WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Toronto FC sign center back Rosted from Brøndby IF: Toronto FC have acquired center back Sigurd Rosted from Danish Superliga side Brøndby IF. The 28-year-old Norwegian defender, who arrives via Targeted Allocation Money (TAM), has signed through the 2025 MLS season with an option for 2026. Rosted is Toronto's second major center back signing this offseason; they also landed FC Dallas all-time appearance leader Matt Hedges in free agency. Now, Rosted and Hedges could form a first-choice partnership in a new-look defense that's backstopped by US international goalkeeper Sean Johnson, a free-agent signing and former New York City FC captain.
- Philadelphia Union give McGlynn contract extension: The Philadelphia Union have signed homegrown midfielder McGlynn to a new contract. The 19-year-old is now under contract through the 2025 MLS season with club options for 2026 and 2027. Last season, McGlynn made 23 appearances (nine starts) with one goal and three assists for the MLS Cup finalists. He held the highest passing percentage (86.4%) on the team, completing 548 passes out of 634 attempts, and ranked No. 10 on the 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR list.
10 PLAYERS PRIMED FOR A BREAKOUT YEAR TWO
The congregation of The Daily Kickoff should be well aware by now, but here at the world's oldest and longest-running soccer newsletter (probably) we preach the power of Year Two. That goes for expansion teams, new coaches and new players all the same. The second year in MLS is the year those with promise take a leap forward. Basically what I'm saying is congrats to Charlotte on getting a home playoff game.
But in addition to The Crown, there are players across the league lined up to join the Year Two-jump club. In some cases that means their Year One didn't quite go as planned. In some cases that means their Year One actually went pretty well and their Year Two could be pretty absurd.
I did this last season and picked out Patryk Klimala and Kévin Cabral (oof), but I also claimed Sebastian Driussi and Brenner as possible candidates. It's far from an exact science. In MLS, what is? There are so many variables that can shift trajectories for better or worse. Even if things don't work out for everyone though, there are repeated examples of players getting a little more comfortable, teams developing a little more chemistry and big seasons becoming a byproduct of a little extra time to grow into things.
Here are some year two folks to keep an eye on.
Emiliano Rigoni - Austin FC
Again, there's a range of players here. Some showed flashes of talent without an end product that demanded they be on this list. Some didn't show much of either. The good news for Rigoni is he doesn't have to look hard for a positive role model when it comes to a breakout Year Two.
Last year, I wrote this about Driussi.
There are two types of players on this list:
- Players who had the underlying numbers but not the production, like Klimala.
- Players included based on warm feelings inside my chest, star charts and the unbridled optimism of a blogger in their mid-20s.
Driussi fell into the second category. Now, to be fair to Driussi, he also had 10 goal contributions across 1400 minutes in year one. Rigoni had far fewer minutes (447) but created absolutely nothing over those minutes and looked a bit rough at times, to put it politely.
However, a full offseason to adapt to Josh Wolff's tactics and a solid team around him should help immensely. Or maybe he just doesn't have it. Austin's ability to replicate their success from last season may depend on which of those hypotheses proves true.
Luquinhas - New York Red Bulls
It would be harsh to say Luquinhas had a terrible Year One. But five goals and three assists after a promising start from a new DP is a disappointing final tally. Ok, actually, really disappointing. He had one (1) goal contribution after June 18. You know, maybe we should be harsh here.
Look, it didn't work out the way many had hoped for Luquinhas last year. But there were flashes here and there of a player that could be a major contributor. With the Red Bulls bringing in a handful of strikers including new DP Dante Vanzeir, things might get easier in attack for Luquinhas. Simply put, a better team should equal a better Luquinhas. Now we just have to find out if the Red Bulls actually got better. We've been tricked before, ya know?
Obinna Nwobodo - FC Cincinnati
I'm cheating a bit here because Nwobodo mostly ruled last year. However, Cincy as a whole are ready for a Year Two bump under Pat Noonan. Add in the fact that he'll have some extra help in midfield with the addition of U22 Marco Angulo, plus help behind him in new center back Yerson Mosquera, and his job should get a little easier. Nwobodo should thrive this season.
Karol Swiderski - Charlotte FC
This one *feels* like cheating, but I promise it's not. After Swiderski picked up a few early goals and a lot of early hype last season, he fell off for a moment. That wasn't entirely his fault, but it took a while for him and his teammates to get readjusted again before he started making an impact again down the stretch. We're talking a scoring drought that ran from March to July here. He finally got back on the board with a goal on July 9 before adding five more the rest of the way to bring his season total to 10.
That's a solid output! But a more consistent Charlotte and Swiderski could be terrifying for opposing defenses. Especially with the addition of fellow DP forward Enzo Coppeti. The space Copetti clears could be all that Swiderski needs to be The Crown's Driussi this year.
Alan Velasco - FC Dallas
Velasco is a lot like Swiderski in that he had decent numbers (six goals, seven assists) but it seems like he has a lot more in him. Another year of growth for a young player in a team with a ton of returning production in attack under a second-year manager is a great recipe for a DP like Velasco to take a leap forward.
Dylan Borrero - New England Revolution
It's not even his fault that he's on this list. He may have been too good for the list if he hadn't caught a bad break and picked up an injury early into his time with New England. What we saw from Borrero when healthy turned a lot of heads. He's as dynamic as young players come and may end up near the top of the 22 under 22 list this year if he turns that dynamism into consistent output.
He had five goal contributions across seven starts last season so don't be surprised if that's exactly what happens.
Luiz Araújo - Atlanta United
Ok, yeah, fine, he made the list last year. HOWEVER, we're still just a year and a half into his time in MLS so this can technically kind of sort of count as a Year Two bump. The same goes for Gonzalo Pineda.
Look, Araújo underperformed his underlying numbers by a league-leading amount last year. That's somewhat due to bad luck but mostly due to consistently horrendous shot selection. If he can fight whatever urge possesses him to take shots from just outside the corner of the 18-yard-box, he has the talent to put himself into more productive areas and create better chances. If he just can't fight that urge, then Atlanta may have their biggest DP bust yet. A better (and healthier) team around him should help to keep that from happening though.
Dénis Bouanga - LAFC
We only saw him for a few regular season games and then three playoff games, but Bouanga quickly showed why LAFC felt the need to grab him late in the season. He somehow found enough chances in six regular season starts to underperform his xG by nearly three goals and he found the net twice during LAFC's MLS Cup run. It barely counts as a Year Two bump, but it's worth having him here just to point out his potential for an absurd 2023
Christian Benteke - D.C. United
Hey, how many of you outside the DMV remembered Benteke was with D.C.?
He came later in the year to a team on a collision course with the Wooden Spoon and scored just once in six starts despite getting off a ton of shots. With D.C. set to at least be a lot more interesting this year and with Benteke being Benteke, it wouldn't be surprising to see him have 15-20 goals in him this year.
Ercan Kara - Orlando City
Even after an 11-goal first season, a lot of folks aren't sold on Kara. It's understandable considering how disengaged Orlando's attack looked at times last year. And it's entirely possible he's just a good-but-not-great forward.
However, the Lions have changed up a lot this offseason. And the addition of DP winger Martín Ojeda along with a potential Year Two bump in line for DP winger Facundo Torres could set up Kara to seriously increase last year's output. If he's in that 15-20 goal range, then we're probably talking about an Orlando team fighting for a home playoff spot. That doesn't seem all that farfetched, does it?
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