Should He Stay or Should He Go? The Salloi Debate

The following is a contribution from John, better known in the KC Soccer Journal comments as @jdkus11. The opinions within the following story are his and not necessarily reflective of everyone at KCSJ. 

The end of the season has come for Sporting Kansas City, and we all let out a sigh of relief. David Lee has hit the ground running and only brought back five of 17 players out of contract (TBD on whether Santi Munoz will join them). But there is one player whose contract is not up that I think deserves some conversation: Daniel Salloi. The first Hungarian Homegrown has enjoyed a long time at SKC, nine or ten seasons depending on how you count it, but there is a diversity of opinions on the quality of that time.

Sporting KC has not been in the business of selling players. The list of players who stayed past their time is far longer than those Sporting turned a profit on. In this new age of MLS, and as KC look to rebuild the entire organization, not just the team, it’s worth considering Salloi’s future. Is he a pillar of the team that Sporting KC can rebuild around or is it time to make some money before he ends up stale on the bench?

The Case for Staying

Salloi has been around Sporting KC for a long time and has an easy familiarity with the players and organization. He is sixth on the list for all time league appearances (according to KCSJ’s Mike Kuhn) and has featured as team captain multiple times over the last few seasons. From interviews and Behind the Shield episodes, it’s clear that he’s a locker room guy that brings people together.

Outside of his personal value, Salloi is a proven attacker on the field. 2021 was an MVP-caliber season for him that he hasn’t replicated since–something that may have to do with the team’s player personnel–but he has been relatively consistent since then with goal contributions (at least seven goal contributions each season). This year, Salloi had seven goals and four assists, nearly equaling his 2022 season. All time, Salloi is tied for second in goals in all competitions for Sporting KC (again, according to Mike Kuhn).

Goals are expensive to buy and Salloi has proven that he can do it. He’s been one of Sporting KC’s better wingers for the last five seasons and, at 29 years old, has several more years left in his legs. With so many players leaving, they can’t really afford to lose another veteran voice and goal dangerous player. And, if SKC did sell him, there’s no guarantee that they can replace him with someone of similar caliber.

The Case for Leaving

Salloi has been around the team for a long time and if he stays any longer, Sporting KC run the risk of hitting his expiration date. He is still a productive winger in MLS, but in another couple of years, there’s no guarantee we can still say that. If David Lee renews his contract next season, SKC may be passing the window of when he would be profitable. If Lee decides Sporting KC are ready to move after next season, he’ll walk for free. If ever there was a time to sell him, it’s while he still holds value.

Above, I made the case that Salloi is still a productive winger, but how does he compare to other MLS wingers that make around the same amount of money? Below is a table of other wingers in the league with their guaranteed compensation and goals and assists for this season.

Is this cherry picked? Yes, but it’s to prove a point. For the amount of money that Kansas City are paying Salloi, there are other players around that similar level that are significantly outperforming him. Pasalic and Ojeda are listed as DPs, but they both have salaries that could be bought down. The bottom three on the list all have fewer goal contributions, but they also all make significantly less money. I would take two fewer goal contributions to save nearly a million dollars.

Productivity aside, the biggest reason why Sporting Kansas City should sell has more to do with the organizational reboot. For years, Sporting has rarely made money from outgoing transfers and routinely holds on to players that should have left earlier because of the fan favorite status they hold. Last year, they bid farewell to several important players (Johnny Russell, Tim Melia, Remi Walter) but received nothing from them because they were out of contract and, for some, past their expiration date. Salloi has decent enough numbers that he still holds value within MLS and potentially in other leagues, but at 29, his clock is ticking, and his value will be going down.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of your opinions on Salloi, he has been a staple of the club for the last seven to eight years. He’s had some fantastic seasons, and he’s had some that we’d all rather forget. He has held leadership roles on the team and provided stability in the locker room.

We’re also heading into a new era of Sporting KC with David Lee at the helm, someone who has said that he plans to be more active in the global transfer market and emphasized the importance of bringing in more allocation money for the roster. Will he see Salloi’s as a cornerstone to build around or will he see his value on the market as better for the team?