2026 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
Interesting indeed. Lee would have never committed to anything that direct, or specifically mentioned getting it done in the winter window. Seems like more encouraging signs of a change in approach under Dunivant.
It's also the case of who leaked the signing to the press before the medical? Given the source of the German tweet, it was Schalke. And they likely did that to push the transfer through given the media hype despite the medical results on our side.
And, if we’re cynical, push it through given that they knew about his knee.
I’m going to try to remember to keep an eye on this guy, his productivity and any fitness issues, see if we dodged a bullet, or missed an opportunity.
ZYanksRule
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These are always leaked to the media before medicals are done, that's why we get the reports a week before official announcements.
RunningWise
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Too soon?Breaking news NYCFC has their starting striker for the beginning of the season:
Nah, first game is in 19 days. Seems nearly impossible that they could get anyone that fast. Either Nico or Magno are going to be at the #9 opening night against Miami. Unless Reid balls out in preseason.
Revfugee
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I was calling for that years ago. Wish they’d give it a shot. He has high football IQ and I’ve always though he’d be sneaky good in the box.
There's a lot of details that we don't know. Schalke certainly needed of this money which explains the volume of their reaction. Giving the club the benefit of the doubt, if they had concerns about the knee, it makes sense to get to ask for the loan with purchase option. Gives you a year to see if the knee is healthy, but also would let you see how healthy Alonso at the end of the year before making a permanent decision.
But is easy to see how that leaves Schalke not only without the immediate cash they were banking on for other moves but it makes a transfer less likely to happen. Add in the fact that Talles Magno coming back and taking a 3rd DP spot (and the ability to get the 2 million gam from 4/2) was probably not in the plans and all of a sudden the day after Magno started at the 9 and was deeply involved in both goals the transfer falls apart, definitely crinkles the tin foil in my hat.
I'm not quite following.
Is the tin foil theory that in the 10 days between making the deal and invoking the medical clause, the club saw enough from Talles to decide he is a good enough striker to use for at least the first half of the season, and the medical issues are a pretext?
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I'm going with Occam's razor. Schalke didn't know or didn't think it was significant. NYCFC had positive intent. The medical showed enough to concern dunivant on a DP signing. NYCFC balked. Schalke whined. I don't think we need tinfoil hats for that to be totally believable.
This part of it made me think about this a bit. Part of the massive noise coming from Germany has to be not understanding the roster rules of MLS.
Not that they need to know the intricacies of the different roster mechanisms, but perhaps if they understood that this striker was to occupy the DP spot, that if it doesn't hit, can really hold back the club for several years, they would understand some of the caution applied to medicals.
Now, overlay the pressure of getting the DP spot correct for any team in any given year, and add on top of that, the added pressure the club is going to have to win with the stadium opening up next year, and add on top of that, the added pressure the club is going to have to win coming out of the World Cup, and it 100% makes sense to withdraw from a large, DP-purchase at the slightest hint of any injury history.
The signing also got a pretty lukewarm reaction to this move on places like reddit. There was some considerable chatter about his low production this season in a lower-tier league. To your point about the importance of the DP spot you have to wonder if the lack of enthusiasm for the move could have further incentivized the club to walk away once medical issues surfaced. I don't think they will pivot to a global superstar, but it will be telling to see if their next target carries a somewhat higher profile.
I would hate to know that the club gives a shit what reddit thinks.
I think this is less about Talles at the 9 and more about the fact that Talles was taking a DP spot and the team was gonna lose out on access to 2 million of GAM.
I don't disagree, reddit is a terrible example. I was generally trying to say maybe they expected more buzz than they got from whatever channels they monitor. Can't imagine the sales reps tasked with selling those premium seats in the new stadium were getting a lot of milage out of telling people that our big offseason addition was going to be a guy on 4 goals from 2.bundesliga.
Ok but they knew Talles was back before they made the Sylla deal? I think we have different assumptions about their thought process, which isn’t worth a big discussion. Thanks for the reply.
Just silly talk for a silly time of the year. But, I wouldn't be surprised if we target a striker with a U22 or allocation dollars instead of a DP spot now.
Out of curiosity do we know how many DP+U22 slots we have right now? What's the situation with the Jovan and Fernandez slots? Can we use those or are they potentially occupied based on the conditions of their loans?
