The world shook this Thursday when it was announced Kei Kamara was traded to the New England Revolution for General Allocation Money, Targeted Allocation Money, a 2017 1st Round pick, a 2018 2nd Round pick and an international roster slot. This was a huge trade in the grand realm of MLS.
Kamara had recently been suspended for one game due to publicly outing his coach and Federico Higuain amidst an on-field dispute about who should take a penalty kick.
All this aside, this is a game changer for the New England Revolution and the Eastern Conference of MLS. The biggest question is whether coach Jay Heaps will stay beholden to his sacrosanct 4-5-1. If he does, this was an ill-advised trade. The Revolution have Juan Agudelo and Charlie Davies now. They must change their formation to a 4-4-2 or even a 4-3-3. A 3-4-3 shouldn’t even be out of the question but knowing Heaps, a defender himself during his playing career, he would never do this.
Assuming a diamond 4-4-2, with Agudelo and Kamara up top, Lee Nguyen as the central attacking midfielder, Gershon Koffie as the defensive midfielder and then Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe on the wings. Scott Caldwell becomes the odd man out, and this is not ideal, however the Revolution need finishing and goals and the 4-5-1 has not been getting the job done. It puts far too much pressure on Rowe and Fagundez to play attack, midfield and defense and does not allow for a strong attacking front.
Kamara succeeded well in Columbus because of Ethan Finlay constantly playing crosses over. The Crew were never able to pair Kamara with someone of his stature. Now, the Revolution have two players in Fagundez and Rowe who can provide service to both, providing an incredibly lethal partnership.
We saw glimpses of this potential in the second half of last weekends game against the Galaxy. Lee Nguyen was subbed out when the Revolution went down 3-0, and rookie Femi Hollinger-Janzen was brought in. Immediately, the glut in the midfield was gone and the Revolution had two big-bodied attackers to own the final third. This resulted in two goals against one of the best teams in MLS. It is a small sample size but proof that the Revolution have the potential to be dangerous with two strong forwards.
Kamara is a huge get for New England. He is one of the most dynamic strikers in MLS and led the league in goal scoring last year. Coach Heaps must accommodate the talent of his new star and surround him with a formation that allows his potential to come through. The trade could not have come at a better time for either side, and here is hoping both sides will benefit immensely as a result.
