Summer Transfer Window primer: Revs needs, and two rumored targets

With a long, resounding creak — fresh air optional — the Secondary Transfer Window in Major League Soccer opens today, and will run until Wednesday, August 8. A little over four weeks for the Revolution to do something to improve their squad moving deeper into the second half of the season.

First-year manager Brad Friedel has spoken on several occasions this spring — and reiterated it in training last week — of his desire to bring in one or two players to increase competition in the squad. He said it to us back in April, before the Primary Transfer Window closed — and saw Lee Nguyen leave for LA in the last gasps for $700,000 split evenly in General and Targeted Allocation Money, without a replacement body. But that was also before Chris Tierney’s season-ending injury at the end of May.

If you want to be technical, the Revs would need to make four moves during this window to bring the roster to the size Friedel wanted in April. Again, that’s a technicality. I’m not saying that’s what will happen.

Here are New England’s available roster spots:

2 Senior roster spots
1 international slot
1 Designated Player slot
3 Reserve roster spots

What will The Boys In Blue do? That remains to be seen: the Revs have traditionally stood pat at this point in the season, have brought in players that have not panned out, or have told the public, “We tried!” when the transfer window closes without any moves made. In ’14, the Revs landed Jermaine Jones in the days before the end of the window, and proceeded to win the Eastern Conference playoffs en route to their fifth loss in the MLS Cup Final.

And with BSJ on the Revs beat, the days of “We tried” need to be over. New England needs to improve their squads regularly: complacency over new signings and treachery to the paying supporters — which is one in the same — needs to cease.

The Revs’ must-have needs, in my eyes:

Defense/left back

The Revolution have long had problems in the back, and it’s been three-and-a-half seasons since A.J. Soares left without the club truly replacing him. This is the area of greatest concern: with Tierney injured and primary window signing Gabriel Somi seemingly falling out of favor with Friedel, for the most part, New England has had to rely on captain Claude Dielna to fill the left back position. That stretches the centerback area out, as Antonio Delamea and Jalil Anibaba fill the front, with Andrew Farrell getting the nods at right back; if a centerback is out, like earlier in the season, Farrell can slide over with Brandon Bye taking over at RB. With Dielna’s tendencies to not play with tact in the box, the Revs need to solidify the left side, and solidify it pronto.

Midfield

I’ve said all along that I like Diego Fagundez in the No. 10 role, but there’s nothing wrong with having a little competition at that spot; there’s also the fact that he’s had his difficulties at times, but as long as he produces (five goals, six assists in ’18), he’ll not yield the position.

The right attacking midfielder role has, until recently, been filled by Krisztian Nemeth, but the $1 million man just has no confidence in his shot and would rather distribute when he's out there. Kelyn Rowe has slipped into that spot from time to time, and so has Juan Agudelo. And between those three, how many goals have been scored? That’s right. One. ONE. The attacking trio of Fagundez along with Cristian Penilla and Teal Bunbury have produced, but very little has come from the right. If there’s any place in the attacking side of things that has me concerned, it’s that right-hand side.

Defensive midfield

Not exactly a true problem area: if the Revs pick up a solid attacking midfielder, it’s conceivable Rowe, like he did Saturday, could move into the defensive midfield to supplement Scott Caldwell, Wilfried Zahibo, and Luis Caicedo in a pinch. If New England picks up a player here, fine. It’s not necessary in my eyes, at least not with two other problem areas staring us straight in the face every week.

Two names floated as possible targets

Soccer transfer rumors are like finding pennies on the sidewalk. They float on the ether; sometimes things pan out and a transfer occurs. And a lot of times, these rumors have no basis in fact whatsoever.

While the Revolution don’t comment on transfer rumors -- I prefer not to report on whispers in the wind; these names are out there, though -- it doesn’t stop the gossip… natch.

Bojan Krkic, midfielder/striker

Frank Dell’apa, the dean of Boston soccer writers, tweeted in the days prior to the DC United match last weekend that the Revs were interested in Bojan Krkic. Krkic has played for several big European clubs, starting his career with FC Barcelona, as well as having spells at Italian side AC Milan, Ajax, and Roma. Since 2014, he has been with the Potters of Stoke City FC, where he has scored 14 goals in 53 appearances.

But in the last two seasons, he hasn’t been in Stoke City’s plans, as he’s been out on two loans with FSV Mainz 05 in Germany and Deportivo Alaves in Spain. But now he’s out of contract.

Krkic is a proven goal scorer, is solid on and off the ball, and has great pace in moving in space for passes. Check the video to see what I mean. The only issue I see is his wage bill, considered to be eight figures.



And a little thing called the Turf Monster. Would Krkic play on turf?

Geoff Cameron, centerback

MLSSoccer.com’s Sam Stejskal wrote this past Friday that the Revs have looked into signing the Attleborough native and former US international. Along with the Revs, Los Angeles Galaxy are in the hunt for his signature, and have reportedly offered Cameron $2 million over the course of two seasons.

There are a couple of issues that I see with a potential Cameron-to-Revs signing. Logistically and from a marketing standpoint, it makes a lot of sense: Cameron was born and raised in this neck of the woods, a short drive down Route 1. Rolling out of bed and getting to training within 20 minutes of each event? Is there a downside to this? And the marketing folks would drool at the opportunities.

But Cameron is 32, will turn 33 on Wednesday, and Friedel has generally trended younger in the first season of his tenure in Foxborough. He would bring big-match experience, for sure, and that would help settle an at-times nervy defensive corps. It would more than likely keep Dielna at left back, and would have Cameron fighting for playing time in the middle with Delamea and Anibaba, both of whom have played well in the last month-plus. It’s not a bad problem to have, depth.

The kicker in all this is that, like the saying goes, the rich would get richer: the Galaxy also holds the top spot in the allocation order, which is used to distribute incoming US internationals to teams when coming home from clubs abroad; it is also used for former MLSers who have left the league for other clubs and now look to return, as well as for elite youth players.

The Revs would have to make a pretty sweet offer to Los Angeles, who already have a handful of former full internationals in their squad, in order to trade up: New England sits eighth in the allocation order. And while we don’t know what that offer would be — SuperDraft selections, a hunk of TAM, or both would be my guess... but hey, look at my World Cup picks when it comes to my accuracy — I’m not too certain it would be a wise move if New England has to give up a ton of current assets and/or potential assets to gain a 33-year-old whom the Revs had originally passed on in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft: the Revs picked Canadian defender Matt Britner at 41, and Cameron went 42 to Houston.

But there’s also a potential transfer fee payable to Stoke, as he signed a two-year contract extension to stay at the Brittannia back in May ’17. Is paying two clubs for one player feasible to the budget, or would it — like the Nemeth signing last year, which cost New England two international slots for this year — mortgage the club for X number of years?

Again, it’s something Revs supporters should think long and hard about when thinking about this window: mortgage the future for big stars and winning now, or get players that fit into Friedel’s system and win for a while?