MLS transfer deadline nears: Will Lee Nguyen stay or go?

Just before 1 a.m. ET on May 2 (12:59 a.m., if we want to be precise) sees the primary transfer window in Major League Soccer come to a close. It won't re-open again until July 10 for the secondary summer window.

That means we could potentially be in the last 24 or so hours with midfielder Lee Nguyen as a member of the Revolution.

MLSSoccer.com's Paul Tenorio and Sam Stejskal reported Monday morning that the Revs' front office was indeed listening to offers for Nguyen, who has scored 51 goals in six seasons for New England, and are asking for about $1 million in allocation money to transfer him away from Route 1.

Tenorio also reported Monday that the Chicago Fire, a team looking for creativity in its midfield, were the team who offered the Revolution $750,000 in allocation money for Nguyen on April 5.

Nguyen has not been named in any of the eight matchday squads for first-year manager Brad Friedel.

For some of the backstory:

Twellman to Revs: Play Nguyen, trade him, or explain why he’s on the bench
Lee Nguyen speaks on lack of playing time to start 2018 season

BSJ analysis

I may be wrong, but I highly doubt Nguyen will be moved Tuesday. And like we said a couple of weeks ago, if other teams are extremely desperate for a midfielder -- hello there, Chicago -- then they will really have to dig deep in order to secure Nguyen's services.

Teams do have the money to spend, and Revs' GM Michael Burns knows this: teams have an additional $1.2 million in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) to spend in 2018, as well as that same number for '19. Those funds can be pooled together. There's also $2.8 million in discretionary TAM for each of the next two seasons available; unfortunately, discretionary TAM cannot be traded between clubs.

There are only two questions I have: will someone pull the trigger now or from July 10 to August 8, and what would the Revs do with an extra cool million or so in TAM on their books? Friedel told BSJ two weeks ago the club is still looking to bring in a couple of players, so that additional money -- he said there is existing money there in the budget -- could really be put to good use in two-plus months.

If Nguyen is not moved Tuesday, my feeling is his only chance to get into the squad will be within the next month and a half: the Revs play five league matches from May 26 to June 13, plus the fourth-round U.S. Open Cup match on June 6. His services may be needed here, if only to give the current midfield grouping a breather over the course of the two and a half weeks leading into the World Cup break.

And if he does play in the U.S. Open Cup match, he would be Cup-tied to the Revs for this season. Another reason to potentially hold off until the secondary window.