Minnesota United’s biggest needs during the summer transfer window
By Tyler Hanson
With Minnesota already exceeding expectations so far, a couple of good additions during the summer window could put Minnesota into the playoff discussion.
This season has certainly been an interesting one for Minnesota United. The expansion side looked like they would be one of the worst teams in MLS history 3 weeks into the season, but have slowly started to right the ship.
Just because they are turning things around however, does not mean that they don’t have a couple of glaring needs that should be addressed during the summer transfer window. Here are Minnesota’s 3 biggest needs heading into the summer transfer window, starting with the most necessary.
A DP #10
Bringing in a DP #10 should be Minnesota’s biggest priority this summer. Though the attack hasn’t exactly been Minnesota’s problem this season, the attack has still looked stagnant at times.
Opposing teams often focus on shutting down Kevin Molino, which leaves Ibson as Minnesota’s main playmaker. Though Ibson has been good for the most part, he certainly has his faults, and can’t always be counted on to lead the attack. If Minnesota is able to get a quality #10, they could also relegate Johan Venegas (who has been in poor form lately) to a bench role, while still having play Ibson as a deep-lying playmaker to help the attack.
We’ve seen what a top-tier #10 can do to a club, and look no further than Seattle’s acquisition of Nicolas Lodeiro last season. The Sounders were near the bottom of the Western Conference and all hope looked lost, until Lodeiro showed up and willed them into the playoffs, en route to an MLS Cup.
A left winger
Though Miguel Ibarra has been pretty good this season, particularly defensively, Minnesota could still stand to upgrade at the left-wing position, or at least add depth behind Ibarra.
The Bashkim Kadrii experiment has not worked in the slightest, as the Danish international has been on the bench far more often than he’s actually played during his time in Minnesota. Meanwhile, NASL carryover Ish Jome has shown pace, and quite frankly, not much else. He’s decent defensively, but is sloppy with the ball at his feet, and too indecisive.
The Sam Nicholson rumor coming to fruition would probably be best, as he’d push Ibarra for playing time at least, while probably being good enough to win the job. The former Heart of Midlothian man was in the Twin Cities recently to visit with the team, but can’t officially play until July 10th.
Full back depth
Though Minnesota’s starting full backs, Jèrôme Thiesson and Marc Burch, have been solid this season, there isn’t much depth behind them.
Left back Justin Davis has looked like a solid MLS backup so far this season who could probably start the occasional match and play decently. Right back however, is much thinner.
Jèrôme Thiesson has been very good since arriving from Switzerland, and has helped solidify a once weak position in the Starting XI. Should Thiesson get hurt or suspended though, Minnesota is in trouble.
Without Thiesson, the options are Kevin Venegas, who was poor in his only MLS appearance, and an out of position Jermaine Taylor, which worked terribly when they tried it earlier in the season.
Picking up an MLS veteran this summer to back up Thiesson would be a smart move, as Right back was a major problem until Thiesson arrived.