One Big Question:Will Hany Mukhtar hit?
The man has scored some bangers:
Mukhtar also has some pedigree. He played for the German youth national teams all the way through the U-21s, was once purchased by Benfica (though he never broke through there), and has torn it up with Brondby the past few years, where he became one of the most valuable players in Scandinavia. Plus if you accept that Seattle are one of the smartest clubs in MLS (which you should), you've probably noted that Nashville actually had to pay the Sounders for his discovery rights.
In my years covering the league one thing that I've found is that if Garth Lagerwey thinks a player is good, I probably should as well. They had him on that list for a reason even if they weren't quite able to bring him to Cascadia.
Seattle's loss should be Nashville's gain in theory. Mukhtar is in his prime and has been around a little bit. Crossing the Atlantic is still a big move, but he's not a kid who's never left home – he knows, at least a little bit, how to fit into a new environment.
But none of that is a guarantee of success, and what seems clear at this point when looking at Nashville's roster is that if Mukhtar isn't a creative force, this team is likely to struggle in the conjuring chances.
He's the guy with the DP tag for a reason. He needs to live up to it.
