Columbus Crew: Fanendo Adi the perfect low-risk signing

The Columbus Crew signed Fanendo Adi off waivers after he was released by FC Cincinnati. With FCC paying the bulk of his contract, it is the perfect low-risk signing.

In a league like Major League Soccer in which team’s rosters are restricted by both designations, particular player definitions, and overarching salary caps, being efficient with your money is vital to assembling a team capable of contending.

Whether it is making the most of your three Designated Player slots or exploiting the Target Allocation Money, buying down particular contracts and signing productive players, there are plenty of decisions that MLS clubs will make every year that are all in the purpose of efficiently exploiting their resources.

One type of player acquisition that has proven invaluable to many teams over the years is signing a formerly unused, unwanted and overpaid player that the selling team is desperate to get rid of on the cheap and revitalising their career thanks to their new team, surroundings and coach. Thus, you sign a productive player for a very favourable price and wage.

This offseason, the Columbus Crew have taken their best swipe at this type of signing. After spending heavily on the likes of Darlington Nagbe and Lucas Zelarayan to add genuine star power to the team, the Crew are now looking to supplement their superstars and round out their roster with cheaper, more efficient moves.

Last week, it was reported that the Crew would pick up Fanendo Adi off of waivers after the attacker was released by FC Cincinnati. Adi was foolishly signed to a huge DP deal by FCC, one that was widely criticised at the time. After a frustrating first season in which he made only 12 appearances, scored just one goal and missed extensive time when he took part in the MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program after being cited for Operating a Vehicle While Impaired (OVI) by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Not ideal.

FCC were so desperate to open up the DP slot that Adi took up, they waived him and his near-$2 million salary. That meant that any team that wanted to claim him from off waivers could make an offer of how much they were willing to pay. FCC would then be forced into accepting the best offer. Per Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio of The Athletic, the Columbus Crew’s offer was just $205,000. For the Crew, this means they are signing Adi with a budget charge of just $205,000. The remaining $1.8 million or so must be paid by Cincinnati.

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As you might be able to tell, this is very suddenly turning out to be quite the deal for the Crew. Signing a former designated player for $200,000 per year is the type of deal that every club would wish they could pull off. And it all stems from exploiting the desperation of the selling team, in this case, FC Cincinnati.

And there is good reason to think that Adi might revitalise himself in Columbus. First and foremost, he will not be the chief attacker in the team. In fact, he will likely be used in rotation and from off the bench, releasing him from both the responsibility of leading the attack and the defensive attention that comes from being the primary threat.

More than that, however, Adi will also be reuniting with Caleb Porter, who coached him in Portland. Adi scored 16 goals in the 2015 and 2016 seasons apiece under Porter and showed the type of form that led FCC to trade $850,000 in allocation money and allocate him a DP slot.

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If Porter can coax even half of what Adi was in Portland, the Columbus Crew will be laughing. This is how to maximise your salary cap and efficiently build a top team. You must exploit every little resource you can, just like the Columbus Crew.

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