2026 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread

[mgarbowski]

Agree highlight reels are generally suspect. But there were skills I liked and hope to see. Most notably:

• As you mentioned, he takes contact and muscles through
• He reverses direction to lose his mark
• He has a good head fake
• Definitely seems to look for his teammates (though also seems to pass and pray at times when no one is in the space he passed to)
• He reverses the field of play (though not sure that is super valuable if he is primarily playing striker)
• He blows past defenders with the ball; it's not tricky, just a long touch with a burst of speed

OTOH, I was surprised this video lacked a solid sampling of his goals.

I thought this reel was better than most for not being goal heavy. It gave a better sense of how he plays. It still is limited to being a compressed slice of selected plays. Given I'm not going to watch multiple games to get a sense of what he's like, this is as good as it gets I guess.

 

[mgarbowski]

Unless, when does Talles come off his DP contract?

After this year.

New York City FC Signs Brazilian Youth National Team Forward Talles Magno as Young Designated Player | New York City FC

NEW YORK, N.Y., May 19, 2021 - New York City FC today announced that the Club has acquired forward Talles Magno as a Young Designated Player from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama on a contract through the 2026 season. Magno, a 2019 U-17 World Cup winner for Brazil, was recently named

www.newyorkcityfc.com

 

[ZYanksRule]

I guess that also means no big DP name to spur ticket sales for the new stadium.

Unless, when does Talles come off his DP contract? Or can he also be bought down?

Looking at how Miami has worked, not every big name necessarily has to be a DP. Never say never, but I think we have the bedrock of the team that's opening Etihad Park.

 

[ZYanksRule]

After this year.

New York City FC Signs Brazilian Youth National Team Forward Talles Magno as Young Designated Player | New York City FC

NEW YORK, N.Y., May 19, 2021 - New York City FC today announced that the Club has acquired forward Talles Magno as a Young Designated Player from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama on a contract through the 2026 season. Magno, a 2019 U-17 World Cup winner for Brazil, was recently named

www.newyorkcityfc.com

They extended him after the loan to Corinthians, but his salary isn't high enough to be a DP after this season, I believe you're right.

 

[mgarbowski]

They extended him after the loan to Corinthians, but his salary isn't high enough to be a DP after this season, I believe you're right.

Why the front door did they extend him? I guess they still think he’s sellable?

 

[ZYanksRule]

Why the front door did they extend him? I guess they still think he’s sellable?

They tend to do that, when they loan a player out they add a year to his contract. Think they did it with Sands and Talles. I'm assuming it has to do with keeping leverage for a potential sale down the line.

 

[KevinJRogers]

I think we have the bedrock of the team that's opening Etihad Park.

Same here. Other than Martins and Maxi, everyone is around the same age. This looks like a complete core. That doesn't mean we can't add a "name" if the right one surfaces at the right price, but this looks really good.

I like Todd.

He's not dithering.

 

[ZYanksRule]

An explainer on why Martins can now be bought down when he couldn't before:

https://bsky.app/profile/armankafai.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3mdbkpzihos2i

 

[gbservis]

I still think CFG’s scouting is undervaluing both the current talent level in MLS and the speed at which the league is improving. Signing players in their prime with proven track records is a massive step up from the teenagers they sent us last time, and getting deals done in the first window is also a real improvement. That said, they’re still playing the “hidden gem” game, fishing around in European second divisions while other MLS clubs are bringing in DPs from top-flight leagues.

Personally, I think MLS represents a significant talent jump from the second divisions in Germany and France. In fact, most quality MLS teams could hold their own against clubs in the bottom half of the first division in those countries.

 

[BC19]

An explainer on why Martins can now be bought down when he couldn't before:

https://bsky.app/profile/armankafai.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3mdbkpzihos2i

I discovered this guy recently. He’s a great follow

 

[KevinJRogers]

I discovered this guy recently. He’s a great follow

Absolutely a great follow. Just subscribed to his Substack, too.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I still think CFG’s scouting is undervaluing both the current talent level in MLS and the speed at which the league is improving. Signing players in their prime with proven track records is a massive step up from the teenagers they sent us last time, and getting deals done in the first window is also a real improvement. That said, they’re still playing the “hidden gem” game, fishing around in European second divisions while other MLS clubs are bringing in DPs from top-flight leagues.

Personally, I think MLS represents a significant talent jump from the second divisions in Germany and France. In fact, most quality MLS teams could hold their own against clubs in the bottom half of the first division in those countries.

Counterpoint that they were successful with Nico Fernandez-Mercau who came from the 2nd division in Spain, and were also pretty successful with Gustavo and O'Neill.

We had a rut in recruitment the last few years, but since the summer we've been spot-on.

I'm excited for this guy to get here. He's leading the line for the 1st-place team in the 2. Bundesliga, that's pretty good. His stats aren't as good this year, but I'm still optimistic.

 

[gbservis]

Counterpoint that they were successful with Nico Fernandez-Mercau who came from the 2nd division in Spain, and were also pretty successful with Gustavo and O'Neill.

We had a rut in recruitment the last few years, but since the summer we've been spot-on.

I'm excited for this guy to get here. He's leading the line for the 1st-place team in the 2. Bundesliga, that's pretty good. His stats aren't as good this year, but I'm still optimistic.

Personally I think its a bit early to declare success on Nico. He's fun to watch, and he seems like a fantastic fit, but his personal counting stats were not that great last season and the teams overall goals per game and xG stats didn't significantly change following his arrival. It's a small sample size, we need to see a full season to see what we have with him. He looks good, but Son and Muller also look good and they arrived at the same time and put up massive actual counting stats.