2026 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread

FootyLovin said:
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.
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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.
 
FootyLovin said:
Unless, when does Talles come off his DP contract?
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After this year.
www.newyorkcityfc.com

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 www.newyorkcityfc.com
 
FootyLovin said:
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?
Click to expand...

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.
 
mgarbowski said:
After this year.
www.newyorkcityfc.com

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 www.newyorkcityfc.com
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
gbservis said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
ZYanksRule said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
gbservis said:
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.
Click to expand...
Think bottom of first divisions and top of second divisions are pretty interchangeable in those places. If we sold a player to St. Pauli for instance, we’d all think it was a step up. Just timing on what you think of the clubs prestige. Schalke is still a big club and probably same level as St. Pauli.
 
For what it's worth, I brought a Brazilian girl to a game when Talles was on the team and on the bench. He said some things to her that she didn't want to translate to me verbatim. I hope he's progressed as a person and footballer since then.
 
LionNYC said:
For what it's worth, I brought a Brazilian girl to a game when Talles was on the team and on the bench. He said some things to her that she didn't want to translate to me verbatim. I hope he's progressed as a person and plater since then.
Click to expand...

Wild prediction but I don't think Talles finishes the season with the club. Pascal has such a high bar for his expectations around 2-way effort. I could see Talles trying to prove himself and putting in the work for a few games but I just can't see him sustaining it. Its possible anyone can change but Talles charging back to cover for an overlapping fullback in transition the way Wolf, Nico, and end of the season Ojeda do is very hard to imagine.
 
LionNYC said:
For what it's worth, I brought a Brazilian girl to a game when Talles was on the team and on the bench. He said some things to her that she didn't want to translate to me verbatim. I hope he's progressed as a person and footballer since then.
Click to expand...
Don’t think he has from what Corinthians fans have said. He was basically a party animal his whole loan stint. Maybe getting away from Brazil is a positive.
 
gbservis said:
Wild prediction but I don't think Talles finishes the season with the club. Pascal has such a high bar for his expectations around 2-way effort. I could see Talles trying to prove himself and putting in the work for a few games but I just can't see him sustaining it. Its possible anyone can change but Talles charging back to cover for an overlapping fullback in transition the way Wolf, Nico, and end of the season Ojeda do is very hard to imagine.
Click to expand...
My working assumption has been they brought him back to try to glow up and transfer. He's languished in Brazil and it's done nothing to rehab him in a way that makes it worth bringing back, but also failed to make anyone want to buy him. So bring him back, hope he scores a few goals and sell him in the summer. Anything they can get above nuisance value is a win.
 
mgarbowski said:
My working assumption has been they brought him back to try to glow up and transfer. He's languished in Brazil and it's done nothing to rehab him in a way that makes it worth bringing back, but also failed to make anyone want to buy him. So bring him back, hope he scores a few goals and sell him in the summer. Anything they can get above nuisance value is a win.
Click to expand...

Try to open up that DP spot so they can bring in a 25-27ish DP winger in the summer window? That would be a shrewd piece of business.
 
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