MLS Transfer Guide: Where every team’s roster stands entering 2025 | MLSSoccer.com

Here’s a team-by-team look at where all 30 MLS clubs stand re: how they’re using their Designated Player and U22 Initiative slots, as well as what their biggest transfer window needs are before the calendar flips to 2025.

It’s all based on press releases; some reporting of my own; cribbing from local coverage; and the official club roster profiles (they were current as of September, so again, take some of these designations with a grain of salt). Plus a dash of Tommy Scoops, the Backheeled gang and everyone else who covers the whole league tossed in.

Bear in mind three big things as you read this:

Also, this is my last column of 2024. See you all in the new year.

In we go:

As of 2024, none of the three DPs can be bought down. That might change in 2025, depending on how Cubas‘ original transfer fee is pro-rated. So there’s a chance for Vancouver to go 2/4/GAM, or to move Cubas into a TAM slot and add a third true DP. Given the shape of the roster – there aren’t a lot of guys who make more than the max salary – they could pretty easily do that.

I don’t really expect that to happen, though. And so as-is, their most pressing need (besides a head coach) is a young, high-upside No. 9 who can develop behind Brian White. Guys like that don’t grow on trees, but they can be found in the SuperDraft (as White himself was, once upon a time).

Laryea can be bought down, which gives this group the flexibility to go 2/4/GAM if they want to. Also, Mailula’s away on loan – at least through the summer – so he might not actually take up a roster slot of any designation.

This is all befitting a team that’s staring at a tear-it-down-to-the-studs situation. Obviously, Toronto‘s No. 1 need right now is a head coach (hire Vanni!), while in terms of the roster itself “talent everywhere” is the right answer (even after picking up Thiago Andrade, a move I like). However, if you want me to narrow it down… center backs. Lots of ‘em.

Bürki can be bought down, which gives St. Louis flexibility. And Klauss… look, I don’t think they’ll buy him out. But I wouldn’t be shocked if they’ve at least talked about it.

They’ve already addressed their biggest needs by hiring head coach Olof Mellberg and signing veteran center back Timo Baumgartl. I think they’d be smart to sit tight until summer and make any necessary course corrections then, at which point the open U22 slot, the possibility of opening a DP slot and the massive pile of GAM means St. Louis should be able to add a high-upside piece or two (much like they did last summer).

Albert Rusnák will almost certainly be back, and he’ll almost certainly still be a DP.

CSO Craig Waibel’s doing work trying to land both Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola from FC Dallas, as per reports myriad and sundry. Landing both would juice the depth chart and, in theory, juice the attack – Ferreira hasn’t been great the past 18 months, but he’s still a high-level talent in this league. High-level enough to push the Sounders into the winner’s circle? Well… I hope we get a chance to see.

Their other big need (backline depth) was addressed via the Tacoma Defiance pipeline. The last piece of work is to sign Obed Vargas to what will most likely be a U22 deal before selling him in the summer (and to try and re-sign João Paulo, too).

Even with trying to talk Ferreira down to a TAM deal (he’d have to give up short-term money in favor of more long-term, guaranteed cash) I think Seattle will end up being a 3/3 team, but I’m not as sure about that as I was a month ago.

Whispers say San Jose are looking to move Gruezo, which would free up a DP slot to add a high-level No. 9. Brandon Vazquez is the rumored name, though I haven’t seen much on it over the past 10 days or so. He’d obviously be a good fit.

Beyond that… there’s so much work to do on the backline and in midfield, even after trading for Dave Romney, Mark-Anthony Kaye and Ian Harkes followed by the free-agent signing of Nick Lima. Arguably work is needed at left wing, too, though I’d hope one of the academy kids (Cruz Medina, Chance Cowell) gets a look. And through all of this, the lack of U22 signings has been glaring.

Even so, I’m excited for all of what’s to come. Bruce Arena rebuilt the Revs and the Galaxy, and everyone forgets this, but he rebuilt that original D.C. United dynasty mid-season back in 1996. It’ll be fun to watch him go to work one last time.

Obviously, they have a lot of flexibility at the top of the roster with those open DP and U22 slots. When we were in San Diego last week for the Expansion Draft, sporting director Tyler Heaps said to expect another DP winger arriving this winter – though not one as big as Chucky (which kind of rules out the Kevin De Bruyne rumors; I think if he comes, it’ll be in the summer).

That’s the main job right now, followed closely by filling out the midfield. But I’d also like to see them consider a run at free agent No. 9 Jeremy Ebobisse, given how sporadic Marcus Ingvartsen’s finishing has always been and how unproven Tomás Ángel is.

This is a pretty full roster, though that didn’t stop sporting director Kurt Schmid from smartly adding Tyler Wolff on the cheap from Atlanta United (I like Wolff’s box-arriving at the back post; I think he could work well across from a playmaking winger like Diego Luna).

There aren’t any obvious needs, save for a bit of backline and central midfield depth. RSL‘s big moves were made last summer, and the question for this year isn’t one of addition; it’s of maximizing this team’s fit and upside.

For what it’s worth, the available GAM listed above does not reflect the extra $2 million they’ll get from the 2/4/GAM build. Roster Construction Path decisions must be submitted to MLS before the 2025 Roster Compliance Date and only after that date will a club receive the additional 2025 GAM.

If all of that happens… man, it’s a lot. But I don’t think all of it will.

What I actually do think will happen is they’ll sell Moreno and replacing him will become a priority. The other big priority will be adding a starting center back (which… I don’t think they lack talent with their current group, but que sera) and adding several depth pieces in attack.

But I don’t know for sure. This could all go pear-shaped and they’re suddenly neck-deep in the busiest offseason in the league.

One other note: The 2/4/GAM build seems to make a good deal of sense for this team.

Last week it looked like Thomas Letsch was expected to be named Philly’s new head coach, replacing Jim Curtin. This week the reporting indicates it’s Bradley Carnell, formerly of St. Louis CITY and RBNY. We shall see.

Whichever guy it is, he’ll find a team that’s lost one of its starting center backs via free agency and a CSO who will be determined to replace that guy with a child (ok not a literal child, Makhanya is officially 20).

There’s some credible reporting that Argie center back Ian Glavinovich could be inbound soon, so there’s at least some chance it won’t be Makhanya claiming the starting spot. And Alejandro Bedoya is back, which is good.

But really, the whole story is Ernst Tanner wants this team to be younger – he’ll want the coach to play even more academy kids than Curtin did – and faster. So where you or I might look at the roster and say “they need this thing, here, and have open, high-end roster slots there,” Tanner will likely see playing time for a teenager.

Can’t say I hate that!

Selling Facu Torres to Palmeiras for up to $14 million is a good bit of business (the GAM they’ll receive from that is not yet reflected in their total, as it hasn’t been made official yet). The decision facing the front office now:

I kind of suspect they’ll opt for Door No. 2 there, since 1) Oscar Pareja clearly doesn’t love playing Ojeda as a 10, and 2) true No. 10s are actually cheaper on the world market than wingers (recent MVPs like Carles Gil, Lucho Acosta and Hany Mukhtar all cost less than $5 million).

How Orlando use the open DP slot is far and away their biggest concern. Adding central midfield and wing options with the U22 slots is the next to-do item on the list.

Felipe Carballo was presumably bought down to make room for Choupo-Moting (and yeah, I was a bit stunned that Choupo-Moting will occupy a DP slot…). Vanzeir can (should) be bought out to make room for another DP attacker. Bam, two DP additions for a team that was maybe just one match-winner away from hoisting their first-ever MLS Cup, and that has the power of a global network of clubs behind it. This is can’t-miss stuff!

Seriously, though, Choupo-Moting will almost certainly help a bit even if I think he’s more likely to be a Luis Muriel-caliber addition than, say, RBNY’s version of Christian Benteke. I’m mostly trying not to editorialize here, so I’ll let Joe Lowery have a crack at it:

Apropos of that, RBNY’s transfer window need is the same every single year: more top-end quality. They have the open prime roster slots for that, so it’s just a question of whether ownership has the ambition to bring it to Harrison.

Expect a couple of new center backs, too. On Friday they signed Alexander Hack, who Sandro Schwarz used to coach at Mainz.

Talles Magno is a young DP, but he’s on loan to Corinthians for the year, so NYCFC have got a prime roster slot open.

I’m not sure they’ll use it, and I’m not sure they need to, as this roster is deep and good. Their most pressing issue heading into 2025 is getting a coach who will develop the three U22s listed above, and keep developing academy products like Tayvon Gray and Justin Haak.

They’ll have a bunch more GAM coming in if academy left back Christian McFarlane is, as expected, sold to Man City. That would present the only actual need, as there would be no backup for Kevin O’Toole.

The Revs were absolutely flush with GAM – getting rid of most of your max (and beyond) salary guys will do that, though bear in mind they’ve already made two big, necessary signings on the defensive side of the ball with the additions of Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos.

That is good work, and both of those guys profile well. They then made another big move, getting No. 9 Leo Campana from Inter Miami in exchange for $2 million of that 2025 GAM, and another $500k in 2026 GAM on top of it. Plus two international roster slots (one this year, one next) and some conditional GAM.

The next step is reportedly finding a taker for Vrioni, who’s reportedly got no shortage of suitors across the pond.

Once that’s done, it’s all about getting a few more central midfielders into the squad, even after the free agency addition of Jackson Yueill. That’s where I’d expect at least one of those open U22 slots to be used, and maybe even the open DP slot they’d theoretically have upon selling/loaning Vrioni.

The ‘Yotes are committed to those three DPs for 2025 and, depending upon what kind of extension Zimmerman gets, probably beyond. So obviously between that and their limited amount of GAM, any significant improvement will have to come from those open U22 slots.

One looks earmarked for Tobias Gulliksen, a Norwegian youth international winger. Nashville are reportedly lining up a $1.84 million bid for him.

The other very obviously has to go toward a midfield ball-progressor, even after exchanging destroyer Sean Davis for MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman, who’s much more of a progressive passer. He’s a good band-aid there, but it feels dangerous to expect him to play 2,000+ minutes.

I actually thought center back Joaquín Sosa, who was a U22 on loan from Bologna last year, was really good in his limited minutes. Center backs who can pass like that don’t grow on trees, and I’d love to see Montréal work to get him back.

As it stands right now, this team has exactly one guy making more than $510k. The obvious need is for top-end quality, but just as obvious is this club plans to develop that from within (or via scrap-heap pick-ups like Caden Clark and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty) rather than to go out and buy.

Right now, Montréal have zero backline or central midfield depth. That’s where new CSO Corey Wray’s work needs to be done. The rest of it will come down to head coach Laurent Courtois’s ability to develop those already on the roster.

The Loons made a very nice push down the stretch and into the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, fueled partially by an excellent summer window. And they’ve started their winter window with a good bit of business in selling reserve center back Miguel Tapias to Chivas de Guadalajara for a reported $1 million fee. Not bad!

Now, the main question is whether they have the funds to buy out the final six months of Pukki’s DP deal (his contract expires in June with an option through 2026) and then go out and get a DP central midfielder. If they do that, they’re a fun dark-horse pick in the Western Conference. If not, they might be in the “need a late-season push again” tier.

A bit more center-back depth is also on the menu, especially with Michael Boxall getting up there in age.

Kinda hilarious that this team’s in the 2/4/GAM set-up, but there it is. A few things to note:

Are Inter Miami really committed to the 2/4/GAM set-up? I, uh, kind of doubt it, but there’s enough cloudiness here to wonder what’s financially possible.

What I will say is that, between the cap room caused by the exodus of guys like Nicolás Freire, Sergii Kryvtsov and Franco Negri, the influx of GAM this week (neither the Gómez nor the Campana GAM is reflected in their total above), as well as the expected trade of Julian Gressel, they should have plenty of room to address their biggest need this winter: adding a pair of starting-caliber center backs. Jesús Murillo via free agency, anyone?

On top of that, Miami should have room to re-sign Matías Rojas and add a young No. 9 to replace Campana’s minutes.

This team’s stacked and in really good shape. The now-departed Chris Henderson did an all-time great job of putting the pieces together.

The Galaxy are up against it, as you’d expect of a team that went all-in for a title this past year while, at the same time, unwinding themselves from some of the less-than-great contracts the previous regime had locked themselves into.

What it leaves them as is a team that’s got virtually zero flexibility. As such, they had to part with MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman – even with Riqui Puig expected to be sidelined until mid-summer with that ACL tear. Bringing in Sean Davis solidifies that d-mid depth chart.

LA’s one big piece left to use is an open U22 slot. I’m guessing that’ll go to another central midfielder, with depth pieces at center forward and center back also on the menu.

Lots of questions:

Truly, the biggest is No. 3 on that list since the midfield is threadbare. Even if they retain O’Brien, there needs to be more depth for head coach Steve Cherundolo to choose from, or this team will run out of gas again.

Both Sallói and Radoja can be bought down from their DP status, though doing so would eat a huge chunk out of the not-all-that-much GAM this team’s accrued. And that’s pretty worrying when you consider Sporting KC‘s needs (no clear-cut No. 1 goalkeeper, a thin central defense, upgrades at the No. 10 and No. 6).

Buy out Radoja and bring in Eduard Atuesta as the game-managing 6 that this team’s missed since prime Ilie Sánchez? If they could do it without using a DP slot, that’d bang. But I don’t know how realistic that is.

It feels, at this point, like the more plausible outcome is Pulido dropping into the No. 10 role he played quite often in the second half of last year with Willy Agada starting at the No. 9. That’s not bad, but it’s also not great – as we saw.

It feels like there’s some part of a bigger picture I must be missing here.

I’m just assuming Houston will go the 2/4 route given their league-low amount of GAM on hand and how they haven’t been linked to any major moves even after declining the final year of Héctor Herrera’s contract.

However they slice it, this team will need to get real minutes from young and/or unproven (i.e. cheap) players in central midfield. Brooklyn Raines is for sure going to be one of those. Then there’s left back, where there are currently zero left-footers available for head coach Ben Olsen to select from.

The good news is that getting free agent ‘keeper Jimmy Maurer on a two-year deal makes a lot of sense, and the core of what’s been a very good team for the past two years remains. But GM Pat Onstad’s got to thread a few different needles here.

D.C. cleared almost $5 million of budget room this offseason (when including the retirement of Steve Birnbaum). So they’ve got a lot of room, and with that room, they’ve got a lot of work to do. Some of that has started with the acquisitions of Hosei Kijima, João Peglow and Luis Barraza, but obviously none of those are earth-shattering moves.

The top priority for CSO Ally Mackay was finding a taker for the final year of Klich’s deal, which they did by sending him to Atlanta (though they retain his DP roster spot). The Pole is still a good player, but he’s not exactly been DP-caliber in his two years here, and D.C. as a whole are probably better off diving full-on into a youth movement, save for keeping Christian Benteke as the featured piece. Ask me to point to one particular thing they need, and it’s chance creation. I’m sure Peglow is expected to help with that to a degree, and they’re always going to be able to rely upon the press, but… c’mon. Teams with 10s win in MLS.

Bear in mind they’ve sold homegrown center back Matai Akinmboni, as per multiple reports. But since it’s not official yet, that’s not reflected in their GAM total above.

Dallas are reportedly on the verge of two big moves, as they’re actively trying to trade Jesús Ferreira and veteran winger/wingback/right back/central midfielder Paul Arriola. That would free up a prime roster slot (Ferreira’s a DP who can’t be bought down) as well as a ton of allocation cash (Arriola’s on a max-TAM deal). Sebastian Lletget is reportedly another veteran they’re shopping.

So yeah, “clearing the cap” is the big job this winter, and might even result in them going 2/4/GAM under new head coach Eric Quill, who’s been tasked with reopening the pipeline from the academy into the first team.

Whatever path they take, they need center backs the absolute most. Signing Lalas Abubakar is a good start, but there needs to be more. Also note that they’ve added veteran Brazilian central midfielder Ramiro Benetti.

One of the best and deepest teams in the league has one of the cleanest cap situations to boot. As such there’s literally no glaring, obvious need this winter – save for hanging onto Hernández and head coach Wilfried Nancy.

The caveat here is that it’s not just Cucho who’s had overseas interest, but guys like Mohamed Farsi, Max Arfsten and Patrick Schulte as well. What that turns into will likely determine how the Crew use those open U22 slots, and whether they buy Nagbe down from his DP hit onto a TAM deal to open up even more flexibility.

The Rapids, as you probably know, take a different approach to roster building than most other MLS teams. As such, they traded up to $600k GAM, spread out across the next three years, for the next three years of Philly’s SuperDraft picks. Maybe they can squeeze another Moïse Bombito out of it.

They also swung a trade for who I think will be their starting center backs in Chidozie Awaziem and Ian Murphy, especially since Lalas Abubakar is officially gone and Andreas Maxsø seems destined for a move overseas (he’s been linked with clubs in the Middle East, as well as hometown side Brondby).

All of this is good. None of it should distract from how they need a high-level, goalscoring winger if they’re going to add silverware next year (or come as close as they did this past year).

Cincy already made their big move, splashing out a record fee for Denkey. They also re-signed Miles Robinson and, in Nwobodo, have a DP who can be flexed into a TAM slot if it makes sense for team-building purposes.

They also still own Álvaro Barreal’s contract after Corinthians declined the purchase option, and man would his return fill a need. But as per GM Chris Albright, it’s “probably more unlikely than not” that he returns. Bummer.

No matter what happens, they have those U22 slots to add depth in central midfield and along the backline.

The fact, though, is all of this pales in comparison to the importance of figuring out Lucho’s mindset. Things have been quiet on that front for the past month, but I’d bet my life that, internally, that situation looms over every single discussion.

Chicago have one of the trickiest cap situations in the league. Here’s a scenario presented by a buddy of mine who covers the team: keep Giménez on the team until summer, at which point he can probably be persuaded to move along of his own accord rather than see out the final few months of his contract. That’d free them up to use their buy-out on someone close to a max salary like Arnaud Souquet, who… probably isn’t going to play that much.

My same buddy says to expect Navarro to stay, which makes some sense to me (the kid’s got talent).

All of this is dancing around the real thing: they need to sign a big DP this winter, and they need to get it right. A Best XI-caliber No. 10 or left winger is what’s on the menu, and then go from there.

They’re trying to get Pep Biel back on a non-DP deal, which would be a nice bit of work.

But we all know that’s not the answer to their needs. Charlotte were in for Giovani Lo Celso and Calvin Stengs last summer. A DP creator of that level is almost always the difference between a pretty good MLS team that can win a round or maaaaybe two in the playoffs, and one that can actually win a trophy or two over the course of a season.

By the way, Stengs is back healthy for Feyenoord. I don’t know what exactly the situation is with his knee (a failed medical prevented a summer move to the Crown), but man… what a player.

Anyway, they could potentially have another open DP slot if they buy out Swiderski. I suspect they’d then go big and recruit over Patrick Agyemang, but I’ll go on the record saying that’d be a mistake.

After last week’s buyout of Gyasi Zardes’ deal, the only players on Austin‘s roster who make more than the max cap hit are the two DPs and veteran center back Julio Cascante. So sporting director Rodolfo Borrell has a lot of room to do some work.

And he’s got a roster that really, really needs it, save for goalkeeper where Brad Stuver remains one of the best in the league.

If I were asked to focus on one spot, it’d be d-mid. I rate both Dani Pereira and Owen Wolff, though their skill sets feel more overlapping than complementary. This team needs a rugged, energetic ball-winner in the mold of what Alex Ring was at his apex. The primary goal’s got to be to get that right and then add pieces from there.

Gotta tell you, I didn’t love Miranchuk as a No. 10 from what I saw of him this year. I half expect Atlanta to push him to the right wing where he can pick and choose his spots rather than being asked to make the game.

Do that and they’ll have one of the deepest winger corps in the league. And then they can go out and spend the whole transfer kitty on a super-elite, DP No. 10 and a super-elite, DP No. 9. Just like Chris Henderson and Garth Lagerwey did last decade in Seattle when they got Nico Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz, right?

Those are obviously the two biggest needs (besides hiring a head coach!) of this transfer window. I’d expect them to use both those DP slots over the next few months, as well as reinforcing central midfield – as they just did by getting Mateusz Klich in a trade with D.C. Same, perhaps, at center back.

Those U22 slots seem like the type of thing they’d go slower on, keeping the powder dry until the summer window.

However Atlanta spread it out, it’ll be a full year of shopping.