2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread

[ZYanksRule]

I think the confusion lies in the fact that no one knew that Bakrar was converted to a regular international player and is no longer a U-22. There was no news of this and the club still lists him as U-22 on the website (though we know the site isn't always accurate).

At the time of Jovan's signing, our roster had 3 DP and 4 U-22, as far as the general fan was aware. Thinking about it again, Jovan was signed february 2024 and magno was not loaned until august. We would have had to declare our roster by feb. 23, 2024 so someone would have had to have been bought down or converted to be in roster compliance.

All in all, it's confusing considering the fanbase generally aren't privy to all of the specifics of roster moves, buy downs, and conversions. The published rules aren't very clear on what the salary threshold is for a U-22 for purposes of converting a U-22 to a regular roster slot (at least it didn't seem clear to me).
Anyway, as listed above by mgarbowski based on data from soccer america and your information, bakrar was converted in 2024 and no longer U-22. So, at the time of Jovan's signing, we had 3 DP and 3 U-22.

They didn't create the separate paths until midseason last year so we had 3 DPs and 3 U-22s at the start of the year, which is what the allowance was. We were compliant at the start of the year, then transferring Talles allowed us to choose the other model.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Admittedly it's a bit inexplicable. With Talles they had 3 DPs and 3 U22s, so as you note they could choose the DP model and keep him for the rest of the year.
The benefits of choosing the 4 U22 model would be either to acquire a 4th U22 last year or spend the $1M in GAM they received for choosing the 4-2 option. But they didn't use the 4th U22 slot and AFAIK they didn't spend the extra GAM, which I believe expired last year. As of 2025 most GAM no longer expires except for the extra $2M you get every year by choosing 4-2 (last year $1 for half season). So getting $1M GAM and not spending it last summer was kind of a waste.
But I also can't think of another good reason to loan Talles midseason unless he was a bad locker room guy or they feared nobody would take him in the winter. I don't believe either one of those is the case either.
Only other explanation is Nick told Lee he was done with Talles and wanted him gone and Lee complied so Nick could never complain he didn't get what he asked (outside of a complete roster in 2023). I could believe that but I'm not aware of any evidence for it. Or Talles asked to be gone. Bu though they like to give players what they want I think they could have waited until season end to be fair.

It seems the choice between 3-3 and 4-2 last year was not all that important and I don't know why they loaned Talles when they did.

Talles was out of favor here. He wasn't getting on the field, so they loaned him out to where he would get playing time.

 

[EganSoccerWords]

NYCFC has always been shitty about updating the website, but the roster profiles MLS released last spring clearly stated everything.

 

[KevinJRogers]

They didn't create the separate paths until midseason last year so we had 3 DPs and 3 U-22s at the start of the year, which is what the allowance was. We were compliant at the start of the year, then transferring Talles allowed us to choose the other model.

Ah, now I get it.

 

[gbservis]

Talles was out of favor here. He wasn't getting on the field, so they loaned him out to where he would get playing time.

It's still surprising to me that Magno didn’t get more of a chance after returning from injury. He looked solid in the limited minutes he had, and he could have been a valuable asset down the stretch.

For a club that claims to prioritize development, they mishandled Magno’s trajectory from start to finish. Playing as a left winger alongside Taty, he was gaining recognition as one of the league’s top young talents. But when Taty left, they shifted Magno to striker—a role that didn’t suit him—and stuck with the experiment despite its struggles. For over a year, they failed to sign a proper striker to allow Magno to return to his natural position. Then, after he got injured and finally came back, they had a striker in place, yet instead of giving him a chance to rediscover his peak form on the left wing, they sent him packing.

Maybe behind the scenes, Magno wanted out by that point—but honestly, could you blame him?

 

[ZYanksRule]

According to the NY Post, Lee wants to make additions (specifically midfielder and left-back) this window. Take that for what it's worth. We still have two months before the window closes.

 

[gbservis]

According to the NY Post, Lee wants to make additions (specifically midfielder and left-back) this window. Take that for what it's worth. We still have two months before the window closes.

We need midfielders desperately even if they are just for depth. You can't play a system with the intensity described in the Outfield article and not have reliable midfield subs.

 

[BC19]

Lee has known he’s had to add a left back and a midfielder to this team since Jan 1. Glad to hear he plans on getting it done by April 23rd. That’s helpful