After making a huge trade with the Montreal Impact to move up to the top of the allocation order, the New York Red Bulls signed Sacha Kljestan. Rumors had swirled about the US International returning to MLS to join the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy traded Kofi Opare and a second round draft pick to DC United to move in up allocation last year. Bruce Arena was unable to get a deal done to sign Kljestan. Arena spoke out about a supposed rule that MLS did not allow six month contracts and was fined by the league for his comments.
Just after the 2014 SuperDraft, the Galaxy again moved up to third in allocation, trading stalwart midfielder Marcelo Sarvas to the Colorado Rapids. Sarvas had indicated he was unhappy with his contract and was interested in a new challenge.
Last year’s trade was a bit of an unlucky move because LA essentially traded Opare and a draft pick away for nothing. When Sarvas moved, one could say this off season was an exchange of Landon Donovan and Sarvas for Steven Gerrard and Kljestan. If Gerrard’s transition to MLS went smooth in the summer, one could argue the 2015 midfield for the Galaxy could be just as good as it was in 2014 (possibly better).
But Kljestan didn’t happen, again. Now it looks like Arena traded away a decent center back prospect and possibly his best midfielder for nothing.
Here is why the Kljestan for Sarvas move makes sense. Come up with a better lineup than this with Sarvas in it. pic.twitter.com/ydQRXV5rHS
— Sean Steffen (@SeanSteffen) January 15, 2015
So with this dream no longer a reality, what do the Galaxy do with the second allocation spot? What do they do with their midfield?
Allocation: Wait and see, it’s a life line.
While the MLS transfer window is February 18 – May 12, the European transfer window has closed, and movement has been sluggish of late. Any USMNT player who wants to move back to MLS has already done so or at least expressed interest privately. The rumor mill went silent after Kljestian and Juan Agudelo were signed last month. Unless something changes quickly, LA probably isn’t using this allocation spot before the season starts. They’ll probably be waiting until the summer.
Americans returning home has been a theme in transfer windows of late, so the Galaxy don’t need to make a move now to put their allocation to use. However, most of the American exports on the fringe with their club teams have already made moves. The mass migration peaked the transfer window before the World Cup as players looked to secure playing time to try and make it to Brazil. That time has passed. There aren’t many available American internationals left outside MLS who are worth Sarvas or Opare, let alone both plus some cash and a draft pick. And the ones who are worth that much are probably DP quality or are good enough to stay with their European club.
In my opinion, the outlook is bleak. There is a very real possibility that the LA Galaxy traded Opare and Sarvas for nothing in the end. The front office will just have to wait and see how the season plays out. Maybe a player we haven’t heard rumors about decides he wants to return state side. Most players interested in MLS have the LA Galaxy at or near the top of their list. Only the San Jose Earthquakes sit in front of them. And if a US international wants to return to MLS but not to LA, I’m sure there’s a team who is interested who would be happy to swap places in the allocation order.
Suppose Tim Ream decided that he wanted to return to MLS, but being a St. Louis native, he wanted to end up in the Midwest. The Galaxy aren’t in need of a LB with Todd Dunivant healthy and Robbie Rogers coming off a career re-surging 2014. But plenty of other teams in MLS could use a reliable LB in his prime. If something does come up, whether there is mutual interest or not, the Galaxy are in the position to get something out of their allocation spot.
The Midfield: Survive the early season and hope Stevie G acclimates quickly
The midfield is going to be the biggest challenge this season. Juninho and Stefan Ishizaki are locks at CM and RM respectively. Once Gerrard arrives in June and is ready, he’ll slot in next to Juninho. Until then, Baggio Husidic looks to be a lock in Sarvas’s role. The Bosnian can play the box-to-box role and is able to contribute offensively. He also developed a really good relationship with Ishizaki on and off the field last season, so they could have good chemistry right next to each other.
Husidic did play out wide on both sides at times last season. Once Gerrard arrives, Husidic could move to LM and be successful, though he would spread the field as much. The only worry with that move is that Husidic looks to come central to receive the ball, so he’d be acting as a third CM. I’m sure Bruce Arena has a plan for this. The other option is for Husidic to go to the bench and be the Renaissance man sub: he could regularly come on at the 65th minute into any of the four midfield positions. He embraced the role for much of last year and was successful.
There’s still the issue of LM. This looks like an opportunity for fringe players to compete for a spot. Jose Villareal and Charlie Rugg have already expressed interest in trying out LM to get into the starting lineup. Arena has been known to experiment early on in the season (see the diamond midfield from last year). Villareal, Rugg, and even a Bradford Jamieson IV or Raul Mendiola could get a shot at the spot. We could see a game with Rogers at his old position, with Dunivant playing behind him.
If the experiments do not work out, Kenny Walker is the most ready midfielder who was not a regular starter last season. Husidic can go out wide and Walker can move into the midfield. It’s a big spot to put the kid in, but he handled subbing in last season pretty well and he’s been a three year project for the coaching staff. Arena will give him a shot if he think he’s ready.
Most midseason DPs end up making their team dip in the second half. LA has a bad habit of starting off the season slow. They’ve been able to flip the switch in the second half of the season in the past. Gerrard’s arrival could disrupt that.
Regardless of which two players are out left and next to Juninho, the mission remains simple: Avoid a poor start to the season. Veterans need to lead. One of the young guys will have to step up, like Zardes did last year. Get to the summer. Hopefully Gerrard shows up healthy. Maybe some summer reinforcement will come through using allocation. All of this, just in time for the annual August tune up. If anyone can make this work, it’s Bruce Arena, Robbie Keane, and the LA Galaxy. In Bruce we trust.
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