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Hi there, bring on that funky MLS hot stove!
Recaps of New York City FC’s penalty-kick win over the Portland Timbers by Hudson River Blue and MLS. Stumptown Footy with the RCTID side.
Some D.C. United stuff, starting with the good:
D.C. United & Belgian club Kortrijk agree in principle on permanently transfer of defender Brendan Hines-Ike to the MLS club, two sources said. He was on loan this season. Full-time starter until hip injury in July, returned late in season. #dcu
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) December 9, 2021
OTOH:
Some issues, I’m told by multiple sources, between Andy Najar and #DCU.
— Pablo Iglesias Maurer (@MLSist) December 10, 2021
Club pick up his option and offered Najar a pay bump but the Honduran would still be the lowest-paid defensive starter on the team; other clubs sniffing around now, a pair of them in the Middle East.
So on these two topics: Brendan Hines-Ike moved to Kortrijk from Orebro for a club-record $750,000 in 2018, and Orebro appears to hold a sell-on fee for him. That a deal was done before the end of the year seems to be both encouraging and affordable on D.C.’s part, but we’ll see once it’s made official. BHI would almost certainly assume Frederic Brillant’s 2021 cap hit of $300,000 (up from $240,000) next year, perhaps more.
This brings us to Andy. I get that people want to see him get paid, and I agree that he should within reason. This makes D.C.’s apparent lowballing of a kid who’ve they kept in touch with while he’s in Europe both stupid and playing with fire, and if Qatar or Saudi Arabia’s interest is true, take that oil money and run. Tripling Andy’s 2021 base salary of $90,000 earlier in the process should have been a no-brainer, and yet here we are.
Washington Spirit announce protected list ahead of 2021 NWSL Expansion Draft (us): These things remain anxious, and there are two this month!
Also, this is not encouraging on the Spirit front!
Steve Baldwin had aimed to sell his controlling stake in the Spirit by end of the year, but that seems unlikely now.
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) December 11, 2021
What will Union 2 roster look like for inaugural MLS Next Pro season? (Brotherly Game): While not applicable in ‘22, some roster rules of consideration when Loudoun/D.C. 2 move to the MLS Reserve thing.
Mastroeni, RSL “agree in principle,” says Twellman (RSL Soapbox): Feeling for my Real Salt Lake friends!
Meanwhile, this short on Bill Hamid is pretty cool:
Oh, and Ryan Reynolds buying Wrexham with Rob McElhenney? It’s a show now too, here’s the trailer: