I get it also. We all want to win. The thing is that with the salary cap and no lending out of players, no 2nd league team where it's easy to bring up and send down players for PT it creates this use them or lose them situation which really works against Galaxy's developmental purposes and growing from within as opposed to bringing in these old timers to help boost our chances at trophies. I want both things. A core of veterans with a mix of young guns is the ideal. Eventually working those youngsters into the backbone of the team and then acquiring older stars for the boost we might need. But yeah, the environment does not exist yet in this league for that. Sucks. BTW, reports are that Reus has accepted Galaxy's offer.
I know that the league allows loans but I don't know how MLS's loan rules work (in either direction), I specifically recall Jorgen Skjelvik being loaned twice to Odense BK in the Danish SuperLiga. I also seem to recall that he was showing up on the Galaxy's payroll while on loan. I spot checked current loans on Transfermarkt and it reports the following number of players out on loan for the clubs I looked at. LAFC: 3 - Mbacke was loaned to Barcelona's youth team with an option to buy. The other 2 players looks like they were loaned to clear roster space. InterMiami: 2 - 1 at 23 and the other at 20. I assume that these are developmental loans. Union: 5 - 3 at 23 and under with loans to USL and Scandanavian teams; 1 each at 24 and 27 Dallas FC: 2 -both under 22 both at USL teams. RSL: 3 - 2 older player that look like roster dumps especially Rubio Rubin who is now back in Mexico.
Daniel Aguirre is on Chivas’ preseason roster. Safe to say all that’s left is an official announcement from the club on the transfer.#LAGalaxy #LAGalaxy https://t.co/Q6839b07HE pic.twitter.com/BIpOkk8AX6— Alex Ruiz (@AlxRuiz15) June 8, 2024
As some one who follows the Bundesliga avidly, Reus can still play. He was a regular contributor for Dortmund, mostly off the bench and can be used across positions in the attacking midfield both wide and centrally. He also isn’t afraid to play defensively when he’s called upon to do so. As a short term TAM contract and the 300k extortion payment (that bit tickled me), this could be a solid signing. Of course with his age you never really know how much longer he can keep performing at a high level.
Was about to say that -- did we totally forget about Araujo? The fact is any U-23 attacking player good enough to start for us is too much of a commodity for us to hold on to for very long. That's been true around the league. They either go before they debut in MLS or get sold shortly after. Having said that, it doesn't make much sense to sell Perez to LigaMX now. His stock will only go up as he gets more time, IMO. Jovelic, Puig, Aude and Neal are all commodities that will be hard to hold onto for very long. I'm actually curious to see how Kuntz and co play this long-term.
I love Aguirre, it was a pleasure to watch him grow from an undrafted trialist who impressed in preseason to G2, then to the first team and giving us solid sub minutes. But it makes too much sense for everybody involved : - Aguirre deserves more playing time but won't get much especially after the Reus signing. - Tucker Lepley is following his path and has probably been the best G2 player this year. - Aguirre's contract is up at the end of the year and it's better to get something from him right now. I like how our FO has been able to get something in return for players who left the club : Efrain Alvarez was sold for a decent amount of money, there will probably be a small fee for Daniel Aguirre, there was a small one for Brandon Téllez from G2 to Chivas... Even releasing Marcus Ferkranus gets us a roster spot back. The club was also active to get rid of Bond and Mavinga. I firmly believe most of these players would have been gone for free (and/or at the very end of their contract) with the lazy FO we had before Kuntz arrival.
Not to mention Haji I had to look it up and its not even listed on the Wikipedia page (perhaps someone can change that) https://www.lagalaxy.com/news/former-la-galaxy-academy-player-haji-wright-signs-schalke-04-insider
It's on his Transfermarkt page. He was with the Galaxy Academy from 2012-2015. He left for the Cosmos because he wanted to sign a pro contract, but only for a year until he was 18 and the MLS standard contract insisted on club options that would have kept him under control after the point where he could go to Europe. I'm not sure the Cosmos was such a great place for him, but it's the same reason you see some players going to USL clubs (including Orange County SC today). One of the benefits to the Galaxy from selling Alvarez, Tellez, Aguirre, and perhaps Perez to Liga MX clubs, as well as Araujo to Barcelona, is that it signals the club is willing to sell a player if it will be better for their career as long as the Galaxy can also get some return on its investment. In fact, the Galaxy signing Araujo to a bigger contract in 2021 when he could fit within the new U22 exception, a year before he was rumored to be going to Barcelona, was what helped our leverage in that deal and we showed that it didn't interfere with his movement.
By the way, one difference between Aguirre and Perez is that Aguirre's contract expires at the end of 2024, while Perez's contract expires at the end of 2026. Also, Perez has been called up for the Mexican YNT, while Aguirre has not. If we sell Perez, we should get a lot more for him. It may not be the $2.2 million we got for Alvarez (which was a steep drop from the $12 million we were rumored to be offered a year-and-a-half before, but we waited until his contract year and after his play declined), but it should be in that range and it should be a lot higher than Aguirre.
2 million for Perez should be minimum transfer. That dude is more far along in development than Aguirre. Him being in the Mex U16-18-19-20 and whatever they should know that. No lowballing or it's adios amigos. It's fine that we are thinking of the youngster's future but all has to be done with some sense of balance. I want to keep Perez. The way I see it, he is good enough to help right now. You cannot have enough depth and options in this league if we are talking about challenging for titles. You want to give Vanney as many options as you can.
Sources: Chivas to sign midfielder Daniel Aguirre from LA Galaxy. Deal around $250k. Lot of reports/rumors on it, I believe @_ericklo first reported?Anyway. Galaxy homegrown, dual-national. The 24 y/o made 60 apps with LAG, majority from the bench. Another pro pathway. pic.twitter.com/ZunI3MdR8k— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) June 10, 2024
Considering we sold G2 players for $100K and there was only 6 months left on his contract, $250k for Aguirre sounds reasonable.
Per the posted 2024 roster rules, the Galaxy will get 95% of the transfer fee for Aguirre. This should generate enough GAM to buy an international roster slot for Reus or something close to it.
“Another pro pathway” is galaxy trying to emphasize that they are a good option for youth talent. You have a future even if you don’t break through here Bogert going out of his way to mention that tells me our new regime is on strong terms with mls reporter/PR people now. In the past, mls media was outright hostile towards Klein/Kirovski.
Yes this is a good deal for the $$$ AND the publicity and what this shows to other potential young players. Best of luck to Daniel down in Mexico.
Officially official 🔴⚪️ ¡Dani, ya eres Rojiblanco! ⚪️🔴¡Es momento de dejar corazón y alma por el equipo de los Mexicanos! 🐐🇲🇽Toda la información 👉 https://t.co/ys2aTUVami pic.twitter.com/BtTYGcgDP1— CHIVAS (@Chivas) June 10, 2024
How many times have the Gs and Real Chivas played against each other? Guess the only chance would be the Money Cup or CCL.
Thank you Aguirre, but now you're the Guadalajaras bench's problem. I'm sorry if I compare you to Quavas Kirk.
Cross-posting this from the VCFC thread. Gino Vivi is being loaned to Saprissa in his native Costa Rica. Kuntz is clearly giving young players whose pathways are blocked a chance to move to other clubs and, at the same time, opening up roster slots for us to sign other players this summer and creating pathways for our homegrowns to get more time with VCFC and possibly move up. 📰 @vcfcmlsnp standout Gino Vivi is heading out on loan to Saprissa, reportedly.Vivi, 23, has been one of Ventura’s best players this season and his absence will leave a large hole on the left side. It’ll be interesting to see how they fill it.#vcfc | #LAGalaxy https://t.co/MyPaBHanyk— Next Pro News (@NextProNews) June 17, 2024
The other thing it does is give the player a chance to develop against what may be higher level competition while the Galaxy (depending upon the loan terms) retains his rights. Additionally, it can clear salary budget.
FWIW, last night COG reported that the loan was only for 6 months. Vivo will be out of contract then but the MLS roster profile shows the Galaxy holding options for 2025 and 2026.
I like it. Ultimately, you want to have a very comprehensive development and placing system to our academy and young prospects. Something that tells parents, coaches and future prospects Galaxy will move your career along by hook or by crook, sort of speak. A 23 or 20ish year old young player needs to be playing as much as possible. 23 is not a bench or second team youngster any more to my way of seeing it. Good for Vivi. Good for Galaxy.
Gino is definitely too good/old for the MLS Next Pro level, but he really needs a green card if he wants to play in MLS because he's not good enough or positionally versatile enough to occupy one of the senior team's international spots. As it stands now, he's a third on the depth chart winger.