MLS kicks off its 28th season this weekend with a full slate of games all available on Apple TV. News of the Apple TV deal and MLS playoff format have dominated MLS offseason discussions, so some MLS transfer news has flown under the radar.
Because of this, we’re here to catch you up on some of the biggest MLS transfers of the offseason, so that you’re ready for MLS’s glorious return this weekend.
Evander – FC Midtjylland to Portland Timbers for $10m
The Portland Timbers made the biggest signing of the MLS offseason by signing Brazilian midfielder Evander for $10m. Evander’s transfer is a surprising one considering his standing in Europe.
Evander led the Europa League in assists, and many expected him to leap to a bigger European club. Instead, Evander left Europe altogether and will be trying to help the Timbers make it back to the MLS playoffs this year after missing out last season.
The Timbers are in a period of transition and are still heavily reliant on stars from their last era of success, notably Sebastián Blanco and Diego Chara. Evander’s youth and creativity should help the Timbers return to their normal position as a Western Conference playoff team.
Recent reports say the Timbers are hoping to bring in a star striker and a “starting caliber” center-back, so Evander could just be one piece in an impressive roster overhaul that brings in the next era of Timbers’ success.
Josef Martínez – Atlanta United to Inter Miami as a free agent
MLS icon Josef Martínez has finally left Atlanta United. Years ago it seemed like this would never happen given his legendary status at the club. However, injuries and clashes with multiple coaches in recent years made his move this winter inevitable.
Martínez takes his talent to South Beach to join Phil Neville’s Inter Miami. Neville told The Athletic that he specifically wanted Martínez after seeing him in person and speaking with the player after a game last season.
Forgotten in all the controversy of last season was that Martínez scored nine goals while playing limited minutes for Atlanta. If Martínez can stay healthy, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him put up big numbers for Inter Miami next season.
Aaron Long – New York Red Bulls joins LAFC as a free agent
Rumors of Aaron Long’s departure have been a near constant since he broke through with NYRB in 2017. West Ham reportedly had multiple bids for Long rejected in 2019. Long was regularly linked with Championship and French clubs and even Liverpool in the years between 2019 and now.
Unfortunately for Long, the Red Bulls held firm in their belief that he was too valuable a player to replace given the complexities of MLS’s roster rules and Long’s very club-friendly contract. As a result, Long ran his contract down and had his pick of clubs this offseason. He chose to swap coasts and join MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield Champions LAFC.
The 30-year-old USMNT player is still at the top of his game and will give LAFC more security at the back since they’ve had since fellow USMNT center-back, Walker Zimmerman left LAFC in 2020.
Enzo Copetti – Racing Club to Charlotte FC for $6.4m
Charlotte FC fell well short of their stated ambitions of making the playoffs last season. The signing of Enzo Copetti is a strong indicator of just how desperate the North Carolinian club is to rectify the failure of last year.
Copetti is 27 years old and seemingly in his prime. He scored 11 goals and notched 4 assists in 25 games in Argentina for Racing Club last year. 11 goals was good enough to be the second-best goalscorer in Argentina. Scoring was a major problem for Charlotte. They finished the season with just 44 goals, which was the seventh worst in the league.
If Copetti can be as prolific as he was in his last season with Racing Club, his goals could be enough to get Charlotte into the playoffs. There is some risk involved in this transfer though. Before last season, Copetti wasn’t a very consistent scorer. Hopefully, for Charlotte fans, last year was a sign of things to come and not just an aberration.
Every St. Louis City SC signing
One of the many eccentricities of MLS that’s made it so fun to follow over the years is expansion teams. The league has introduced a new team every year since 2016. These new teams have to build themselves up from scratch.
Sometimes, this results in instant success, like the Seattle Sounders who made it to the Western Conference semifinals in their first season. Other teams take a while to find their feet, like FC Cincinnati who finished bottom of the league in their first three seasons before finally making the playoffs in 2022.
Most pundits think STLCSC’s first season will resemble FC Cincinnati’s more than the Sounders’. Whether these predictions pan out depend entirely on how STLCSC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel’s assembled squad performs on the pitch.
Most players, like both STLCSC designated players Eduard Löwen and João Klauss, joined the club over the summer to train with STLCSC’s reserve team in MLS Next Pro, but we haven’t seen them on the pitch in MLS yet, so we really don’t know what to expect.
Best of the rest MLS transfers
Dante Vanzeir – Union SG to New York Red Bulls for $5m
Given NYCFC’s depleted roster at the time of writing, 2023 could be the first year since 2018 that the Red Bulls finish with a better league position than their Sky Blue rivals across the Hudson River. If that does happen, expect new DP striker Dante Vanzeir to be a big reason why.
Mateusz Klich – Leeds United to D.C. United on a free transfer
D.C. United finished bottom of the league last year. Wayne Rooney’s side hopes to avoid being consecutive wooden spoon winners. They’ve invested in many ventral players to make those hopes a reality. Mateusz Klich is a great example of the type of player DC has invested in that needs to perform if they are going to make the playoffs this year.
Wilfred Nancy – Montreal to Columbus
In a rare inter-league coaching transfer, Wilfried Nancy left a Montreal team he led to a second-place finish in the east to join Columbus who just missed out on the playoffs last year under Caleb Porter.
Garth Lagerway – Seattle to Atlanta
When the most successful general manager in MLS history changes clubs, that’s something to take notice of. We might not see Lagerway’s impact immediately this season, but joining Atlanta might prove to be the most important move of this offseason when we look back a few years from now.
