It's Year Three of the three-year plan in Minnesota ... and with Allianz Field set to open in April, the time is now for the Loons.
The goal this offseason was simple: concede less goals. In their endeavor to fulfill that, Minnesota went out and signed central midfielder Jan Gregus as a DP, added defensive midfielder Ozzie Alonso, traded for Ike Opara, acquired former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone and added Ligue 1 fullback Romain Metanire.
Star players
Key acquisitions and departures
- IN: Ike Opara
- IN: Osvaldo Alonso
- IN: Jan Gregus
- OUT: Ibson
- OUT: Alexi Gomez
- OUT: Jerome Thiesson
Projected Starting XI
Team strengths and weaknesses
- Strength: The three most important positions in MLS are center back, defensive mid, and attacking mid; the Loons might have top-five players in all three.
- Weakness: It's not clear how their collection of talented players fits into a cohesive system, and systems tend to beat collections of talent in 2019.
Predictions
- Ben Baer: 7th in West
- Calen Carr: 7th in West
- Charlie Davies: 8th in West
- Matt Doyle: 10th in West
- Bobby Warshaw: 6th in West
- Andrew Wiebe: 9th in West
