New York Red Bulls: 2020 Preview – Decline starts now?
By Matt Coles
Offseason Summary
Squad Retention
Four players come into the 2020 campaign with more than 100 games under their belts for the New York Red Bulls, including the midfield trio of Alex Muyl, Sean Davis and Daniel Royer. Centre half Aaron Long is the other member of the centurions club.
Ryan Meara is the only goalkeeper to have featured for the club in the past, while the three forwards on the clubs books have just 47 regular-season appearances between them. Brian White, meanwhile, will be the main forward for the side in 2019, with the likes of Alejandro Romero Gamarra and Mathias Jørgensen looking to provide goals as well.
Transfers & SuperDraft Picks
Over the course of the off-season, RBNY saw ten players leave the facility. Perhaps most notably, English forward Bradley Wright-Phillips was not offered another contract, despite being the club’s all-time record goalscorer. He has signed for Los Angeles FC after being let go by the Red Bulls.
More from MLS Multiplex
- Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
- Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
- USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
- De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
- Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States
Along with Wright-Phillips, the club also declined the options of six other players. Mainstay shot-stopper Luis Robles will now feature for Inter Miami FC, while Haitian midfielder Derrick Etienne signed for Columbus Crew after leaving the Red Bulls. Vincent Bezecourt, Marcus Epps, Jean-Christophe Koffi and Evan Louro also left the club after their options were declined.
Finally, the club also saw two of their main defenders leave for fees, with both Michael Murillo and Kemar Lawrence joining Belgian giants Anderlecht. The club received more than $2.25million for the pair. Midfielder Josh Sims did leave the club after his loan spell from Southampton ended, but the Red Bulls have re-signed the Englishman on another six-month loan deal through to June.
Four Americans have joined the first-team squad in New York, with both Chris Lema and Jared Stroud coming through from New York Red Bulls II. John Tolkin has come through the academy ranks, while goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was chosen by the club in the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft.
RBNY made two big signings at the end of January, both for undisclosed fees. Danish goalkeeper David Jansen joined the club from Dutch side FC Utrecht, while Mandela Egbo made the move to MLS from 2.Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt.
The Red Bulls had the biggest collection following the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, bringing in seven picks, as they acquired three picks that were originally the Chicago Fire’s. They acquired the No.10 selection after a trade on January 9 and the No.36 pick after a trade in January 2019. The New York side also acquired the No.62 overall pick from Chicago, via Cincinnati. The Fire had traded the pick to FCC in early August, with the Red Bulls then acquiring the pick from the Ohio side seven days later.
The club picked Marquette defender Patrick Siegrist and Louisville midfielder Cherif Dieye in the first round, before then selecting UC Davis goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley and Wright State forward Deri Corfe in the second round. In the remainder of the SuperDraft, the Red Bulls selected Rhode Island forward Stavros Zarokostas, Loyola midfielder Barry Sharifi and St John’s winger Niko Petridis.