MLS’ summer transfer window opens today, just as FC Dallas finds itself in the thick of the tightly bunched race. Unlike last season, when eventual champion LAFC ran away with the Western Conference, first and seventh places are currently separated by just eight points. Despite winning two of its last nine matches, Dallas is on a 1.38-points-per-match pace after 21 matches, a number comparable to last season’s final mark of 1.56, when the team finished third in the West.
That positions FCD to make a move up the table if they can bring in some talent upgrades this month. Even getting healthy will go a long way. Late last month, Dallas was missing eight players due to injury, headlined by Paxton Pomykal, whom I wrote about earlier this season as Dallas’ second-most important player behind striker and MVP candidate Jesus Ferreira (who recently scored back-to-back hat tricks). Not having Pomykal patrolling the midfield makes Dallas less connected, less potent on defense, and less threatening on the counterattack.
And when fellow midfield starters Sebastian Lletget and Tsiki Ntsabeleng joined him on the sidelines, FCD had to abandon its traditional 4-3-3 shape for a 4-4-2 that made the club much less potent in front of goal. Add in extended absences by right winger and captain Paul Arriola and right back Ema Twumasi, and the club has weathered stretches where it could neither dictate the tempo through the midfield nor lean on its right flank.
No matter what Dallas does on the market, then, expect it to improve on its recent run of poor form purely due to the shrinking injury report. That returning group should also be fresher than most of the league due to its reduced workload, and those energy reserves could be critical down the stretch run.
None of that is to say Dallas doesn’t need reinforcements. In fact, they’re already on the way. On June 19, the club announced the signing of free agent attacker Eugene Ansah, who most recently plied his craft in the Israeli Premier League. The 28-year-old gives Dallas a bigger option in attack; at 5-foot-11, he’s taller than all three regular forward starters. He’s not afraid to shoot from distance, which could be huge for a team whose average shot distance of 16.5 yards is the shortest in the league. While he isn’t as good as his banger highlight tape suggests, at worst Ansah is an experienced, match-fit player who can slot in all across the forward line.
So, what’s next?
Dallas’ defense is stout, having conceded the third fewest goals in the West and tied for sixth lowest in the league. But Jose Martinez’s recent knee issue is a concern, even though he did do individual work during Monday’s session. If things progress negatively, adding another MLS-caliber center back becomes a must, considering Amet Korca is a development project and Nolan Norris is now a midfielder. His contract is up at the end of the season, so a signing may happen either way to get ahead of the market this winter.
That said, the offense is still the priority. Homegrown winger Dante Sealy could be another depth option now that his loan spell with Jong PSV has ended. (I wrote about Sealy before the season as a potential impact player down the road.) But the real prize would be a 2023 equivalent to last season’s acquisition of Lletget, a talented, prime-aged midfielder who can help Dallas create more attacking chances but isn’t going to break the bank.
LA Galaxy’s Mark Delgado is the perfect candidate. Delgado’s 67 shot-creating actions are 19th league-wide, and they’d be a boon for a team that has created the fifth fewest in the league. Delgado’s goal-creating actions are low, but that’s context-driven: the Galaxy are the second-lowest scoring team in MLS, due in part to striker Javier Hernandez’s absence with injury plus extreme regression from Dejan Joveljic. It’s hard to create goals when you’re passing to nobody. The 28-year-old is also in the 91st percentile in progressive passes, 93rd in progressive passes received, 74th in the aforementioned shot-creating actions, and 67th in progressive carries. He’s a strong defender, too, falling in the 74th percentile in interceptions and 78th in blocks.
This is a complete midfielder who could do wonders for Dallas in the middle of the park. Nico Estevez and his staff could shift to a 4-2-3-1 full time, with Pomykal and Delgado as the center pitch patrollers (with Pomykal skewing more defensive) and Lletget as an attacking midfield 10 next to Velasco and Arriola but behind Ferreira. Or you could also see Dallas move Delgado next to Pomykal in the 4-3-3, sending Lletget to the bench as a super sub who could play midfield and winger. There’s even a chance, though not a high one, that either Delgado or Pomykal becomes a defensive midfielder, and all three play together. FCD didn’t have such flexibility a year ago, when they struggled against low blocks like Minnesota’s.
And considering the organization-wide turmoil in Los Angeles, he might just be available, too. The Galaxy are in a freefall, sitting 13th in the West and battling everything from injuries to transfer embargoes to firing their club president in May. A total teardown seems imminent, with Delgado and Spanish wunderkind Riqui Puig good options to sell off.
Per a MLSPA release, Delgado’s salary is $750,000. Dallas could pay roughly half that in 2023 without committing to anything onerous since Delgado is only guaranteed to be on the books through 2024 on that number. (There’s a 2025 club option built into his deal.) That would provide Dallas a cost-controlled, upper mid-level midfielder through his age-30 season.
As for the acquisition cost, the Galaxy paid $400,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), with a potential of another $100,000 this year based on performance metrics, to acquire him from Toronto last year. Setting his market around $500,000 GAM seems right, or Dallas could go the player-swap route; LA and Dallas had talks on Arriola in the last window, but they didn’t materialize. Swapping those two is unlikely, but the previous discussions could lay the foundation for this deal. An ideal outcome for Dallas looks like a good chunk of GAM and potentially rights to a younger player like defender and former third overall pick Isaiah Parker. Even a mild overpay would be fine, considering how much he brings that Dallas lacks.
It’s a testament to the club’s growth that major overhauls aren’t needed. Estevez and technical director Andre Zanotta have done well in solidifying large parts of the team, creating a core to build around in Ferreira, Pomykal, Velasco, center back Nkosi Tafari, and keeper Maarten Paes. Now it’s about augmenting it. Good health will go a long way. But adding an impact piece like Delgado would take Dallas even further.
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