For a team dawdling at the outskirts of Major League Soccer’s playoff picture, the New York Red Bulls’ work during the month-long summer transfer window does not suggest they are all-in on extending their streak of 15-straight postseason appearances or building on their surprise run to the 2024 Eastern Conference title and an appearance in the MLS Cup Final, which they lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Instead, there were bare-bones moves rather than legitimate difference-makers. Veteran Swedish holding midfielder Gustav Berggren was brought in from Poland to replace Felipe Carballo, and he still has not debuted for New York despite signing on July 23 because of visa issues that were finally resolved on Thursday.
Young Costa Rican winger Andy Rojas completed his move from Herediano after a loan spell with the Red Bulls’ reserve team, where he will likely see most of his action rather than with the first team.
Hours before the transfer window closed on Thursday, they executed a savvy trade to bring in veteran goalkeeper John McCarthy from Los Angeles, in which the Galaxy is eating more than $400,000 of his salary, per a source. He will serve as the backup to Carlos Coronel after No. 2 keeper AJ Marcucci went down with a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.
None of it addresses the continued need for help up front to create a reliable and feared attack alongside striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.
Former German international Timo Werner had been in talks with New York for months to potentially move to MLS from its sister club in the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig. But salary demands caused negotiations to fall through — a sizable miss for the Red Bulls even with the 29-year-old’s downturn in play in recent years. Even with struggles at Leipzig and Tottenham during a disastrous loan spell in England, Werner still has the attributes to dominate in the United States
Even more of an indictment surrounding the Werner whiff was the lack of a legitimate backup plan. The Red Bulls did nothing to bolster their offensive ranks, and they will have to rely on the return of Scottish international Lewis Morgan — a natural winger who is on the cusp of returning from a quad injury — and 20-year-old Ghanaian Mohammed Sofo for the stretch run.
Entering Sunday night’s clash with Charlotte FC, New York has seven games left this season and sits in the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
