because of the experience he's had in Portland. My question for Portland is, is Vincent Johnson going to be the guy

that you're going to lean into? Because right now that fitness level is nowhere close to what it needs. Yeah, he's going to be the guy at voodoo donuts, man. It didn't look great the first couple of matches. He picked up a red card for that second yellow a couple of games ago. So he still got the temperament for competition.

does that mean that you sacrifice Velda and put him as the hybrid of a nine? Because then you're taking away his superpower, which is kind of that Denny Bawanga left-hand side, let him fly, let him isolate, let him run, let him kind of like Jeff Cunningham artificially create some type of fisticuffs for no reason whatsoever just to take himself to that next level. Shout out to Jeffro. I'm only doing MLS after dark because I know you guys will get the reference points. I love it. Yeah, this is the right audience for that for sure.

But then, you know, again, I'm not sure if you were talking about, you guys were talking about the other day, I think it was you guys, but talking about for Marty C. Fuentes, the focus of making this playoff run and having successful season, getting the buy-in of the players that are either short-term or long-term, and then going into that sprint season with enough flexibility that as they collectively identify the players that they want to go to, are they trending towards, higher volume experienced designated players, or do they go back to that U-22 younger dynamic? Because in this past eight or so years from what felt like Gio Savarese was that the Academy wasn't as important for the development into the first team, that the usage of the college draft picks were more to be flipped as opposed to be used. And they were always going to go with a very South American type of flare and feel. Merritt spends money, Ned spends money, they throw things against the wall that they know probably won't stick, they take the risk versus reward for loan army, and then effectively they turn the roster over in the off season if it didn't work out.

So the one thing I do know is Portland's going to spend money. Are they going to spend money on the right players? Are they going to spend money on the wrong players? That's up for debate. But this significantly weakens them at this stage of the season, unless they've got their eyes on somebody in these final few that they can come in and get a goal score. That's the question, Tom. We know Portland is going to spend money. Are they going to spend money in the next 10 hours to get a Kevin Kelsey replacement? Or is it going to be Vincent Jansen and Gage Gera rotating up top?

It's interesting. I know that they were in the market to make an attacking addition. But what I was told four or five days ago, it didn't necessarily need to be a center forward. Hey, if it could be somebody who could play on the wing or center forward, they would like versatility. but they do feel like they're fine for now with Vincent Jansen and Gage Gera. They really like Gage Gera. So between those two players and a 4-2-3-1, 4-33, however you want to look at it for Mardi-Sufentes, it's one center-forward.

And you can get by over the next couple months with two natural options. And, you know, barring injury, of course, we'll see what they could, what else that they could do. But my understanding was not to expect, like, a $10 million U-22 center-forward to come in over the next 10 hours. Can I suggest a Band-Aid? I just literally thought of this. Why not go for like a Victoro Lituengi at Salt Lake,

a guy who's been relegated backing up Sergei Solons. I know he hasn't, he had the eye injury early in the season. Last year I had a couple goals when he came in on loan. I'm just thinking about a profile that would fit to dynamism around what that attacking group looks like with Da Costa and Ariel Laster and Anthony, Christopher Velda, especially for a guy that seemingly, I mean, this guy had eight Champions League goals for Sparta Prague. I thought he was going to be really good in MLS.

I thought he was like, they were talking initially about like a DEP deal for Olu Tungi and they were able to make the fee work. Like it was going to be one of those DPs that were bought down, you know, with it a year or two. But they were able to get the fee down enough that he was a TAM player. And I remember being like, wow, that's fantastic. Like given the pedigree that Dunny said and the like physical profile that was like, all right, that guy usually comes MLS and like works.

He hasn't. I think he needs to change the senior. I don't know if he knows that he needs a change of surgery. I think that he wants to win his spot back. And White Lightning might be above him in the depth chart, as far as I understand. Jason shook a look from the Chicago Fire. So I don't know if that's going to get the message across. But I don't know.

I don't hate that at all, Dunny, alone with maybe RSL covering some salary. He's a guy that just needs to play. I feel like he's a confidence player. Like you get him in some games. He's not going to miss some of these chances. He's not going to be thinking about missing those chances. I don't know. It seems like one of those where you hope Ned is at least kick that rock once or twice.

I think the answer if you're RSL is why would I help you, right? Because these are two teams that are below the red line in the Western Conference. And the last thing I would want to do if I was RSL was help out a team that could be racing and competing with you is going to be racing and competing with you for that last spot. But Victor Olatunji, to Tom's point, well down the depth chart. right now for RSL and hasn't been the signing that I think people had hoped he would be. A guy who's well down the depth chart for Inter-Miamy, a guy who's like I've liked in the past, David Ruiz, another homegrown on his way to Red Bull, New York. This is their big signing of the Summerman, giant club, those Red Bulls,

1% Derby, just like the old days. He's basically the new Tierra on Reef. is David Devin Ruiz. Do I have that right, I don't think you've been, I like, so two things to be true, the Red Bulls are not due enough this summer. But I do like David Ruiz, man.

I agree, I agree. And they did need Central Midfield help, right? Because Ronald Donkor started out the season great. He has been struggling. I think the minutes have caught up. And I think David Ruiz can really, really help. This is a good move. We wanted the Red Bulls to do more.

We want for them to start behaving like they're from a big market. By the way, I need to apologize because I think I said David Ruiz to New England earlier in the show, and I caught myself when you guys were talking. So just call me out. I'm an idiot. I heard that when it happened, and I was like, he's never coming on again.

Don't stay fully. No, listen, I think the Red Bulls are still in my mind, I still can't separate the history of the massive players, right? The glitz and the glamour of Tieri and company. And I think that's where I still struggle is trying to. to truthfully understand what they are, what they're trying to accomplish internally. And in that trifecta of the world that includes Salzburg and Leipzig, how does Michael Bradley benefit the most out of this? Obviously, a young manager with an incredibly high potential

for what, you know, in terms of soccer knowledge and activation, the success he had last year with the Guzman, that's all important. But now as, you know, you lean into this, you know, incredible, a unique balance of like the young guys are incredibly talented and they've got the world at their at their fingertips where the older guys still have a responsibility of performance, expectation, the salary dump, the goals, the assist, all of those things and still bringing up these guys at the same time to teach them, you know, the details and the minutia of daily life and preparation. I can tell you as a young kid, every time I was in a locker room, I would look at all the guys. I would want to know what Eric Winolda did or didn't, what John Harts did or didn't,

Leonovarez did or didn't. All these guys, it benefited me. So when I look at this group, I think he's the perfect addition for legs, combativeness, like tough tackling, leadership, and a guy that needs no time to bet in because he already understands what the league's, you know,

expectations are. Yeah, again, I like David Ruiz as a player. It makes sense that teams would be targeting him from Miami with the glut of midfielers. And this is going to be a really necessary profile for the Red Bulls. even just rotation, but like, the combination of bad centerbacks and no ball winner in the midfield means that they just get killed. And Michael Bradley has adjusted a bit, like, it's not

Chiquel Marshall Reddy playing right back. Now it's doing newest. So then it's you stay at home. And I'd like that kind of of a change. And this is probably unfair because I don't know the exact in and outs of the salary cap, but I think I could have bought out a few players, Bergerin, Bergen, freaky Saturday's name. That could have been done in the winter. Where would this team be Doyle if they had Daniel Edelman and Sean Nealz. Right. Like, no. Because I genuinely, so they have 26 points or an eighth place.

I think that they're closer to Sinci at 31 points and Charlotte at 35. Yeah. And that's not, that's not, that's not even saying buy out Chupa Moteng and sign another DP. You know what I mean? Like this is, um, listen, I like a lot of the foundations of what they're building. We talked about this recently, Doyle of like, listen, man, Julian Hall, well done. Honestly, well done by them to get the new contract done. I did, I was fearful of that.

was Alex Freeman had a little bit more time on his contract when it was clear to Orlando. He's not resigned. And I was worried that that might happen to Julian Hall. But you're not going to have Julian Hall in Adjima Mehdi for a long time. Emil Forsberg, he's not exactly what he was when he first signed. I think he's a high-level player in this league still. I think he's a good D.P. sign. And you have another, like a few other things that, like, man, like, this team isn't that far off from like,

why can't you be the fourth best team in the East? And what happens in the playoffs? Who knows? What happens in the Open Cup? What happens in any other competition? So it's just unfortunate that Chupamot saying his contract is going to run out and then they're going to sell Audrey Metti and then restart it all over again. Yeah. Unfortunate is the right word for it.

And it's frustrating as well because look, this gambit that they've taken this year, which is not just Audrey Mamedi and Julian Hall, but it's also Dos Santos, the 18-year-old left back. And it's rehabbing Justin Che's career and he's 22 and Kate Kyle is 22. and the new kid, the Bazan, the centerback, it's just 20 years old. All of these, I like basanches. Yeah, I do too. I like all of those guys to a degree. But like all of these punches that they're taken right now

are worth it if you come out the other side and the team is still intact. And these young players are suddenly young veterans who know how to survive a fight. And what it feels like to me is that the high-level match winners from this group are all going to be sold before the team can actually become that group of young veterans

who can actually compete at the highest level. Instead, they're just going to be playoff cannon fodder and then Adjimmedi is going to go to Salzburg and Julian Hall is going to go to Leipzig and you're going to have to just repeat it again and there's just no desire at Red Bull Global to actually win anything. It's just a clearinghouse for young talent.

I was also wondering, I guess, bigger pay. By the way, the next four games at Seattle, LAFC, Columbus, and NYCFC. Those are the next four for the Red Bulls coming up. On top of that, I don't know, like how much do we take into account Julian de Guzman as general manager, Michael Bradley, his first year head coach? And I don't know how to verbalize this correctly, but how do we give them time in the mix of like the, you know, the immediacy and the need of Red Bull to establish themselves or reassessing. establish themselves in that hunt for not just a playoff spot, but for quote-unquote, what they once were in the Eastern Conference lexicon. Yeah, and I think that's also, while we'll play Devils

advocate as well, even on my own critiques of like, I, this is, they're better right now than I, I think maybe even they thought, and I don't want to put words in their mouth, but Doyle, I, you, you were, I was even higher on them maybe than you were in the preseason. I knew, we both really, really liked Julian Hall and I drew Medi. We did not see this coming from these two players right now. Maddie Dos Santos, it was like maybe he'll get some minutes. He's been a good left back, right? So there have been a few things, Justin Chee.

I was like, yeah, maybe it'll work out and he's been good, right? So there have been a few things within this team that, like, it's probably a bit ahead of schedule. So maybe that's like the raised expectations where my disappointment comes from, particularly with those young players of just like, man, you've got double-digit goals from Julian Hall on what was a homegrown deal all season and it will be a U22 initiative slot. That's still really valuable even on a U22 slot. Adi Mehdi is still just a homegrown signing. You're getting every minute defensive midfielder and I don't have ups and downs like a

teenager will, but like you're getting an every minute starter at defensive midfield for a homegrown contract. So it's like I know that they've had salary issues from the previous regime. My God, there's been a couple really bad signings that they had to work to get out of, but you're saving salary cap space on some of the young players. And I don't know, I just thought that there might be more to have been aggressive this year. But if they keep building and we'll see what it looks like in a year from now. But I don't think that they haven't earned the benefit of the doubt, which is on the door.

It's such a huge if, right, if they keep building. And it doesn't, I don't trust that they will. I don't trust. Like, to your point, Duny, to answer your question, I don't hold Michael Bradley or even Julian de Guzman at all accountable for this. I think this comes straight from Red Bull Global. I think this is Leipzig choosing not to invest in the Harrison project in a way that could win, could lead to them actually winning stuff. And until that changes, Red Bull is not a team to talk about in terms of winning titles.

Real quick, Tom, what is the structure of the Reeves move? Because I do want to turn to Miami. Lone till winter with a with a purchase option, I assume. I would assume. Okay, not clear yet. But Miami has been very busy all window long, as they always are. They've had a good window brought in Casimir. They sold Ben Ha Cromassi, so they got their $3 million in extra gam.

Cicado. Obviously, the Noah Cicero, Frisio Cicado, obviously the Noah Allen thing. It seems like it's about to happen. But then there's a couple other moves. well, Raquelme Felipe, and I see you just added a name to the list. So take us through a time. They brought in a Brazilian from Palmeires, but in the Leo Mesea era, he needs to have an Argentine name.

Rekelme Felipe, yes, he is named after that Raquelme, which family must be, like, that is pure love of football if you have a Brazilian name in their kid after an Argentine player, which is very cool. He's an attacker. They signed Lovelins, Delanois, to a homegrown deal. was an MLS Next Pro, signed a homegrown defender, obviously Casimir early this summer, obviously, Cassato early this summer.

Breaking news from C.L. Merlo, they're signing Matthias Galarazza. The former Atlanta United player turned, fun story at the World Cup, turned villain at the World Cup, for what he did against France, is staying in MLS after Atlanta turned out his purchase option. I thought he already signed somewhere else.

The deal fell through, and Miami has come in, and I don't have any confirmation, as of this moment. But I tell you what, man, C.L Merlo reports it is usually right. Not usually... And by the way,

a brilliant addition to that midfield. I mean, he is... I did that game. I didn't know he was so much with a dog. Like, I knew that, like, I wasn't... I guess, watching closely enough. He was on Atlanta, so you couldn't really tell

what kind of dog it was. Yeah, I did the game in Philly between Paraguay and France. And I'll tell you what, man. He was on the precipice of just, like, losing it from the opening whistle. But there was something... There was like a...

There was a beauty. in the madness for Paraguay in that game is that, you know, this is going to be as combative as possible. If we know that technically you are far superior than what we're able to go against on a day like this, then we're going to make it difficult. We're going to find the margins, and we're going to see if we can press as many buttons as possible. This kid on that day was pressing every single button that he could find. He was saying every magic word that he could possibly think of. That got him right up to that point where the referee was always, you know, thinking about, do I need to go to back pocket in a situation like this? I think it's a great

addition. He doesn't have to be the man. He can be a complementary piece. He probably goes in, eyes wide open with what this opportunity is going to mean, not only in the real time, but for the rest of his career, to be around this group of players. And again, wherever you fall in line with Miami, whether you love them or they're the villains, because I think both can be true at the same time. They are nimble as always, and they are creative with trying to build out this roster. And does this mean, by the way, that we can see Santi Javier Morales' kid actually come back in the team now that Hoyos isn't there? Or they can free the young man because he's got a ton of potential? I mean, is this not, is he not a kid that if you were, say, running R.S.L and you had maybe a little bit of the need?

How many of them do they have? Did they have any room for more players that aren't playing on the other team? As soon as hobby was fired or whatever, let go or put on gardening leave. If I'm Jason Christ, I pick up the phone and say, hey, uproot the family. Let's play the good old hits. Let's come on. Let's get Santee into the group. Like that, for me, I expected.

No, but to your point, Santee Morales is a youth international, right? Really important. Been really good at that level. And he has been very good in Next Pro. and we've seen kids like that get chance. We were talking about it with Markov Mitrovich up in New England. We see what the kids in Philadelphia and Harrison and Colorado, like a lot of young players have gotten their chances this year.

This is the most talented crop of teenage players in MLS history because they're getting chances. It's hard to get chances for Miami. You're not. Other guys have gotten it. Daniel Pinter took his chance. I think he's probably above Santee right now in the pecking order. So like if you're another team make a late move

But either way Miami just goes from strength to strength Adding Gala Raza They are the best and deepest team in the league I think they're probably not going to catch Nashville For the supporter shield But I am not going to pick against this team When it comes to the playoffs in MLS Cup Tom you're showing us to your phone

Is there something about to break or You're making dinner plans asking questions. Okay. We're at about an hour and a half, so it feels like a good time to wrap it up. Let me ask you, though, before we go, Dunny, is there anything you're keeping your eye on here for the stretch run

or any thoughts overall about this now almost closed transfer? Yeah, I would say the, and I don't, I want to be clear, this isn't malicious, it's just more curious. I'm very curious about Austin FC. Very, very, very curious. to, well, for probably all, like, more negative reasons, but how do you kind of, you know, no, and I mean, like, because obviously with Nico, right, there was a certain direction that he signed on for following the lead of Rodolfo Barrel.

As we kind of unravel. There's a tough tough fan to follow. And as we unravel that kind of roster that he's built and that he spent the money on, going with Jim Curtin was a no-brainer for me. But with Khalid coming in, that caught me off guard completely. If we're going bigger picture, I would have thought, okay, if you're talking about Albright, if you're talking about Craig Weibel, if you're talking about some of these guys, then all of that makes sense.

Khalid didn't make sense just because the tenure at Minnesota United wasn't suggestive of Austin going in and spending the money to get him immediately to bring him in. With these deals being done, was this just a Davy Arnaud deal that was kind of greasing the wheels to make these where Danny Pereira leaves and our own Wolf leaves? I'm just, I'm really, and Jaden Nelson, like, what was the point of that? So. I'm glad to bring this up.

Philly, even before college, Dean Costalus is, I forget what his exact title is, but he's either going to be number two or number three on college, Khalid staff. He worked with Jim Curtin and Philly. Jim Curtin is not legally doing anything for Austin because he's still being paid by Philly. I want to be clear.

But Dean Kosselis joined the club this summer, and I miss, like, what I know, that Austin wants is clear the decks. It's like any other time that a new front office and a new coaching staff takes over, clear the decks. I was surprised about some of the Jaden Nelson reaction. I don't, I don't think, I don't think he's worth, it's a deal up to $2 million.

I think that's robbery for a player that four weeks ago was getting ready to be subbed on, and then Dave Yard knows that he wasn't in the right mindset to get in the game. I was like, oh, that's going to be tough. Yeah. Not exactly a great indicator. of that situation.

And it's a team at Austin, like you said, they're trying to clear out the decks. They're trying to sell. I was surprised that both Owen Wolf and Danny Perr went. But you can't, and like, I don't know necessarily if I would have done both. I really like both players. I probably would have kept both.

But you can't say that they didn't get value for that. Owen Wolf, it's like up to $7 million in change. And I'm told a decent amount of the add-ons are about minutes in games played. So it's basically like, is he healthy? Or is he being used regularly? which in Kansas City, he should be. He should be a very key player.

I think he's very good. And it's not as if that was a cheap deal. I mean, it's not as if it was an overpay, but they did get value, right? Like I thought that was like fair. And same thing with Danny Pereira. Danny Pereira was like two and change in Gam. If that was a cash trade too,

that probably would have been closer to what Owen Wolf got because like Gam at that level is more valuable. Then like two million gam is more valuable in the $2 million cash trade unless you convert to Gam, right? It's all the stupid mathematics and conversions of MLS. But I will say is, like, then Chris Applewhite comes in because he's not going to play at Nashville because they're really freaking good.

And that's a, I like that move for Austin. So they're at a point where, listen, you hope to see some progress and good moments from a guy like Fundo Torres and good moments from maybe Applewhite or some younger players. Brandon Vasquez, if he rediscovers his form, and that's all you're rooting for here, man.

Like, this is, you know, survive in advance until the winter. Jim Curtain comes in, Khalid El-Mod gets a full preparation to a transfer window. They build out the front office. There are real and really good reasons to be optimistic about Austin FC. You just got to get through the next eight weeks or whatever it's left in the regular season. Tough sell for season tickets. Yeah.

Yeah, not the easiest one. And this is another team, I will say. I mean, Santi Morales would make sense there. Like, they've done pretty good work bringing Irvin Torres through their academy, but they're not a they don't have like the floodgates have it open right and the smart thing to do the smart way to to run a team Vancouver's been putting on a clinic with this over the past couple years is find talented young players coach them up yourself so you don't have to rely on just the academy just your u22 signings just the college draft you take an all of the above approach and it feels like austin have done that with chris apple white

i like i haven't seen a ton of them but i know he's regarded as a good player well you get him in on loan you like, okay, there's some raw material here we can work with and maybe make him a permanent acquisition this winter. Just for me, one of the things I've been thinking about, this was not as frothy and ambitious a market from MLS this summer as I thought it was going to be. I already talked about the fire. Charlotte is another team that I think is close, and I think they're a better team than they were in June, but they didn't make the kind of moves that closed the gap between

themselves and the Miami's and Nashvilles of the world. NYCFC, you know, they spent $9 million on Veni Triori. They didn't do as much as I thought they were going to do. They did hold on to Nico Mercado, which is good work, but like they didn't reinforce that team in a way that I thought that they were going to. And I think this speaks to like a bigger picture where the least. league is even LAFC. Now, they backed themselves into a corner because of the way they spent. They couldn't switch to a 3DP build even after selling Davy Martinez. But like they weren't as

ambitious as I thought they were going to be. And I just feel like it's because everybody knows there are going to be new rules soon. And nobody wants to be locked in to their current roster build for an extra year, an extra year and a half with the rules likely to change as we head into a new era with a new commissioner. Am I reading that incorrectly, Tom? Do it. This is such a good point to bring up because I want to be clear. Some of it I'm reading into.

Some of it has been hinted at to me, but like in terms of the moves that happened this summer. And the team I wanted to talk about too is Nashville, so I'll just do this all together. They're awesome. and they added from a position of strength. And so I look at the Elias Saeed deal. So he's on loan. The purchase option is,

what they've discussed for a purchase option is around like $4 or $5 million, right? He's a tan player now. A $4 or $5 million purchase option, that makes you a DP, basically no matter what the contract is because he's not coming from the Bundesliga for $200,000.

Next year, hopefully next year, when hopefully when the new rules are in and it's a more open salary cap with a floor and a ceiling, all of a sudden, Saeed is a rostered player that you don't need to make a DP. He's still going to be like a significant part of the team

or part of the salary cap, but you don't use the DP spot on him. And by the way, maybe he's playing like you could, but they have three DPs. And I think that that's a signing and a signing like that is we can keep him in the future,

but we can't do a permanent deal on him now because we don't have a DP spot. And there's been some others, like, I think about some centerbacks. A guy like Mark McKenzie. He's coming in January. I don't know if he'll need to be a DP when the rules change. And maybe Philly would choose to do that because they have a different way of doing things.

And it's been very successful now that they're back to where they are. Kai Wagner, does he need to be a DP next year? I don't think so. I know that he doesn't need to be or probably won't like when the rules come. So he can be bought down too. And you look at that. So that's like Philly are obviously a specific case. But, you know, a left back, a center back, a fourth attacker,

which is more to do as a compliment to the Nashville's other three DP attackers because I think Saeed is better than view. him like that. But these are the players that we just can't afford you in our roster build because we're not using a D.P. Spot on you. Well, in the future, when the rules change, these are the signings that are going to benefit to make the teams better. And we're talking about Nashville, who I have is the best team in a league. Philly has been one of the best teams in a league in a small sample size since they came back. And then things that like the Vancouver Whitecaps do, that like these players that will fit better on your roster without you having to use a D.P.

spot. So do it to your point, like, I do think that that's part of it. And the teams are, if not out and out planning, they're definitely using that to enforce it. I would also like to gently remind everybody that it's going to be fascinating to see what this looks like in 12 months and how many owners are going all in right now for the idea of a trophy and success. Who else is thinking about the sprint season? Donnie, really quickly. I don't know if you're about to get to us and I'm sorry if I'm trampling what you're about to say. Teams care about the sprint season. And like they are they are not treating it as like the Mickey Mouse Cup.

Like they are going to like we have a chance to win two MLS Cups over the next eight months. And teams care about that. And I love that because I don't care if people try to put an asterisk next to it. Guess what? The hardware saves forever. You put it up in the rafters and the players get that medal forever. So trophy is a freaking trophy. And I don't want to hear anything about an asterisk even though it's a sprint season and weird things will happen.

But Donnie, to your point. Yeah. No, Gio Savarice. Right. The MLS is back tournament. That does matter. But again, I guess I was using. the complexity of as expansion comes to a screeching hole, you're going to see more multi-billion

dollar investment into a major league soccer. Like for example, Real So Lake, who would have ever thought that six years ago, there would be four different ownership groups that were involved that were billion dollar ownership groups, right? So I think as we're seeing this level of investment, at some point, guys are going to start flexing. Ego gets involved. Money's being spent. And I'm really fascinated to see what this looks like 12 months from now as we kind of get through and we switch up. What is the last MLS season that we've known for so long? It has been a fascinating window for that reason and many others. Tom's Day is just getting started. I'm going to go crack open a beer after 90 minutes of podcasting with you guys.

Yeah, right? Donnie, thank you for joining us, man. I guess we're going to be doing this a little bit more regularly. I listen, man. You know how much love and affection I have for you guys. I've consume all the content from you guys for years. I told you that publicly and privately. I enjoy having adult beverages with you. And I appreciate you guys allowing me to jump in and replace the legend. Dave,

that's probably somewhere having another ink or cool. We just got a video from him in a group chat, and I haven't opened it yet. Yeah. We got a video from him in a group chat, and he checked in on WhatsApp in the middle of the show. He's watching us from freaking Matri feature. Yeah.

Like that is absolute dedication right there. But before we wrap, Dunny just said something nice and he probably feels really uncomfortable. Brian Dunsteth is one of the absolute OGs and you stay young all of the time. But like, people talk about gatekeepers in communities. Danny, you gave me the time. I'm still nobody, but particularly when I was really nobody.

Just an annoying guy. I've said this to Doyle. And Doyle Goss, we beat gay and all of them. Like, I can't. You were one of those people too. And that is, I don't know, the way you treat people is just why the reason why everybody loves you. And I can't believe that we are lucky enough to have you.

You were the first call, man. You were the first call I made when we were down in Mexico. Well, I was down in Mexico. I am honored and excited to be a part of whatever you guys allow me to be a part of. So thanks for having me, guys. A lot more to come. Tom, what is your stress level for the rest of the day? You seem like you're cruising at about a three.

Like, this is kind of like low-level time at this point. there's a bill burr bit that fits me really well it's just like i don't know how you go from zero to hundred i idle at 70 miles per hour so that's why it feels like a three to you it's probably because that you're a northeast person um but listen i got a mrs game tonight at 8 p.m i can't wait that's what it is sources indicate sporting director head coach and captain and starting midfield of tom bogart got a loan signing of the one and only alex ramos tab son to come play with us tonight hopefully he still comes that'll hurt if that deal doesn't go through uh more than anything else that I've reported today. And usually that the sanctity of playing soccer is like the one time

I know for a fact. I've got one hour not on my phone. Tonight I'm going to have to break that because it's the deadline day, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm doing all right. Are you going to be playing with like one of those remote ear pieces in like on a call as you're two-footing somebody in the corner? Is that what it's like on deadline day? No, this would be my excuse. No, no, I wasn't tired. I didn't need a cell after three minutes. I just needed to go check. Well, we know there's going to be The question is at what point? At what phase of the game is that yellow show? I'll earn it too.

I'm going to take me over on one yellow card. Gang, thank you so much for watching the three of us try to talk through and make sense of what we've seen so far in this transfer window. The window is still open for, I think, nine more hours. Tom is going to be working during almost all of them. Obviously put his notifications. subscribe to his blue sky to get his notifications as soon as stuff breaks

because he'll be the one breaking it. Next show will be coming on Friday when Susanna is talking about youth soccer, the youth clubs, curing Gibbs runs with the man himself, of course, the World Cup, and much more as well. There will be no show for us on Monday,

which is Labor Day here in the U.S. Shout out to unions. Shout out to unions, absolutely. But then we will be back. next week I think next Thursday we'll be back when Goss gets back from hiking the Andes mountains up there and I'm sure he'll be able to regale us with stories of altitude sickness because I guess that's basically a guarantee when you go to Machu Pizu once again guys Donnie always a pleasure to see you I look forward to doing this a lot

more in the weeks and months to come Tom always good seeing you and I'll see you in like 45 seconds in the group chat aides