The New England Revolution are gearing up to defend their crown.
New England, Mass. — The season may have ended miserably for the New England Revolution due to an early exit from the playoffs, but one still has to focus on the success. It wasn’t just success for the Revolution but a record-breaking triumph, outdoing the LAFC and Red Bulls teams of years gone by. The goal next time around has to be building on the Supporters’ Shield, but Bruce Arena won’t have the exact same squad at his disposal.
Sebastian Lletget swaps LA for New England
Starting first with a new arrival and USMNT midfielder Sebastian Lletget is one of the bigger names on the move in the division. Speculation was swirling regarding his future and after the LA Galaxy failed to qualify for the post-season once again, Lletget has a new home. The 29-year-old joined the Galaxy back in 2015 after failing to break into the West Ham United first team. As well as starring on the West Coast, he has 33 caps for the national team — he played his part in both the Gold Cup and Nations League successes of last summer.
If you were worried about @SLletget staying warm in New England, fear not…
He’s gonna be the best dressed man on the East Coast.
📸 IG/iamfrankieg pic.twitter.com/Q1HVyKJ7zI
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) January 5, 2022
Lletget arrives in New England with plenty of MLS experience, not to mention that his path crossed with Bruce in LA. Lletget just arrived as Arena moved to managed the USMNT, thus the former wasn’t involved in any of the three MLS Cup successes under the legendary coach. The base fee for Lletget is, over the next two seasons, $500,000 in GAM. Meanwhile, veteran centerback Omar Gonzalez is the other newcomer, as he arrives on a free transfer from Toronto.
Influential New England players move to pastures new
Whereas some departures have come as quite a shock, Tajon Buchanan’s move to Belgium side Club Brugge was agreed a while back now. The Canadian youngster was at the heart of the Revolution’s success last season and so he is a big loss from Arena’s ranks. That being said, his future is bright and so this move to Europe comes at a great time. There is no doubt in my mind and that of others that Buchanan will continue going from strength-to-strength with Brugge. It is said Buchanan’s fee is over £5 million which is a major coup for New England.
"I'm super happy to be part of this family."
Stap het vliegtuig op met @TajonBuchanan en beleef zijn eerste dag als Club-speler. 🔵⚫ #Marbella2022 pic.twitter.com/6lImjqvtiG— Club Brugge KV (@ClubBrugge) January 4, 2022
Alongside Tajon, the major figures in the squad were/are Matt Turner, Carles Gil, Adam Buksa and Andrew Farrell, just to name a few. That isn’t to say that the others moving on aren’t losses to the team. First, there is Teal Bunbury. Bunbury joins Nashville SC for $150,000 in GAM. Adding him along with Sean Davis from the Red Bulls will make them even more fierce a contender.
The final of the big three sales for New England is actually not a sale at all. It shouldn’t come as a surprise due to the fact that he was on the list of released players alongside Luis Caicedo and Collin Verfurth, but Scott Caldwell has a new club. At the time of writing, it isn’t official, but several refutable outlets are reporting that Caldwell will be announced as a Real Salt Lake player any day now. The midfielder was with the club for nearly a decade and his importance shouldn’t be undermined. A sentiment reinforced by the Andrew Farrell below.
Hasn’t added much to the team? When we made it to the eastern conference finals two years ago he started all but 1 game in the playoffs. Sometimes y’all don’t understand the importance of a player like Scott. Club legends shouldn’t get this much disrespect #NERevs https://t.co/V5BJpmkKzz
— Andrew Farrell (@_88AF) January 4, 2022
Across the league, there are major announcements coming left, right and centre. Whether it be Lorenzo Insigne to Toronto or Steve Cherundolo being the new LAFC boss, there is plenty of MLS news to keep up with. New England aren’t really involved in this though. Gil, Buksa and Gustavo Bou, the three Designated Players, seem settled. Bruce Arena will surely remain with the team. Matt Turner, Brandon Bye and DeJuan Jones have all been tenuously linked with moves to Europe but as it stands, the latter two at least seem unlikely.
Will the New England Revolution spring into the headlines anytime soon? We shall see.