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The New England Revolution and their off-season so far in 2022

As 2021 becomes 2022, the new MLS season edges every closer. Here is a roundup of the New England Revolution news from the last month or so.
New England Revolution offseason MLS 2022

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

 

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