2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
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FWIW, I don’t think we get him due to the City connection being a detriment this go around.
ezbeezy214
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YES
Compared to any option including some of the best MLS DPS, no id rather have a good player that is younger.
But compared to Martins, Magno, Mitri, Medina or most of the DPs NYCFC historically signs, ill take KDB. Better to have a proven elite player over another terrible David Lee selection.
I would be very happy if we signed KdB.
Marito
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I'd be ecstatic. As he showed last week against Crystal Palace, he can still turn back the clock at times, and when he does it he's just a tiny rung or two below Messi. I don't know how many games a season he'd give you but with his intelligence and creativity he may be able to keep going for a bit at a lower speed. MLS is slower than the EPL, and if he isn't pressed hard all the time he can unlock games just with a moment of magic or two.
Brooklyn Blue
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YES x 2
One of my favorites to watch, he would be just fine in MLS for another 3 to 4 years. This team has a love of young wingers - just let KDB sit in the middle and spray passes to young legs.
That noted, I suspect that the CFG connection may not be of benefit this time as was mentioned above.
That's not a KDB issue, though; any DP 10 is going to have the same problem. We need a high-caliber 10 to replace Maxi, but our foundational issue is the wingers. Lee is more heavily invested in the wingers than any other spot on the field, yet they are still our biggest weakness. Wolf is the 2nd highest salary on the team and costs a pile of TAM. Ojeda and Fernadez cost over $12.5M in transfer fees and take up 2 of our U21 slots. Yet we still struggle on the wings. So we are pretty much stuck unless one of the following unlikely scenarios plays out:
1. Lee admits he missed on all 3 of the U21 signings and brings in a proven high caliber winger (seems unlikely as he's essentially holding the roster in a depleted state right now to force playing time for Ojeda and Fernandez in the hopes they will develop)
2. Ojeda and/or Fernadez make a major leap and become difference makers (could happen someday, doubtful it will be soon)
3. Malachi Jones comes back better than ever and picks right up where he left off
Who says I’m the choice is binary? What if this is the start of the spending spree to get prepared for 2027?
Preferably, yes. But if there isn't, I'd take KDB on a short-term deal in a heartbeat.
But I must be honest: this is the time to sign a couple players in their mid-20s who can plug right in. We have plenty of young guys coming up who will be ready in a couple years (and still be U21s, in some cases by quite a bit). We have a couple post-college players who are highly likely to be contributors, and soon, if not right away.
We need a couple plug-and-play guys. Or at least one at the No. 10.
Doesn't matter who we get to play CAM, as long as our wingers are underperforming development projects, our offense will continue to be an underperforming development project.
This is, unfortunately, true. Although something may have clicked in for Trapito. He was dynamic last weekend.
Julian is another case. He clearly has physical skills. But I'm not sure he has the wattage to make the most use of them, or to improve enough over time to reach his potential. He may never be more than a fairly effective, and occasionally dangerous, second half sub.
Hannes is who he is, and we know what we're getting there. Were we to mail a plane ticket to Jack Harrison, Wolf would be a second half sub too, and a valuable one since he could play on either side.
Mounsef on the wing with Alonso at striker should work on paper, and Bakrar sure can get himself into some dangerous areas. But that's not enough. He needs to be able to shoot. And ... well, let's move on.
So that leaves Malachi coming back from injury. He should be fine. But we won't know until we know. If picks up right where he left off, that could change the picture dramatically.
It might also open the door for Ojeda to get some minutes at the No. 10, which is something we haven't talked about. The club hinted at it in his bio when we signed him. I couldn't be sure from the training videos, but it sure looked to me like Pascal had him playing centrally and distributing in a couple clips. With his pace, he's a potential nightmare for defenses in that role.
But that would be another work in progress. I'd much rather sign a 25-year-old CAM with some game and a baller attitude and get after it. It's time to win some damn games.
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I wish we were not in a situation where it makes sense to have a pair of CAMs with an average age of 36 but here we are.
Marito
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I don't understand your comment about Jack coming in to be a 2nd half sub. He is a starter for an almost-midtable team in the EPL. There are more than a handful of players in the whole MLS with that kind of pedigree. He would come to be a star and MVP candidate. He won't, but still, I just don't understand the comment.
