Sporting KC: Salloi officially puts worst behind him

Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi has had some major struggles since a breakout season in 2018. He is ready to put those struggles behind him with his latest comments.

The Hungarian was Sporting KC’s leading scorer in 2018 with 16 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions. He followed a big 2018 season with two very disappointing seasons where he scored just once in 43 appearances.

This year has been different. With six goals in 11 appearances, Salloi is on track to smash his career-high of 11 goals in an MLS regular season. Following another impressive performance against the Colorado Rapids, Salloi explained to the media that he is more than ready to leave the past in the past.

"“I would like to, with all due respect, ask everybody to stop talking about last year. Yes, it was bad and yes, I did not have enough confidence and now I do. So please let’s talk about this year. I’ve said a lot of things about last year and how my confidence has changed. Yes, I’m very happy for the belief. It’s 2021 and I’d like to focus on this. It’s a fresh paper so let’s talk about this year.”"

His performance against the Rapids earned him a spot in the MLS Team of the Week, alongside his manager Peter Vermes, and is also nominated for MLS Player of the Week.

Despite stars like Alan Pulido (five goals this season) and captain Johnny Russell (no goals this year), Salloi has been the most consistent spark in SKC’s attack this year.

After two years of misery for Salloi, SKC manager Peter Vermes has kept ahold of him with confidence that he could get back to the form seen in 2018.

"“I’ve never lost belief in him. I’ve always had belief in him and I’ve told him that year after year.”"

While the goals hadn’t returned until this year, Salloi often found himself in the matchday squad and still getting regular minutes off the bench. With the goals not coming, Vermes explained that he stuck so close to the team due to his work on both sides of the ball and maintaining a team-first mentality.

Sporting now sits in second place of the Western Conference with 20 points and a 6-3-2 record.

Still, there is plenty of room for improvement in the final third for both Salloi and SKC. Already as the highest-scoring team in MLS, a more clinical Salloi, Pulido and Russell is an awfully scary scene for the rest of MLS.

On the other side, they still aren’t great defensively. With the sale of Busio looming, that would completely change things if he is no longer available to play the No. 6 with Ilie playing well partnered with Andreu Fontas at center back.

As long as Salloi and company continue to bang in goals, Sporting is in with a fighting chance.

Follow Nathan Dunn of MLS Multiplex on Twitter @8ndunn