Harrison, NJ (December 10, 2017) – The Major League Soccer world is preparing for another expansion draft. This Tuesday, December 12 at 2 pm ET MLS newbies Los Angeles FC will have a chance to pick five players from existing MLS teams (no more than one per team) to build up their brand new roster. All existing teams may only protect 11 players on their roster, and Homegrown players are automatically protected. The New York Red Bulls have today released their decisions ahead of Tuesday’s draft.
New York Red Bulls Announce Protected Players Ahead of 2017 Expansion Draft
Protected players:
Goalkeepers: Ryan Meara, Luis Robles
Defenders: Fidel Escobar, Kemar Lawrence, Aaron Long, Michael Amir Murillo
Midfielders: Felipe, Sacha Kljestan, Danny Royer
Forwards: Bradley Wright-Phillips, Gonzalo Veron*
Homegrown players (automatically protected):
Goalkeepers: Evan Louro
Defenders: None
Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Sean Davis, Alex Muyl, Derrick Etienne Jr., Arun Basuljevic*
Forwards: Brandon Allen*
*These players (Veron, Basuljevic, and Allen) are all protected for the expansion draft, but did not have their contract options exercised for 2018. The club therefore only protects the rights to the players. The club’s Sporting Director Denis Hamlett has stated that RBNY is in talks to keep Veron in the squad next season.
Unprotected players available for selection by LAFC:
Goalkeepers: None
Defenders: Gideon Baah, Aurelien Collin, Connor Lade, Hassan Ndam, Sal Zizzo
Midfielders: Muhamed Keita, Zeiko Lewis, Mike Grella, Dilly Duka, Dan Metzger, Vincent Bezecourt
Forwards: Anatole Abang
