Offseason Outlook: LA Galaxy
/By John Muller (@thedummyrun)
On November 13, the L.A. Galaxy announced that it would not return to Major League Soccer in 2020. "Since [its] arrival in 2018, [the L.A. Galaxy] has positively influenced the sport of soccer in Los Angeles," said area businessman Chris Klein. "We thank [the L.A. Galaxy] for [its] professionalism and immeasurable impact on the Los Angeles community and the soccer community in North America as a whole.”
"I wish [the L.A. Galaxy] the best, dude," said Los Angeles resident Sebastian Lletget, who attended the Galaxy’s games and sometimes even training sessions. "It was a good run."
Though losing the Galaxy poses an undeniable setback for professional soccer in Carson, CA, the solution, as with all of life’s problems, lies in ignoring the MLS roster rules. Let's take a look at how a savvy GM should approach the offseason ahead.
Forwards
Holdovers: Cristian Pavón, Ethan Zubak
In: Transfer rumors involving over-the-hill strikers
Out: Zlatan Ibrahimović, Bradford Jamieson IV
There’s no two ways about it, this team’s forward line won’t be the same next season following the era-ending loss of Bradford Jamieson IV. True, the homegrown attacker spent this season on loan with San Antonio FC, but Jamieson’s five years on the Galaxy’s reserve roster produced some of the most elite roman numerals in our data. (Also some old Swedish dude left to pursue his karate career. The social media team will miss him.)
What’s left looks like something from a Forrest MacNeil review: Cristian Pavón. It’s literally all we have. But is it any good?
Luckily for L.A., the answer appears to be somewhere between “hell yeah” and other enthusiastic affirmatives this website’s editors won’t print (I've tried). The MLS 3.0 thing has had mixed results so far, but getting a 23-year-old Argentine World Cup player on a free loan from Boca Juniors has turned out to be, against all odds, a favorable piece of business. Your club should try it.
What’s that you say? You’re skeptical that Boca would give away one of its most valuable prospects to spend critical development years in a worse league just because they’re buddies with the coach? Everyone’s a cynic. When it comes to finding uniquely affordable ways to pack additional stars into a roster already at its three-Designated Player limit, all it takes is a little patience and dogged determination.
But fear not, fun police, Pavón will officially be a DP this year, and if Boca’s lucky the Galaxy just might decide to pay his reported $20 million (or much lower) transfer fee when it’s convenient for their books. With midfielder Romain Alessandrini still negotiating his future, that leaves one DP slot free for a big-name Bradford Jamieson IV replacement. Maybe Edinson Cavani will have a change of heart and adjust his salary demands from $11 million to—just spitballing figures here—$1,530,000 per year?
Midfielders
Holdovers: Jonathan dos Santos, Sebastian Lletget, Perry Kitchen, Joe Corona, Efrain Alvarez, Emil Cuello
In: Sacha Kljestan
Out: Romain Alessandrini (in negotiations), Uriel Antuna, Chris Pontius, Favio Alvarez, Juninho, João Pedro, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Servando Carrasco
It feels kind of weird to say about a group that just cut half its players, but midfield is the Galaxy’s strength. Jona dos Santos is every bit the prime-La-Liga-vet-among-boys that his brother didn’t feel like being. Sebastian Lletget spent this season reminding USMNT fans that years of injuries and higher-profile teammates have left him underrated. Seventeen-year-old Efraín Álvarez has earned glowing reviews from folks who ought to know. Perry Kitchen has a funny name.
On the other hand, Man City loanee winger Uriel Antuna is off to Chivas and there hasn’t been much recent news on the Alessandrini front. Signing Sacha Kljestan would have been cool a few years ago; now his value lies mostly in reminding everyone of that time Orlando owned the Red Bulls in a trade.
In other words, L.A. could use some youthful creativity up front. That kind of talent doesn’t come cheap unless your academy happens to unearth it, and sadly Southern California just hasn’t proven to be fertile territory for producing MLS-caliber soccer players. Maybe the Galaxy should loosen the purse strings and poach a hot prospect from one of Europe’s talent factories, someone like Ajax’s Alex Mendez or Wolfsburg’s Uly Llanez. Either kid would be a no-brainer MLS signing, and building for the future could be a smart way to use that critical fourth Designated Player slot.
Defenders
Holdovers: Daniel Steres, Jorgen Skjelvik, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Julian Araujo, Rolf Feltscher, Diedie Traore
In: Emiliano Insúa (rumored)
Out: Diego Polenta, Hugo Arellano
There’s been a lot of negativity around the Galaxy’s defense, but numbers don’t lie: this unit allowed fewer expected goals from open play in 2019 than New England, Colorado, Cincinnati, *and* Vancouver. Good vibes only, thank u.
You ask questions like why is Jorgen Skjelvik still on the roster and has anyone seen Diedie Traore, but the energy we should all be bringing into 2020 is Diego Polenta shrugging off this season and knowing his worth (tbh his stats were pretty solid). PS - Gregg Berhalter, if you’re reading this, please text Julian Araujo.
If the Emiliano Insúa rumors are true, the Galaxy are already on track to continue their proud tradition of overpaying aging defenders. But why stop there? Why not get somebody actually good, like 57th best footballer in the world Dani Alves, who didn’t join São Paulo to retire? Signing a soon-to-be-37-year-old veteran of Barcelona and PSG would be a novel gimmick for the Galaxy, but that’s the kind of star power you want to see from your fifth Designated Player.
Goalkeepers
Holdovers: David Bingham, Justin Vom Steeg
In: Who cares
Out: Matt Lampson
Lol not even this club’s dumb enough to buy a DP keeper (no offense to the Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls, and Philadelphia Union). Besides, David Bingham looks good on this trippy pyramid thing. Sucks that his favorite longball target is gone and Guillermo Barros Schelotto might have to develop an actual buildup this year.
Outlook
Greater Los Angeles’s second-best pro soccer team may have barely scraped its way to a positive expected goal differential last season, but it did supply some of the most fun-as-hell MLS games ever and a, uh, distinctive tactical identity. Farewell, sweet prince. As this club builds for the future, the key thing to remember is that whatever roster rules come out of the ongoing CBA negotiations, they’re like everything else in America: really more of a suggestion as long as you’re rich.