Nearly three months have passed since New York City FC exited the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs against Orlando City SC in a dramatic penalty-kick shootout, yet their offseason has been relatively quiet so far – at least in terms of incoming moves.
Most notably, they’ve traded away midfielder Alex Ring to Austin FC and sent left back Ronald Matarrita to FC Cincinnati, while right back Joe Scally officially moved to Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach.
There haven't been crickets in terms of additions, as they’ve signed Danish left back Malte Amundsen and Homegrown winger Andres Jasson, but it all leaves MLSsoccer.com’s Matt Doyle yearning for more.
“The reinforcements have not arrived, and we’re all kind of waiting for that to happen because it’s City Football Group,” Doyle said on Extratime. “It’s one of the biggest soccer entities in the entire world, and it just hasn’t happened yet.”
NYCFC are approaching their second year under head coach Ronny Deila, and they’ve largely been one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams since entering MLS as an expansion club in 2015.
Yet there are question marks, Doyle said, and he hopes answers arrive soon as sporting director David Lee and his colleagues dip into CFG's global scouting network. One major concern, Doyle highlighted, is securing a backup for attacking midfielder Maxi Moralez, who soon turns 34 and spent nearly half of the 2020 season injured.
“This is not enough for NYCFC,” Doyle said. “This was a team within touching distance of the very best in the league for a while, and if they don’t do real work this offseason, honestly it feels like that’s gone in 2021. Now it’s not going to be like Wooden Spoon level, it’s not the same type of work that Cincinnati have to do. But it’s still a lot of work and judging by what I see on Twitter and fan blogs, NYCFC fans are not happy right now. They’re waiting for something to happen and it’s been a long, long wait.”
For more on NYCFC’s roster status, check out the clip above and the entire Extratime episode here.
