It’s silly season!  LAFC used their speed and star power to hand the Philadelphia Union their 1st of 2 finals defeats on Saturday.  That means, the 2022 season is now officially behind us.

For some, that’s a good thing.

It’s also the official beginning of “unsubstantiated transfer rumor leaked by an unnamed player-agent to a less than credible twitter account”….uh…. season.  Congrats, to all those who celebrate.

Let’s pour a drink, put on our cozy socks and curl up next to the fire with a rundown of all the transfer rumors swirling around the Revolution this offseason.  Some of these may pan out for New England, others will fizzle out almost as soon as they are leaked.  Whichever the case, I will update this article as the winter progresses, so check back often!

 

 

INS

 

Dayro Moreno to the Revs?!

This rumor comes to us from German Andres Paz, a columnist covering Colombian soccer.  Dayro Moreno is a forward currently with Atletico Bucamaranga in the Colombian Primera Division.  He’s had a LONG career as a forward.  A LONG careern.  He’s currently 37 years young, making him older than any player currently on the Revolution.

That may not necessarily be a bad thing, though, as he’s still scoring with regularity.  In 2022, he found the back of the net 22 times in 42 appearances, mostly as a starter.  He also has international experience, with 31 appearances for Colombia.  He was even a part of the Colombia squad that took 3rd in the Copa America Centanario.

If this rumor has any legs, he likely slots in as the 3rd striker on the team.  Or potentially as a 2nd option up top, if New England wants to move on from Gustavo Bou.  His current Transfermarkt valuation is $250K so, if he’s got juice left in the tank, it could be worthwhile.  At 37, though, there is some risk.

Update: December 21

Moreno did not, in fact, make his way stateside.  He signed a contract with Once Caldas in Colombia in early December.  The Revs for their part, used the re-entry draft to select former USMNT striker Bobby Wood to round out their forwards room.

 

Jhohan Julio?

News in Brazil is that Jhohan Julio is on the outs with his current club, Santos, and could be on the move soon.  The Revs got a mention as a potential landing spot.  His half-brother Anderson Julio, already plays in MLS with Real Salt Lake.  The 24 year old Ecuadorian attacking midfielder hasn’t seen a ton of time with Santos, and has mostly been a bench-warmer since about June.

He came up through LDU Quito in Ecuador, and his current stint in the Brasilierao is a 14 month loan.  His transfer value isn’t astronomical, at $1.3M.  With a loan, it seems plausible that the cost to acquire him could be lower than that.

He mostly plays central attacking midfield, so he almost certainly slots in well behind Carles Gil.  Even at a low loan-fee, is it worth it?

 

Eryk Williamson?

Our first American player rumor comes to us from MLS’ Armchair Analyst himself, Matt Doyle.  Doyle indicates that New England could be looking to bring in Portland Timbers midfielder Eryk Williamson.

Williams is an underrated central midfielder who was beginning to get serious USMNT attention in 2021 before an ACL injury ended his season.  He came back in 2022, but the timing of the injury meant that Berhalter and Co had to move on from the 25 year old midfielder.

Williamson would fill a big need for New England, who have yet to nail down a midfield partner for Matt Polster.  With Wilfrid Kaptoum leaving the club, and Maciel’s injury, Williamson could make a lot of sense.

Update December 21

Despite additional rumors swirling around the Rev-o-sphere, there’s been no movement on the Eryk Williamson front.  It appears as though there’s some indications that Portland may hang onto the US midfielder.  A recent spate of rumors was swiftly shot down by Tom Bogert.

 

Unnamed Big Name Centerback?

There isn’t much to go on here.  I’d imagine most teams are “working hard” to sign big name players.  That said, Gus is one of the best in the business at reporting accurate Revs information.

Center back is a place on the field that New England could really use some help, so if Arena goes big anywhere, CB might be the spot to do it. Until we get more info, however, we’ll have to hope the unnamed player has this mentality:

Update December 21:

The Revs have yet to sign a defender to the first team, so there’s no movement here.  That said, they did sign USYNT centerback Santiago Suarez to Revs II.  This is a move with the intention to bring him along to the first team next year, as soon as he’s eligible for a homegrown contract.  Suarez is a top American CB prospect and bringing him in from the Sacramento Republic academy is a smart bit of business for the future of the club.

New England also drafted 2 CBs from the collegiate ranks in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the MLS Superdraft.  Victor Souza is a player that will have been well scouted by the Revs due to his time with Boston College.  He also came up through the NYCFC academy with whom he won the 2019 National Championship.  Meanwhile third round selection Andreas Ueland provides some intrigue.  He’s 6’5″ and was one of the top prospects headed into the draft.  He played his college soccer at Virginia with Henry Kessler, even being held in higher esteem, at one point, than the Revs starter.

Both of these players may miss out on making the roster, and neither qualify as a “big name” centerback.  That doesn’t mean they can’t be useful to the team.

 

Joris Kayembe?

New reports out of Belgium indicate interest from the Revs in Sporting Charleroi left back Joris Kayembe.  The 28 year old Belgian/Congolese defender has spent his career bouncing around European top flight leagues, mostly in Portugal, and currently plays in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League.

There was apparently an offer made by New England of around ~€1M but it was rejected by the Belgian club.  For his part, Kayembe seems open to the transfer but says he will “never force [his] departure” and prefers that all parties agree and are happy with the terms.

He’s a strong defender and saw his transfer value rise a few years ago while he got a few appearances for the Belgian national team.  Since then his transfermarkt value has dipped to ~€2.2M making him a more attainable transfer target.

 

OUTS

 

 

Jozy Altidore on the way out?

This is less of a concrete rumor, and more speculation based upon what coach Bruce Arena had to say at the close of the 2022 season.  Altidore spent much of the 2022 campaign on loan at Puebla in Liga MX.  Upon his return Arena had the following to say:

“I know [Altidore] has an interest in perhaps going elsewhere, and we’ll work with him to see if that possible.”

Nothing is a given in Revs land, but Bruce has been willing to make moves in the interest of the players.  Over the summer, Arena moved on from Sebastian Lletget after just a few months in New England, trading him to a better situation in Dallas.

I could easily see something similar happening with Jozy, who never quite fit with the Revs.  He has one goal in 17 appearances for New England.

Update Dec 22:

At a press conference after the MLS Superdraft, Bruce Arena indicated that Jozy Altidore would be back with the Revs for preseason and that it would be “interesting to see where he’s at”.  This doesn’t rule out the possibility that Arena will attempt to move him before the season, or even mid-season as he did last year.  That said, it certainly seems to be trending towards Altidore being a member of the Revolution in 2023.

 

Gustavo Bou back to Argentina?

Bou has long had a love affair with his former Racing Club in the Argentine Primera Division.  What’s more he’s coming off of an underwhelming and injury plagued 2022, which left many fans wondering if his best days were behind him.

Normally there’d be no story here.  But then again…

Teams are interested in players all the time.  But it sure seems like there’s mutual interest here.

I’ll conclude by saying, I don’t think the Revolution move on from Gustavo Bou this winter.  He recently signed a contract extension with the Revs, and has family considerations as well.  New England fans may be over Bou, but I think he still provides enough value when healthy that he’s not on the trade block.

When his contract ends, I think a move back to Argentina seems likely.  Especially given the fact that he’s currently the club president of Club Nebel in Argentina.

 

Check back for more rumors and analysis!

Photo credit: AP Photo/Jeff Dean
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