Heyyoo,

MLS IS BACK BABY!! We have a jam-packed edition for y’all today. Please enjoy🤘 

• 🔄 Final Roster Moves

• 🏖️ Western Conference Predictions

• 🏙️ Eastern Conference Predictions

• 🏆️ MLS Awards

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad Update

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

MLS Moves

A few final moves before the season begins.

Three MLS teams finalized their numbers number 10s. FC Dallas signed Lucho Acosta for $6M ➡️ FC Cincinnati signed Evander for $12M ➡️ and Portland acquired David Da Costa from Lens for $6M. None of these clubs are going to go into their season without a playmaker. Once the Lucho domino fell, the other two happened quickly.

The Colorado Rapids have acquired Josh Atencio from the Seattle Sounders for $1.3M in GAM plus add-ons. Atencio will remain a U-22 initiative with the Pids and slot into a starting role immediately.

NYCFC is finalizing a deal to send Santi Rodriguez to Botafogo for a reported $17M fee. We’re still waiting on this to be confirmed but that’s an impossible number to turn down for New York.

LAFC are finalizing a loan for Turkish winger Cengiz Under from Fenerbahce. Under was purchased in 2023 for $15M but has struggled to find playing time with the Turkish side this season. This move comes after LAFC sold Christian Olivera to Gremio for $4.5M.

LAFC is getting a very good attacker who has played for Leicester City, AS Roma, Marseille, and the Turkish national team.

Western Conference Predictions

Alright folks, here are our predictions for how the West will shake out. I’m sure none of you will be upset about any of this 😉. But in all seriousness, feel free to reply to this email and rip us a new one if you want, we’re happy to hear the criticism.

1. Seattle Sounders - There is no deeper team in MLS. They have high-level starters all over the field and added goal-scorers to supplement the league’s best defense.

2. LAFC - A big summer signing is expected (Antoine Griezmann??) and this team is still too talented to expect a down year.

3. Minnesota United - Most MLS fans don’t realize how good Kelvin Yeboah was down the stretch last season. A second season under Eric Ramsey will do wonders for this squad. Plus they have an open DP spot!

4. LA Galaxy - Two of their DPs will start the season injured but they have adequate replacements to keep things afloat. Marco Reus has to be more impactful though.

5. Colorado Rapids - A second season under Chris Armas comes with some defensive improvements and more midfield depth but they still lack an elite goal scorer.

6. Austin FC - A spendy offseason results in one of the league’s most promising front lines but we have doubts Nico Estevez will be able to make it all work from the get go.

7. Real Salt Lake - They still haven’t replaced Chicho and until they do I think it will be tough slugging even with the talented young midfield.

8. San Jose Earthquakes - They can’t be worse but we think they’ll be A LOT better. This ain’t Bruce Arena’s first rodeo and they added enough talent to make the playoffs.

9. St Louis City SC - Their big summer signings started to gel towards the end of last season and I’m optimistic about that continuing.

10. Portland Timbers - David Da Costa is a downgrade from Evander and they were already too reliant last season on their DPs to do all the work.

11. Houston Dynamo - Hector Herrera and Coco Carrasquilla are gone and haven’t been replaced. Jack McGlynn is nice but they need a true #10 to run the show.

12. FC Dallas - Lucho is a massive upgrade but if he or Musa go down, this team has very little depth to keep them afloat.

13. Sporting KC - They’ve brought fresh blood into the attack but the defense still lacks improvement. If they miss the playoffs it could very well be Peter Vermes’s last season in charge.

14. Vancouver Whitecaps - A rather uneventful offseason and a new coach doesn’t convince me they should be any higher.

15. San Diego FC - We won’t see a St. Louis City type inaugural season, which rarely happens for expansion franchises (ask FC Cincinnati fans). But I know this team has a big summer signing in them. Will it be Kevin De Bruyne?

Eastern Conference Predictions

Here’s how we think the East will unfold. Again… we will be wrong about a lot of this 🤷 

1. FC Cincinnati - The best center-back pairing plus Evander and Denkey, that’ll do. They will be very very good and contend for just about everything.

2. Columbus Crew - They’ll find a striker capable of winning them games ala Cucho. As long as Nancy is at the helm, they’ll always be a contender.

3. Inter Miami - They’re *lucky* underlying numbers from last season won’t continue, but don’t get it twisted, if Messi is healthy this team will be just fine.

4. Atlanta United - League record signing, Emmanuel Latte Lath, will be an immediate success. The Five Stripes are back to being among the league’s best.

5. Charlotte FC - Patrick Agyemang has a massive breakout year but they lack an elite playmaking #10 to push them any higher.

6. NY Red Bulls - They’ll land a premier striker in the summer window and should easily be in the playoff race throughout the season.

7. Orlando City SC - Can they make up for the Facundo Torres loss? I’m not sure but they still have the pieces to be very good and I love the Atuesta signing.

8. Chicago Fire - You can’t deny they got better this offseason and I still think they’ll make a big splash for a DP soon.

9. New England Revolution - They’ve added pieces to their leaky defense that gave up 74 goals last season and traded for Leo Campana but they’re still not good enough to compete with the best in the East.

10. NYCFC - After selling Santi Rodriguez for a brinks truck I imagine they’ll make a big splash in the summer but it will be too little too late.

11. CF Montreal - I’m not convinced the youth movement will lead to wins.

12. Nashville SC - If last season was any indicator, Hany Mukhtar’s best days are behind him.

13. DC United - They’re far too reliant on Benteke to make everything happen and failed to add any real talent to support him. An unserious offseason if you ask us.

14. Philadelphia Union - I just don’t see it all coming together. Cavan Sullivan will play a lot more than people think though, like 1,500+ minutes in all competitions, so at least that will be fun.

15. Toronto FC - Put frankly, it’s going to be an ugly season. Let’s call them Wooden Spoon favorites.

MLS Awards

This is always a fun game to play.

🏆️ MLS Cup Champions - FC Cincinnati

🛡️ Supporters Shield - Seattle Sounders

🏆️ Leagues Cup - Atlanta United

🏆️ US Open Cup - Charlotte FC

👑 MLS MVP - Evander, FC Cincinnati

⚽️ Golden Boot - Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

🆕 Newcomer of the Year - Emmanuel Latte Lath, Atlanta United

💪 Defender of the Year - Jackson Ragen, Seattle Sounders

👶 Young Player of the Year - Jack McGlynn, Houston Dynamo

🧤 Goalkeeper of the Year - Brad Stuver, Austin FC

📋️ Coach of the Year - Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati

Yanks Abroad

Your weekly update on the USMNT players abroad:

Daryl Dike got his first competitive minutes in 371 days for West Brom. He’s finally healthy after suffering back-to-back torn Achilles.

Tim Weah had a Lebron-style chase-down tackle, saving Juventus in a 3 v 2 situation that could’ve ended in a goal. Weston Mckennie captained Juventus in this game after his coach praised him mid-week saying, “Weston is special, he is a great player, a great guy. He has played fullback, holding midfielder, attacking midfielder, winger. He’s a top-level player”.

Paxten Aaronson scored his 6th goal of the Eredivisie season. He’s the third youngest USMNT player to reach 10 goals in the Eredivisie, behind Ricardo Pepi and Michael Bradley. Aaronson, who is only 5’9, celebrated by referencing Michael Jordan:) He’s the top-rated player for FC Utrecht and leads them in goals this season.

Josh Sargent grabbed his 9th goal in the English Championship this season. A friendly squirrel played a part in it.

Goal of the Week

I cannot wait to watch this Atlanta United attack 😍 

Meme of the Week

RSL killed it with their jersey this season but MLS reddit couldn’t help but meme it 😆 

Quick Hits

• No alcohol will be allowed at the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia (Link)

• USL intends to launch Division One league to compete with MLS (Link)

• USMNT player James Sands suffered an injury and will be out until June (Link)

• Columbus Crew sign Patrick Schulte to a contract extension (Link)

• U-17 USMNT have qualified for the 2025 U-17 World Cup, topping group B (Link)

Hope everyone is getting to a game this weekend. Enjoy! Soccer is back 😁 

Max & Mason