THERE HAS BEEN a bunch of news surfacing this week in the world of American soccer involving teams and players based domestically and abroad. There are injuries to U.S. national team players and there is some club movement.

With that as a preview, let’s get into it.

De la Torre injured

Celtic Vigo announced on Friday that Luca de la Torre suffered and injury that will keep him out for “around three weeks.”

Per the announcement

“Sky-blue midfielder Luca de la Torre suffers a grade I and I fibrillar tear in the biceps femoris of his left leg, according to the ultrasound performed by the club's medical services. The US international will remain out for around three weeks.”

What this means is that Luca de la Torre is seriously questionable for the World Cup. It is impossible to say until U.S. Soccer does their own evaluations, but three weeks from the date of the announcement brings him to November 18. The U.S. team plays its first World Cup game against Wales on November 21.

It's going to be a big gamble to take him. De la Torre has played 50 minutes of club soccer since May and he wasn't even part of Celta's preseason. Taking him to the World Cup requires that you think he will get both fit and into form during the WC camp. The U.S. national team staff would also have to make this judgement before the World Cup camp even opens.

It is easy to see Gregg Berhalter and his staff taking that gamble on a key starter who is core to the team. If Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic, or Yunus Musah suffered a similar injury with a three week timeframe to return, it is easy to see Berhalter still taking any of them.

But de la Torre is a backup. Do you take that gamble on him or do you take a few different midfielders who would fill those options? Also, if you do gamble and take de la Torre, Berhalter will still need to bring another backup for de la Torre if he can’t go.

That then begs the questions: If de la Torre can’t go, who gets the call? If Berhalter takes a chance on de la Torre, who would be the other midfielder(s) they take to then back up de la Torre?

Christian Roldan probably benefits the most from this news. He missed a lot of games over the summer but came back towards the end of the season for Seattle and played well. Unfortunately with him missing the playoffs, he’s sure to be rusty and the benefits of this current camp in Frisco are not clear. But even when he’s rusty, Roldan’s strengths with the U.S. team are to bring some intensity to the game, win duels, press hard, etc. He could do that as a substitute.

Brenden Aaronson: was, of course, a lock to make the team. But as a versatile player, he could primarily be asked to play as a midfielder as opposed to playing as winger/attacker. That would then open the door for Malik Tillman, Jordan Morris, or others.

Johnny Cardoso: The Internacional midfielder has started playing regularly with the Brazilian Serie A club, and Berhalter has said to the media that he really likes how Cardoso has been playing this year. Internacional current sit in second place and Cardoso has made 21 appearances (14 starts) for 1183 minutes while scoring four goals. He was also on the U.S. team for September’s games.

It is hard to see Berhalter going to players who have either been phased out or who have not been with the team in a long time. Eryk Williamson hasn’t played since his ACL tear shortly after winning the Gold Cup. He seemed poised to take a key backup role within the team before that injury. Djordje Mihailovic has put up big numbers with Montreal in 2021 and 2022 and used that to become one of AZ Alkmaar’s biggest signings but he hasn’t been with the team since 2019. Gianluca Busio was thought to be in a good spot in 2021, but hasn’t been part of the team in 2022 with the ongoing struggles at Venezia.  Sebastian Lletget has been phased out of the team while Julian Green and Duane Holmes never really stuck.

If de la Torre can’t go, my guess is that Berhalter brings another winger and expects Aaronson to shift to the midfield. I think on the wings, you would then have Pulisic, Weah, Reyna (also a midfield option) Morris, and Arriola. Weah goes but another backup is needed given that he hasn’t gone 90 minutes since last season. The midfielders would then be Adams, Acosta, Musah, McKennei, Aaronson while Roldan and Tillman both go as hybrid backups in both attacking and midfield positions (taking up the positions on an expanded roster).

It is all guess work. We simply have to see how de la Torre recovers in the week ahead.

Alan Sonora to Montreal

As was reported by South American journalist Cesar Luis Merlo, New Jersey-born midfielder Alan Sonora is on his way to Montreal after declining to sign a new deal with his club Independiente.  

It looks like Alan Sonora will replace Djordje Mihailovic in Montreal. Sonora was looking to get out of Argentina (100% inflation doesn't help for a guy under a fixed contract). It sounds like Montreal has stepped up with the right offer. https://t.co/Dt6AAvuLiM

— Brian ????Pumpkinhead????Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) October 27, 2022

Sonora, 24, has been a bit of a late bloomer in his career. It wasn’t until 2021 when he began to start regularly for Independiente, and he notched four goals and four assists that season. In this current season, he has added four goals and two assists in the Primera while also adding another two goals in the Copa Sudamericana.

There are a few things to think about this move.

First, in Montreal he will replace the departing Djordje Mihailovic, 23, who is leaving for AZ Alkmaar in Holland where he is among the highest prices ever paid by AZ for a player. Replacing Mihailovic’s output will be difficult as Mihailovic has been among the most productive players in MLS the past two years.

Second, is that Sonora has a similar resume to what many MLS teams have been after in recent years. Many MLS teams have been aggressive in scouting and acquiring players from South America, particularly Argentina. While most of the top teenagers in South America tend to get bought by top European clubs, MLS teams, Liga Mx teams, and mid-level European teams have been going after players a little bit older, like Sonora.

Sonora is not a young player at 24. He’s missed the boat for a move to the top of Europe. His best chance of securing a lucrative offer typically would be in Liga Mx or MLS. In this case, Sonora probably had offers in both countries but Montreal probably had the money to spend and secure the deal.

Third, Argentina’s Primera is a tough point. The county is a financial mess and is forecasted to top 100% inflation. The Primera has fallen behind Brazil’s Serie A by a noticeable margin (in the last two Copa Libertadores in 2021 and 2022, Serie A has had six semifinalists, while Argentina has had just one). But with inflation at an astronomically high rate, players will see their contract value significantly diminish month after month. Players who can leave, will likely want to leave. Sonora is a good example and he elected not to sign a new deal with Independiente.

Finally, there is the issue of the national team. Sonora told ASN’s Arch Bell earlier this year that he had spoken with Gregg Berhalter and Berhalter has been open to the South American leagues. But Johnny Cardoso is in a better league in Brazil and on a better team, second place Internacional. Independiente, meanwhile, has been stuck around 14^th-15^th place in the Primera.

Heading to Montreal, he will be replacing a player who struggled to get involved with the national team the past two seasons despite playing very well. It also depends on who the next coach of the national team will be. He will have to do well in Montreal but it will still be very hard. In addition to competing with the existing player pool and players like Mihailovic now at AZ, he will have to compete with some very good U.S. youth players coming through the system – such as Jack McGlynn, Nico Tsakiris, and Obed Vargas.

But for several reasons this deal makes sense. He gets out of Argentina, he gets paid, he will be going to a team that has a clear need for him and he will get minutes. He probably could have found a European team outside of the top five to show interest, but probably the biggest offers were in Liga Mx or elsewhere in South America – and Montreal managed to get the deal done.

Turner, Adams, and Dest

Three key U.S. national team players have missed games this past week. Arsenal’s Matt Turner, Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, and AC Milan’s Sergino Dest.

Fortunately for the U.S. team, none of them appear serious.

Matt Turner missed Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to PSV in the Europa League.

Per Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta: "Yesterday in training [Matt Turner] had some discomfort in his groin, and he tried this morning, but he was not well, so Aaron had to play… We have to assess it, but it did not look like a serious injury."

Tyler Adams missed last week’s Leeds United loss to Fulham with a vaguely defined muscle injury. Jesse Marsch said Adams was questionable for this weekend’s matchup against Arsenal.

Sergino Dest was pulled at the half of AC Milan’s win over Monza last week and he missed the Champions League game vs. Dinamo Zagreb midweek. Milan manager Stefano Pioli said it was due to “muscle fatigue” but listed no status for Sunday’s Serie A matchup vs. Torino.

Wingo and Ferencvaros advance

American right back and former Seattle Sounder Henry Wingo earned the start for Ferencvaros on Thursday and played the full 90 in an impressive 1-1 draw with Monaco. With that result, Ferencvaros became the first Hungarian team to advance to the knockout stages in a European competition since 2004 (and next most recent was in 1985).

Ferencvaros is the reigning Hungarian champion and Wingo is has been a regular starter when healthy since he arrived from Molde two seasons ago. Ferencvaros currently lead Group H by three points over Moncao with just one round remaining. A win or draw against Trabzonspor next Thursday would clinch a first-place finish in Group H.

RBNY: Long, Duncan, Clark

The Red Bulls announced their roster decisions yesterday and most of it had been leaked out in recent days. But it has three Americans worth following.

Aaron Long is out of contract and while he is the team captain, the club did not mention that it was negotiating with him.

Kyle Duncan had his loan from Oostende expire towards the end of the season but Gerhard Struber was electing not to play him down the stretch – and that proved to be a questionable decision, particularly in the playoff loss to Cincinnati where a lack of speed on the right side was apparent.

Caden Clark was on loan from the club from RB Leipzig, but his playing time was very uneven in New York and he was not a good fit for Struber. Does he make the move now? Does he find another team in MLS where he can play, and then have a better selection of European teams after a season or two? He needs to secure his spot on the U.S. U-20 team because the U-20 World Cup can also provide a showcase for his ability. But he needs to go to a place where he is a regular starter.

Trusty’s goalazo

Normally, we save the games from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday into a weekend review column on Monday.

But this cannot wait. Auston Trusty has been a revelation for Birmingham City after arriving on an immediate loan from Arsenal. He played the first half of the season with Colorado and was not nearly as good as he was in 2021. But at Birmingham City, he’s been perhaps their best player this season. As their central defender, he’s their second leading goal scorer.

His third goal of the season on Friday to open the scoring of a 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers was phenomenal.

Worth another look, from Austin Trusty pic.twitter.com/8mlQEQvEMi

— Brian ????Pumpkinhead????Sciaretta (@BrianSciaretta) October 29, 2022

Trusty should be in a spot to compete for a spot on the U.S. national team next cycle. He will be entering his prime years. Competition will still be tight as Chris Richards, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Mark McKenzie, Erik Palmer-Brown, Miles Robinson, Matt Miazga, and James Sands are all also around a similar age. Then there will be others emerging from the youth levels as well. But Trusty is building a resume to be among that mix.