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Tuesday thoughts

The transfer window's final stretch, Leagues Cup thoughts, Cowell accolades, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta looks ahead to the remainder of the transfer window for Americans plus the injury update to Weah, Cade Cowell winning Liga MX's Player and Goal of the Month, and finally a lot of Leagues Cup thoughts. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
August 20, 2024
1:30 PM

HAPPY TUESDAY ASN READERS, after a big Americans abroad rundown and analysis on Monday we are ready to get into the bulk of the week. There aren’t too many games in Europe this week and the Leagues Cup will take up Wednesday. Aside from that, the big news is on the USMNT coaching search and transfer movement.

Let’s get right into it.

The end of the window


The transfer window is now inside of its final 12 days for most of Europe. The MLS window is closed. That makes it tougher for MLS teams to sell players unless they have a comfortable replacement (or they are resigned to where they stand the rest of the way). Colorado sold Canadian international Moïse Bombito for $7.7 (which could surpass $10 million with incentives) in what is an MLS record for a central defender.

This past summer, MLS teams have been slower in selling American players. Adian Morris moved to Middlesbrough. Caleb Wiley moved to Chelsea (with a loan to Strasbourg), and Frankie Amaya moved to Toluca,

In terms of Americans who could leave MLS in the closing weeks, the list is probably short. Potential transfer targets like Patrick Schulte and Jack McGlynn seem likely to be in the mix for a January move than now. Selling players now would tank the season for top teams like Columbus and Philly.

John Tolkin is one who could leave now if a decent offer comes up. The New York Red Bulls seem to have always been open to selling Tolkin for a while, but the offers weren’t there. But now with the Red Bulls not able to sign a new left back via the transfer market, it seems unlikely.

Then you have the Weston McKennie saga which seemed as if Juventus was going to do anything to move him. Now, suddenly, he’s on the verge of reintegrating his way back into the team and winning a game of chicken with the Italian giants.  

In terms of players who could be on the move in the next 10 days, here are the most likely targets

Rokas Pukstas: The Hajduk Split front office have been on record stating that they’re ready to sell Pukstas. There are a lot of reasons for this. First, the club needs money to buy players. Second, Pukstas wants to leave. Third, his youth makes him the most sellable asset at the club. The concern right now is that his form has been dipping a little bit dating back to the second half of last season, but he has still produced enough. Now, local media is reporting that Parma is looking to add Pukstas after just beginning their Serie A campaign after promotion from Serie B last season.



This seems like a smart move – and one that is very likely to happen. It’s a big jump up, but not too big where he is likely to get buried or go on a loan army run. Parma also seems likely to avoid relegation right after promotion.

Tanner Tessmann: this saga has gotten a little messy and its unfortunate that a move was unable to get done before the start of the Serie A season. Still, expect this one to eventually get done with Torino and Fiorentina the likely targets.

Cameron Carter-Vickers: This one popped up today and a mere inquiry from Atalanta doesn’t seem to suggest anything that is imminent. Moving to a big Serie A club is a huge jump for CCV, now 26. But if he’s going to make a big move up, it needs to happen soon. He’s not young anymore and he’s done everything he can do in Scotland. Celtic are in a pattern of typically winning the title and only being challenged by Rangers. Then they get handled easily in Europe.



Then there was a rumor of Besiktas in Turkey having him on a list but with no offer made.

Neither rumor seems seem likely, but if it happens, it needs to happen soon.

Mattthew Hoppe: The situation is bleak for Hoppe right now at Middlesbrough. The Northen Echo issued a report that does not paint a positive picture. The club is working hard to find him a new place. They were hoping for an MLS club to emerge, but it didn’t happen this summer.



If nothing happens this summer, the “mutually part ways” is the next step. He won’t magically increase his value at Boro if he’s not in the plans.

Jonathan Gomez: looks to be on his way out at Real Sociedad in Spain. He spent last season on loan in Spain’s second tier and appeared to be doing well but not well enough to crack the first team of Sociedad.

Now there are multiple outlets linking him to PAOK, the reigning Greek Champs. It would be a step forward for him, if he can play. He needs to get his career going apart from a loan. Internationally, he didn’t make the Olympic team after falling behind John Tolkin and Caleb Wiley.



John Brooks: Everything is very, very quiet about John Brooks after his contract with Hoffenheim ended in June. Right now, the most likely option is that teams who fail to lure their top central defense target in the transfer window and are now looking at free agents might turn to Brooks (if Brooks wants to continue to play).

Gio Reyna: The USMNT No. 10 doesn’t appear to be in the plans for Borussia Dortmund right now – although as we’ve seen how quickly things change with the Weston McKennie at Juventus. There is a chance he could remain at BVB, but after three straight seasons where he didn’t surpass 650 minutes, he needs to get settled and play. This isn’t just true for the national team under new management, but just for the sake of his career health.

Matt Turner: The USMNT No. 1 is now the third choice at Nottingham Forest after he was left off the squad for their Premier League opener on Saturday. If that is a case, Forest is surely going to be willing to listen to offers. The question now is whether there will be any? It hurts that the MLS window is now closed.

 

Weah injury update

 

Tim Weah suffered an injury for Juventus in its season opening win over Como. Weah was playing well and scored his first ever Serie A goal, but then had to be removed at halftime due to a hamstring injury.

On Monday, Juventus revealed an update saying the injury was low-grade and he would be retested in 10 days.



That injury will likely keep Weah off the September USMNT roster. This means his next exam with Juventus medical will be on August 30th.

 

Cowell wins Liga MX player of the Month

 

For his efforts for Chivas in July, American winger Cade Cowell was named the Liga MX Player of the Month. Between Liga MX and Leagues Cup, he had four goals and one assist.



But then there is more. This goal from Cowell against Mazatlan was named the Liga MX Goal of the Month.

 



With Tim Weah likely out for the USMNT in September, Cowell might get a nod. If Mikey Varas is coaching the team this window, Varas might opt to select Cowell as Cowell was a key player for him at the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

 

Leagues Cup

 

The Leagues Cup is down to the final four teams. I wanted to write more about this after the quarterfinals, but time got away.

The big story, of course, is that all four of the remaining teams are in MLS. The final two Liga MX teams were eliminated in the quarterfinal.

Maztalan was eliminated by Philadelphia in a shootout after the Union had to hang on for dear life after Tai Baribo was sent off for a second yellow (both calls seems beyond harsh). Then with the Union having Andre Blake in goal, they had the advantage in the shootout.

The most interesting match of the quarterfinal was in Carson, CA where the Colorado Rapids got past Liga MX giants Club America in a shootout after a 0-0 draw. Zack Steffen converted the deciding kick with CA goalkeeper Luis Malagon missing his wide. The game was not in Mexico City, but it was a neutral site location with Club America having a huge advantage in support.

The other two quarterfinals were MLS-only affairs. Columbus got past NYCFC in a shootout which was expected. Then LAFC had a great performance against the Seattle Sounders in a 3-0 win in Seattle.

For all of Seattle’s improvements over the past two months, LAFC continues to get the better of them whenever they meet.

Now the semifinals are set with LAFC taking on Colorado and Columbus hosting Philadelphia.

For all of the talk about Liga MX and MLS, it makes the tournament less exciting to not have a mix of leagues. Without the head-to-head matchups between teams from different leagues, people would probably rather just watch Liga MX or MLS.

But there is still plenty on the line with CONCACAF Champions Cup spots now up for grabs and an increased presence of American teams involved next year.

There are wide ranging opinions over this tournament and its future. Last year’s edition was boosted by the fact the tournament was new plus the tournament had Lionel Messi making a run to the final in what was his debut for Miami. This year’s tournament has no Messi, it wasn’t new anymore, and Liga MX teams were bad.

What is interesting about the tournament is that Liga MX teams were fielding strong teams and were taking it seriously. But the challenges of playing on the road for such a long time took its toll. There is also no question that MLS teams were boosted by the tournament being in their midseason and with the fact they didn’t have to go to Mexico. Even playing in an hostile “neutral” site venue like LA against Club America has advantages over not going to Mexico.

My opinion of the leagues is not changing. MLS is gaining on Liga MX and many MLS teams are better than a big chunk of Liga MX. But the top teams in Liga MX are still better and deeper. Yes, MLS teams must find a way to spend more and loosen the purse strings with better rules. But the quality of MLS is going to get better faster with the overall improvement of the typical American professional player. As the “average” level of an American professional increases, it changes the bar for what is possible.

As for the future of the Leagues Cup, I hope it sticks around and that the waring viewpoints of the Open Cup or the Leagues Cup go away. Both tournaments are important. MLS needs to find a way to play teams from outside its borders but at the same time, not distance itself from other American professional leagues. That creates schedule congestion, but it is very possible to coexist with a little creativity, roster expansion, and bold decisions (such as doing away with the all-star game).

Liga MX has a lot of incentives too. Their teams want to continue to build a relationship with their fans and potential fans in the USA and this gives that opportunity outside of the usual friendlies. Also, the tournament offers a better opportunity for some of the smaller Liga MX teams to qualify for the Champions Cup than the actual Liga MX tournament. Part of the interest in Mazatlan’s run to the quarterfinal was the chance to get into the Champions Cup – which is unlikely in the league.

The top teams always face issues of what to prioritize. But the Leagues Cup still has promise. But it will be up to the two leagues to determine what makes sense.

If the tournament continues, it would be a lot more fun to see Liga MX do better. Having one Liga MX team make semifinal over two years is not good.

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