The Columbus Crew SC summer transfer window was fairly quiet in terms of activity relative to other MLS clubs. With just four total transactions including three new arrivals, the amount of roster turnover has been minimal.
Thursday morning’s 1 AM ET deadline has now come and gone. With that in mind, what stands out among the club’s transactions or lack thereof? Will any of these additions provide an immediate impact to a team whose playoff prospects grow dimmer by the day?
Analyzing Columbus Crew SC Summer Transfer Window Activity
First off, it would make sense to list each individual move, all of which can be seen below.
Departures
Emil Larsen, midfielder (transferred to Lyngby Boldklub in Danish First Division on July 10th)
Arrivals
Nicolai Naess, center back (acquired from Stabaek in Norwegian First Division on July 21st)
Zack Steffen, goalkeeper (acquired from Freiburg in Germany on July 22nd)
Adam Jahn, forward (acquired from San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Targeted Allocation Money on July 30th)
Now it’s time to take a deeper look at each of these transfers in terms of how they affect the club going forward.
Larsen’s Exit A Matter of Playing Time
Emil Larsen was signed by Crew SC on January 22nd as one of the club’s off-season acquisitions. The Danish winger was previously with Odense BK in his native Denmark‘s top flight. He made 108 appearances and scored 17 goals over four seasons with the club.
But he struggled to find the pitch in Columbus. Though he made two starts in U.S. Open Cup play, he appeared in all of 31 minutes during the MLS regular season. That dearth of game action frustrated Larsen, who was named to Denmark U-23 squad for the 2016 Rio Olympics. It’s what inevitably led to him being transferred to Lyngby which is incidentally the first team he played for as a professional.
Naess Could Be an Ideal Fit for Crew SC’s System
The Crew SC way under manager Gregg Berhalter is highly reliant on effective possession and distribution. It requires defensive players comfortable with the ball at their feet and able to germinate effective build-up play. And it’s likely a primary reason why Naess came on the club’s radar.
The Norwegian central defender is coming from a Stabaek side that appears to have implemented a similar tactical philosophy. The club is in the top half of the Tippeligaen in both possession percentage and passing accuracy. Naess was a critical part of this during his 16 appearances on the back line this season.
His 81.1 percent pass success percentage and 57.8 passes per 90 were both second-best among all Stabaek players who’ve played at least 1,000 minutes. And if we compare his pass usage rate (passes per 90/team total passes per game) in Norway with current Crew SC players, we find he’s highly comfortable at seeing a lot of the ball. Observe the following visual for confirmation.
What Naess also excels at is getting the ball upfield over long distances. He averaged 6.4 accurate long balls per 90 for Stabaek, good for ninth best among Tippeligaen center backs. That would be tied for the team lead with goalkeeper Steve Clark. It’s also .7 better than Wil Trapp who’s always been known for his deep-lying distribution to the attacking players.
What’s dogged Crew SC this season is teams going into a shell defensively to counter their possession-based style. One solution to this is to play direct in order to prevent teams from being able to set their shape. Having players such as Naess able to deliver those long balls to open up the opposition could help the team create more clear cut chances.
Steffen: A Potential USMNT Project
Steffen comes to Columbus as a discovery signing with extensive experience at youth level for the United States. He was a rock in net for the Yanks at last year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup. He kept a clean sheet through 120 minutes in the quarterfinals before painfully losing in a penalty shootout to eventual champion Serbia.
The young goalkeeping prospect began his professional career with Germany’s SC Freiburg. He made 14 appearances for their reserve side during the 2015-16 season, three of which ended in clean sheets. But it came in German fourth division play. The prospect of a bump in competition plus the chance to eventually settle into a starting role sometime down the road likely prompted the move to Crew SC.
Steffen should be able to hone his skill set as an understudy to Clark. Both are similar in that they possess exceptional shot-stopping ability. Clark is certainly an entrenched incumbent at the position having started every regular season and postseason game since his arrival in 2014. But should he move on at some point, the job will be there for the taking.
And with the USMNT goalkeeper pool an aging bunch, Steffen has a chance to be in the mix when the inevitable changing of the guard transpires.
Jahn: Depth and Imposing Presence Up Top
When Crew SC was forced to trade Kei Kamara, it left them devoid of perhaps the best aerial threat among center forwards in the league. Ola Kamara‘s skill set at the position is beating defenders with his off-the ball movement and making back shoulder runs at goal. But his hold up play and the ability to win the ball in the air remains limited.
Enter Adam Jahn, who ends up being the final Crew SC signing of the summer transfer window. Though it’s uncertain if he’ll get appreciable minutes in 2016, the 25-year-old adds depth behind a proven dynamic goal-scorer in Ola. Given current backup striker Conor Casey‘s inability to stay healthy, he’s certainly the first option off the bench at this point. And his 6’3″ frame hints at his aerial ability.
What Went Missing this Transfer Window?
Naess brings immediate impact potential. Steffen brings goalkeeper of the future potential. Jahn provides depth and possible super sub potential. But based on the reaction of a good portion of the fanbase on Twitter, message boards and the like, it seems like many people wanted to see more.
Take one glance at the MLS standings and you immediately see a reason for this sentiment. Many fans see the club’s postseason chances slipping away. Less then a year removed from hosting MLS Cup, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
The club had been linked with Costa Rican forward Jonathan McDonald late in the window. Crew SC had reportedly been in negotiations to potentially bring him to central Ohio from his current club Alajuelense. But they apparently wanted more for McDonald than Columbus was willing to offer and subsequently rejected the deal.
Another late target the Black and Gold missed out on is Johan Venegas. The Montreal Impact attacking midfielder was rumored to be on the trading block since last week. Venegas is a versatile player that has the ability to line up as a winger and provide quality play down the flanks.
Given the club’s less than stellar wide play this season coupled with Larsen’s departure, his presence potentially could’ve bolstered the roster. And according to MLS Players’ Union data, his total compensation this season was $212,500. It wouldn’t have been too difficult to buy down his salary with the general allocation money the team received from the Kamara deal if they needed to in order to be cap compliant.
Incidentally, Venegas is from the same town in Costa Rica as Crew SC left back Waylon Francis.
Summary
The club came close to wrapping up deals late in the transfer window. It wasn’t just McDonald. Berhalter told reporters Friday that they were in the discussion to sign USMNT midfielder Alejandro Bedoya. But their spot in the allocation ranking too unfavorable to make that possible. He has since inked a deal with the Philadelphia Union.
Ultimately, nothing came to fruition down the stretch. The deadline has passed, and just one player signed (Naess) is expected to become an immediate contributor in the starting XI. With 13 games remaining in the regular season and the club’s positioning for the postseason on shaky ground, it will be up to the existing core to step up.
For certain players, their position on the roster beyond 2016 may be depending on it.
Advanced data obtained from WhoScored.com.
