Sporting KC
Three Potential Attacking Midfield Targets for Sporting KC
Vermes says the team needs attacking midfielders. Here are three one writer found that may be a fit for Sporting Kansas City.
In a recent interview with Daniel Sperry of the Kansas City Star, Vermes noted Sporting Kansas City will be “active” in the transfer market. Vermes also noted the immediate need for an attacking midfielder and upgrades at the wing positions. Given this transfer market is littered with talent, who might SKC target? I profile three players I believe Sporting KC could target in the market and might have an immediate impact on the team.
Before I profile these players, I want to note a couple of details on this search: (1) all three of the players are either out of contract come June 30, or current free agents and (2) all of these players fit a need and style for Sporting KC. Additionally, I searched for players that would come from markets that SKC has tapped into in the past, such as the Israeli Pro League, La Liga, Liga Portugal, and Bundesliga. Now let’s get into the profiles.
Max Meyer, Attacking Midfielder
Age: 28
Current Club: FC Luzern
Out of Contract: June 30th
If I’m being honest, this guy should be a top target for Sporting KC. Meyer is a former German international, who has bounced around some of Europe’s top leagues with stops in the Bundesliga, English Premier League, and Turkish League.
Across all of his stops, two skills are very evident: his chance creation and press-breaking ability. Meyer isn’t a speed demon by any stretch, but he understands space and can dribble extremely well. This helps him create chances too. Last year in the Swiss Super League, Meyer led FC Luzern in goals (6), expected goals (8.8) and chances created (66) per fotmob.
It’s rumored he makes approximately 572,000 euros per year, though it’s impossible to know the exact figure. This would put him in the perfect range for SKC to swoop in and snag him. He also doesn’t have severe injury problems and has stayed fit for much of his career. He played 36 games and 2,211 minutes for FC Luzern, so he is fit and should have an immediate impact for SKC day one.
He also makes a perfect fit for our midfield given that Erik Thommy speaks German as well. Another plus is, though his team doesn’t play in the 4-3-3 SKC sets up in, he does play in a team that holds possession (3rd in the league in possession), wins the ball in the attacking 3rd (3rd in the league) and passes well (3rd in the league in accurate passes per match).
Meyer has also proven to be versatile as he has been deployed on the wing before, though his main position has been in the attacking midfield. His style would fit right into the SKC if the MLS is the next destination for him.
Xadas, Attacking Midfielder/Winger
Age: 26
Current Club: Marítimo
Out of Contract: June 30th
This guy might be the sleeper out of the three and would come at a good price.
Xadas has all of the qualities of an attacking midfielder in SKC’s setup: he presses well, has a strong work rate, and plays between the lines with either passing or dribbling. He has also played on the right and left wing multiple times throughout his career.
He is naturally left-footed so he could provide an option as an inverted winger, ala Johnny Russell. This season Xadas played in Liga2 Portugal posting five goals and five assists after his squad Marítimo was relegated from Liga1. His Liga 1 season in 22-23 he posted similar numbers with three goals and six assists. He also created 62 chances which was 6th in the league that year.
Xadas is also a great fit tactically as he plays in a three-man midfield with a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Pressing responsibilities at SKC might be different but not unfamiliar for this player. It was reported that he was getting paid the equivalent of $127,937 US dollars in Portugal. Given the market for a player with his talent, that price would be a steal. Getting a player like Xadas, in his prime with little to no injury history is ideal for a team like SKC that needs to get younger, and needs to add talent to compete in the MLS.
José Pozo, Attacking Midfielder
Age: 28
Current Club: Rayo Vallecano
Out of Contract: June 30th
Pozo might be one of the most experienced players out of this bunch having played 159 games in LaLiga 2 and 44 games in LaLiga. He has experience playing on either wing spot but has amassed much of his experience in the midfield.
Pozo is by far the best passer of this group and in particular is talented and playing long switches (a staple in the SKC attack) and playing passes between lines. Like Meyer, he isn’t the fastest, but gets past defenders with great positioning, body feints and just tactical awareness.
More than all of his talent, he fits the mold of a player Vermes might recruit—someone with LaLiga experience, high soccer IQ and great passing ability. Of the three players, I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy wasn’t already on Vermes and his scouts radar.
My only, gripe about Pozo is that statistically, he is a bit of an enigma. Even when he played in La Liga2 he wasn’t the main chance creator; he amassed only 30 created chances in La Liga2 in the 19-20 season, and that was fifth on the team.
Though the basic numbers don’t always capture one’s talent there is always more to a player than meets the eye. That same season (19-20) according to Fbref he was in the 93 percentile for progressive passes and 94th percentile for progressive carries and has posted very similar in the seasons since then. All this points to a player who is forward-thinking and aggressive in the attack, something SKC has lacked with the departure of Gadi Kinda. Currently, Pozo earns a modest 340,000 euros per year, a salary that surely SKC can match.
This transfer market Sporting KC has to be aggressive. That means finding the players that fit the team needs and strengthening weaknesses. While there are a lot of areas to fill, number one has to be the attacking midfield position. These three players are some of the best SKC can get for a bargain.
What do you think about these players? Should SKC be looking out for another player in the transfer market? Comment below!
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Each one of those would be an exciting thing. Thommy is (IMO) our top player right now. It would be great to have others around him (not that we build around him) that are ballers. For instance… I think players from the Bundesliga 2 and divisions like it around the world are great fits for the MLS – Thommy Fits that. I look at St. Louis CITY SC #10 Edu Lowen. That dude is really great to watch play. It would be great to have that kind of service and player for SKC (I know he is not avalible but a player like him).
Even those these aren’t even rumors it at least helps with the excitement of what could be. This was a great article. After what Saturday night looked like, this is a nice article to read.
Thanks Shawn! And man you are spot on! I would love for SKC to get a player like Edu Lowen. He’s dynamic and a game-changer. Im frustrated that while SKC have been stagnated (though its early in the market) St Louis, is making moves. They are finalizing a deal for Marcel Hartel who was tearing up the Bundesliga 2 last season for a team that got promoted. Why couldn’t SKC jump on to him? He was on an expiring contract and he has the talent to be a star with SKC. If we are gonna miss on players like him, we have to hit on the ones coming in, or we will be in the same place next year.
Wow, that would be a huge get for STL in Hartel. 17 goals and 12 assists, and they got promoted to the Bundesliga so I assumed he would re-sign there
I REALLY feel like we need to bring in some younger blood, but not guys who are projects. I know that those types of dudes are more expensive but I truly believe that is what this system requires to be successful. The best years this club had were when guys like Roger, Zusi, Besler, Sinovic, Ike, Nemeth, Bunbury, Kamara, Myers, Dwyer etc were of drinking age but still closer to 20 than 30. Most of them were guys that had polish coming in, that Vermes only needed to put in the right places for them to find success. They had a few experienced guys here and there and a few guys in need of development but the core of the roster was full of youthful exuberance and optimism. Yes, they made some naive mistakes but they also didn’t seem to get down in the dumps when things didn’t go perfectly.
Agreed. Having been really thinking about SKCs roster construction over the past few years, I feel like we need to perfect a formula that always has at least 2-3 strong midfield starters in their prime (ages 25-28) and 2-3 high-potential young midfielders, most in their early 20s. I feel like then, we can keep midfielders long enough until production drops off and then sell them or let them go so we can move in the young developmental players full-time. I think right now SKC doesn’t have a good system for finding, developing, and getting consistent playing for young players like they did in years past with Roger, Zusi, and Besler.
In other news, inter Miami signs former president of arsenal. I guess no one qualified wants to come to mls, so we’re stuck with Vermes.
Sign Ndombele, French 6. He was just released, it’s a free. Instant starter who changes the face of the defense.
I really want to know what qualifications are required to scout for an mls team. Seems like we got the bottom of the barrel. Bliss is a proven loser who trashes rosters. This good old boy club trash has to go. You can’t tell me someone who has never done the job isn’t more qualified, same with Vermes.
Last time we won mls cup, Jimmy Neilson was in net. He literally won us the cup. He had a team of young players who played aggressive, goon soccer. It worked. We went away from that and never got back to mls cup. Vermes can only coach goon style soccer. Him and illig think he’s Pep.
Good news. We’ve already been warned this team won’t be watchable for two more transfer windows. It only takes that long because they made no moves last window. That means they’re all complicit in this cheese dick rodeo we watch week in and out. It’s brutal to see the club so poorly represented by management and players. The fans are so amazing, we caused this. We blindly believe our owners want to win as bad as we do.
The club is ranked 41 in the world in value. Worth more than Aston villa in the Prem. How bad would they beat us? Why can’t we spend money on good players? Why do we overpay unproven trash?