The Offseason So Far: They lost Latif Blessing in the expansion draft and Erik Palmer-Brown for free, but they finally flipped Abdul-Salaam and they finally signed another attacking DP in Yohan Croizet. You can look at this roster, with the addition of Croizet and Khiry Shelton, and say that it's already more dangerous in attack than the last few years.
However! It's not like there's a long and glorious history of seamless integration into the SKC lineup for newly acquired DPs, and it's not like Shelton is a sure thing. He was miserable last year for NYCFC, managing just one goal and no assists in 502 minutes before dropping out of Patrick Vieira's rotation entirely. The talent is there, but over the course of his three years his production went backwards and he's already 24. This isn't a kid.
The good news for Sporting fans is that this team still has the ability to buy down two of their other DPs, and that Peter Vermes has come out and said they're going to upgrade the center forward position. If they don't, I'd expect SKC fans to riot (you should go right ahead and expect that as well).
They're also in need of depth at central defense. I thought Baah – released by the Red Bulls – would make a lot of sense for them if they could come to a number that works for both parties, but these things aren't always easy.
JAN. 2 UPDATE: The best addition so far has been a burning hatred of IFK Goteborg. This rivalry is so very real:
Um, does Goteborg have any goalscorers they can send Sporting's way?
JAN. 24 UPDATE: They signed Emiliano Amor on loan from Velez Sarsfield and Matt Lewis from their academy, which means they have defensive depth. They drafted Eric Dick, which means they have goalkeeper depth. And they signed Homegrown Zach Wright, who will add to their already considerable wing depth (though maybe he could play some as a playmaker if Croizet doesn't work out?).
No matter what else happens from here on out with this roster, Sporting are going to be fine. They'll give up 40 goals at the very most, will hammer teams on set-pieces, and will force enough off of their high press to score just barely enough goals.
But if they want to be better than fine for the first time since 2013, they've got to go out and get that goalscoring No. 9.
