Offseason Outlook: Columbus Crew

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By Eliot McKinley (@etmckinley)

The Columbus Crew had a disappointing season in 2019, finishing 3rd to last in the East. Unlike the stability of last season, the roster is showing more turnover than the club has seen in many years. While most positions have starters already in place, the Crew lack depth in most positional groups.

Here’s how the Crew’s roster stands with a projected depth chart in the Crew’s traditional 4-2-3-1 formation.

Areas of Depth: Goalkeeper, Fullback

Eloy Room is the undisputed starter at goalkeeper. The Curaçao international played very well after joining the Crew midseason. Backing him up is Jon Kempin, who in limited play has shown himself able to fill in when needed. The Crew will need a third keeper, so expect a developmental player to be brought in prior to the season. 

Assuming that the rash of injuries at outside back won’t repeat itself, the Crew appear to be pretty well set. Milton Valenzuela’s return from ACL injury provides the Crew with arguably the best left back in the league. He’ll be backed up by Hector Jimenez, who can also play right back, and Waylon Francis. On the right, Harrison Afful has re-signed, and although getting up there in years, remains a steady hand. Scotsman Chris Cadden is the heir apparent to Afful, While an unknown quantity for MLS, Cadden has been ever present for Oxford United while on loan.

Areas of Need: Center Back, Center Defensive Midfield, Wingers, Striker

Jonathan Mensah is the only automatic starter as the right sided center back. As it stands, Josh Williams will likely start on the left side. However, homegrown Abubacar Keita performed well when he was forced into the lineup due to injuries and expect him to continue to get minutes. With Lalas Abubakar’s transfer to Colorado and the release of homegrown Alex Crognale, the Crew need to add depth at center back. Don’t be surprised if they hit the international market to fill that need.

At central defensive midfield, the Crew have three players who would start on almost any team in the league in Artur, Darlington Nagbe, and Wil Trapp. Nagbe and Artur are box-to-box types, while Trapp is more of a deep-lying playmaker. However, more depth is needed as cover for injury and potential national team call ups for Nagbe and Trapp.

Like the center midfielders, the Crew possess potentially three starting quality wingers in Luis Diaz, Youness Mokhtar, and Pedro Santos. Diaz was a revelation on the right wing late in the season, using his pace to jump start counter attacks. Santos had a career year scoring 11 goals last season. While he spent much of his time at center attacking midfielder after Federico Higuain was lost for the season due to injury, his best position remain on the wing. Mokhtar arrived late in the season and was never fully match fit, but still showed flashes of potential. Caleb Porter seems to be pretty high on Mokhtar and expect him to see plenty of playing time. Since Luis Argudo was selected by Miami in the Expansion Draft, another winger or two will be needed to fill out the depth chart.

Gyasi Zardes finished 2019 as the Crew’s leading scorer and will be the starting striker. JJ Williams is the only other striker on the roster after the Crew were unable to find a suitable backup to Zardes last season in any of Jordan Hamilton, Patrick Mullins, or Romario Williams. JJ Williams in still raw, however, and would probably be best served by another loan to USL. The Crew will be searching for at least a reliable backup striker and could potentially try to find someone who can push Zardes for minutes, most likely in the summer transfer window.

Area of Extreme Need: Central Attacking Midfield

For the first time in eight years, the Crew will be looking for a new central attacking midfielder after the departure of Federico Higuain. Eduardo Sosa was supposed to be Higuain’s successor, but never showed he was up to the task and was let go. Pedro Santos performed admirably when forced into the position, but is not a long term solution. In order to compete for a playoff spot, Tim Bezbatchenko and Caleb Porter will have to hit on this position.

Like last season, expect 2020 to be a bit of a transitional year. Porter and Bezbatchenko overhauled much of the team over 2019, but there are still pieces to add. While the team nominally has three Designated Players in Santos, Valenzuela, and Zardes, all three are below the $1.5 million threshold and their salary hits could be bought down. While it’s unlikely that the Crew will bring in three new DP level players, the option is there.