Among the big-name signings of Frank Lampard, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, New York City FC owners, the Abu Dhabi United subsidiary City Football Group, were also keen to add one of America’s own. They got that in the form of USMNT midfielder Mix Diskerud, but he didn't come cheaply.
China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once.
If all of the Seattle Reign’s departures and questions this offseason left anyone thinking that perhaps they would settle for a rebuilding season, those assumptions have been proven incorrect. Manager Laura Harvey has kept Seattle in the hunt for titles ever since her arrival, and 2017 will be no different. On Monday, the club’s latest move confirmed their desire to win now.
Those who seek sustenance on unfounded transfer gossip and rumor mill nonsense will now need to look beyond Christian Pulisic for nourishment — the 18-year-old American attacker has extended his deal with Borussia Dortmund until 2020.
Perhaps watching fellow Scandinavian prodigy Martin Odegaard struggle for minutes at Real Madrid while youngsters like Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor flourished at Borussia Dortmund was all 17-year-old Swedish phenom Alexander Isak needed to see. Sweden’s youngest ever goalscorer has opted to join BVB over Real Madrid for a fee of €10 million.
A week out from the 2017 draft and still waiting for the upcoming season’s schedule to be released, clubs were back to work building their squads. Here is a look at some of the player movements and signings over the past few days, as well as the announcement of a big pre-season tournament.
Seattle Reign
Re-signed defender Merritt Mathias
Re-signed forward Kiersten Dallstream
Life has not been easy for French defender Mamadou Sakho over the last nine months. Ever since the failed drug test debacle that kept him on the sidelines for over a month last season, the defender has failed to earn his place back in Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Klopp, who had nothing but praise for the 26-year-old center back when he first took over as Liverpool manager, has since gone as far as demoting Sakho to training with the U-23 squad.
The MLS SuperDraft, which began last Friday and was completed on Tuesday (it didn't continue through the weekend, although at times it felt like it was going to), contains two elements that are completely wrongheaded.
Ever since the LA Galaxy acquired the rights to USMNT midfielder Jermaine Jones in exchange for a 2017 1st Round MLS SuperDraft pick, it’s been something of a foregone conclusion that the former Colorado Rapids player would sign with the club. On Wednesday, the Galaxy used targeted allocation money to officially sign the 35-year-old.
Heather O'Reilly has made the move. The star midfielder, who scored 47 goals in 231 appearances for the USWNT, signed with Arsenal Ladies. Te move was officially announced by Arsenal on Wednesday.
"Having come over to Arsenal last year to train, I was very impressed with the club. The facilities are world class and they have a tradition of excellence at the club that I wanted to be a part of, I’m very happy to be here,” O’Reilly said.