There isn’t much room for error in MLS.
Teams are bound to a salary cap, have less money to play with than the sport’s European elite, and in the case of New York’s clubs especially, are competing with other local teams for eyeballs and revenue.
Good thing they’ve been so savvy in the transfer market.
While the Red Bulls and New York City FC may have different roster building strategies, last weekend’s results showed just how high they’ve been batting as recent buyers.
The Red Bulls’ impressive 3-0 win at Orlando City was largely driven by new arrivals. New designated player Luquinhas opened the scoring and his account for the club. Watford loanee Ashley Fletcher – in just his second start for the team – helped set up Cristian Casseres Jr.’s eventual rebound. Lewis Morgan converted a late penalty to score his fourth goal of the young season.
With defender Tom Edwards (on loan from Stoke City), Patryk Klimala (who came off the bench) and goalie Carlos Coronel all back for second seasons as well, (and the improving Frankie Amaya back for his third) the Red Bulls were able to thrive Sunday with a host of players signed/loaned in recent seasons. The jury is still out on Fletcher, Luquinhas and even Morgan with so much season left, but the early signs point to some smart transfer business by the club in the last couple of seasons – even if fans may wish they spent more.
The club had the second-lowest wage bill in the league in 2021, and with players like Morgan, Amaya and Dylan Nealis arriving at the club, they’ve made a point to utilize intra-league moves to improve the team.
This approach is vastly different from that of their neighbors NYCFC, who look almost exclusively to the global market for its main contributors and had the sixth-highest wage bill in 2021.
The club has paid close attention to South America in particular, and three quarters of their starting attacking quartet in Sunday’s 5-4 win vs. Toronto were signed from that region just last season. (Taty Castellanos, an Argentine, is also South American but has been with the club longer.) New York City’s recent buying success was on full display at Citi Field.
All three of the South American attackers signed last year – Santiago Rodriguez (on loan), Thiago Andrade and Talles Magno – each registered at least one goal or assist, and already look the part of quality MLS starters (and potentially lucrative sales in the future). Another young South American, the 20-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Pereira, also got in on the fun off the bench with his first goal since joining last month. Elsewhere, Malte Amundsen provided his usual creativity from left back in his second year with the club, while Alfredo Morales (who was sent off) and Nicolas Acevedo also started. New designated player Thiago Martins missed out through injury.
Critics may point to New York City’s deep, City Football Group-based pockets, and Magno, Martins, Andrade and Pereira were all signed for fees in the millions. But other expensive moves have failed.
Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard underwhelmed as designated players, while Rafael Marquez had a disastrous stint across the Hudson with the Red Bulls. In more recent history, Pity Martinez lasted less than two seasons in Atlanta after arriving as the 2018 South American Player of the Year.
There isn’t just one way to win in MLS, and it’s the red, more frugal half of New York that sits second in the East after eight games.
Nonetheless, both teams seem to have barely missed when it comes to recent incomings. Sunday announced that loud and clear.