WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Minnesota United star Reynoso suspended for preseason absence: Minnesota United FC star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso has been suspended without pay by Major League Soccer for failure to report to preseason training camp. Reynoso, 27, is one of the league's premier playmakers. He has 16 goals and 28 assists in 71 regular-season games since joining Minnesota midway through the 2020 campaign from Boca Juniors in his native Argentina.
- San Jose Earthquakes acquire defender Mensah from Columbus Crew: The San Jose Earthquakes have added a high-end MLS center back before head coach Luchi Gonzalez's first year in charge. In return, Columbus have received up to $500,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) – $200k is guaranteed across the next two seasons, while $300k is conditional – for Mensah, who's in the last year of his contract. The conditional GAM breaks down as $150k/year if he's on San Jose's roster for the 2024 and 2025 Roster Compliance Dates. Mensah, a 32-year-old Ghana international, has been in the league since 2017 and donned the captain's armband in Columbus. He won MLS Cup 2020 with the Crew and earned MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire honors that year, plus finished third overall in 2020 MLS Defender of the Year voting.
- Sporting KC defender Ford will likely miss 2023 season: Sporting Kansas City center back Kortne Ford will likely miss the entire 2023 MLS season after undergoing successful surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon. Ford suffered the injury in Wednesday's preseason scrimmage against Real Salt Lake in Phoenix, Arizona. The 27-year-old's absence reduces SKC's natural options in central defense to veteran Andreu Fontàs, U22 Initiative signing Robert Voloder and 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick Chris Rindov. Should SKC want to make additions, the Primary Transfer Window remains open through April 24.
SMALL-SIDED: BEBELO, HELLO MENSAH AND ANOTHER SKC INJURY
Just a few quick things to get to from over the weekend as we build toward the start of the season. I imagine preseason predictions will start coming in hot and laminatable any second now. Hang tight, y'all. We're almost there.
1. Where art thou, Emanuel Reynoso?
We don't have a whole lot of information to work with here, but we do know a couple of things definitively:
- Minnesota United's star No. 10, Emanuel Reynoso, has not shown up for preseason training camp.
- Minnesota United's star No. 10, Emanuel Reynoso, has been suspended without pay for failure to show up to preseason training camp.
Does Reynoso just show back up in the Twin Cities on like Thursday of next week, all while everyone acts as if nothing happened and he starts the first game of the season? We truly don't know.
If that happens, we'll eventually just move on and continue to assess Minnesota as a team with their best and most significant player available. Let's stay in that scenario and talk real quick about what that would mean for the Loons.
There are maybe two or three players in the league who carry as much of the individual load for their team as Reynoso. I've always liked Matt Doyle's framing of Minnesota's attack as "heliocentric" because it hits at the heart of how things operate for the Loons. Minnesota United's best moments have all come via Reynoso's best moments. He steers the entirety of the ship here.
That's not just the eye test saying that either. Reynoso led the league last year in "touch percentage", making up 13.5% of Minnesota's total touches in 2022. If you look at Minnesota's touches in only the final third, Reynoso had a league-leading 25.5% of them. 25.5%! More than ¼ of the Loons touches in the final third went through him. There is no readily available replacement for that if you're Minnesota.
So, what happens next? No idea. But we're talking about the difference between a potential playoff team and (arguably) very much not a playoff team depending on whether or not and when one person shows up. With one brief announcement, the Loons have suddenly produced the most interesting subplot in MLS.
2. Mensah heads to San Jose
San Jose worked quickly here, huh? Almost immediately following a season-ending injury to their starting center back, Nathan, the Quakes moved to give the Crew an offer they couldn't refuse for Jonathan Mensah.
From a San Jose perspective, it's interesting to see them shed some GAM and take on a pretty hefty contract with speed. It seems like a clear indication of how they're viewing Luchi Gonzalez's first season in charge. While I think most folks from the outside would go easy on the Quakes as long as they made progress in year one, the Quakes seem to think they have a chance to make waves immediately. Looking at their current starting XI, I don't think they're wrong. San Jose should enter the year as one of the league's most intriguing candidates to make a dark horse run to the playoffs.
From a Columbus perspective, it's interesting to see them move on from a long-time center back so close to the start of the season. Especially considering the fact that Wilfried Nancy prefers a back three. But San Jose jumped in with an offer for a decent chunk of GAM for the 32-year-old center back and the Crew were able to clear a relatively hefty contract attached to an older player. It might be a little clunky to start the year, but they almost certainly have a contingency plan of some kind in place. With the cap space they've added here, they should be able to easily move forward with that plan when the timing is right.
Basically, it seems like we're talking about a true win-win here?
3. It's time to worry about Sporting KC (already)
If you were already worried about Sporting KC's center back situation before they lost Kortne Ford for the year, that would have been understandable. If you're not worried about it now, I might encourage you to reconsider.
SKC already had limited depth at center back. It's unclear how much top-end ability they had at center back too. Andreu Fontas is a phenomenal passer but there were some… unique defensive moments last season. We only have seven starts of information to work with on Robert Voloder. And, with Ford out, that pretty much wraps it up for the SKC center back unit other than 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick Chris Rindov.
Once again, SKC are dealing with a miserable early-season injury that might shape their entire season. And I don't really know what to add other than I hope they have some ways to maneuver themselves into a more comfortable position in central defense. The team can't catch a break right now.
AND OTHER THINGS
- Austin FC sign forward Bruin in free agency: Austin FC have added an experience-rich MLS forward, announcing Friday they've signed Will Bruin after having the free agent in preseason training camp. The 33-year-old's deal runs through the 2023 MLS season with an option for 2024. Bruin arrives with 77 goals and 33 assists across 310 regular-season games, initially entering the league in 2011 with Houston Dynamo FC. He spent the last six seasons with Seattle Sounders FC, where he won MLS Cup (2019) and Concacaf Champions League (2022) titles.
- LAFC sign midfielder Tillman from German side Greuther Fürth: LAFC have acquired midfielder Timothy Tillman from 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth. The German-American has signed through the 2025 MLS season with an option for 2026. Tillman, 24, should give LAFC some crucial midfield depth after they lost Latif Blessing (trade to New England Revolution) and Sebas Méndez (free to Brazil's São Paulo) this offseason. The Black & Gold's starting midfield trio of Ilie Sánchez, US international Kellyn Acosta and Ecuador international José Cifuentes is back, though the latter could be transferred abroad in the summer.
- CF Montréal sign forward Vilsaint: CF Montréal have signed forward Jules-Anthony Vilsaint through the 2024 MLS season with options for 2025-26. The 20-year-old Quebec native, who holds both Canadian and Haitian citizenship, arrives from a stint at Belgian first division side Royal Antwerp FC. Since 2021, Vilsaint played with the club's reserve team, Young Reds, scoring one goal in 10 appearances (four starts) this season.
- Sporting Kansas City sign SuperDraft pick Rindov: Sporting Kansas City have signed center back Chris Rindov through the 2023 MLS season with options for 2024-26. The 37th overall selection (second round) of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, the 21-year-old broke out of the University of Maryland – teammate Graham Zusi's alma mater – by notching 4g/5a over 58 appearances with the Terrapins. He started all 20 matches in 2022, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors twice while helping Maryland win the Big Ten regular-season title and reach their 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament.
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Good luck out there. Start turning heads early.
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