1. Strength in midfield
Peter Vermes will have a big decision to make when Felipe Gutierrez returns from injury. The 2018 and 2019 midfield trio of Gutierrez, Ilie Sanchez and Roger Espinoza might be broken up with Gadi Kinda’s terrific performance.
Perhaps the most sensible decision would be to put Felipe Gutierrez in as the central defensive midfielder and drop Ilie to the bench, which Vermes did for several matches last season. Kinda hardly deserves to be left out of the team after this showing, even if the aforementioned trio have anchored much of Sporting KC’s success in recent years.
What is most encouraging for SKC, however, is that whichever midfield trio Vermes decides on, there will always be two very reliable substitutes available. SKC have one of the deepest and most varied central midfield groups in the entire league, and it makes them a hugely dangerous team.
The addition of Kinda, then, will certainly push the rest of the midfield to earn their way into the squad. And it might just push Sporting KC to the sharp-end of the Western Conference.