As the dog days of summer arrive in the MLS, with teams returning from the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup, we will have a full slate of games featuring their full rosters.
More teams will find out where they sit in the overall standings while the rest of the field will organize plans for next year.
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Designated Players will be dropped
The Summer transfer window opens on July 24th, and top teams will look to add to their rosters, while teams out of playoff contention will be selling.
It is expected that some of these lower-half teams will sell off their designated players to free up those spots for the bigger transfer window before the next season. A team like DC United, which has two spots open currently.
Toronto FC is a club of interest with their two Italian DPs, Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi. The two Italian national players have had a difficult run with Toronto, but Bernardeschi has had a better time with the Reds, as he has had expected production with the Reds.
Insigne has been widely considered one of, if not the worst, DP in the history of the MLS. He hasn’t bought into the culture in Canada’s biggest city. With only 76 games played, and only scoring 15 goals.
Toronto departing with their only DPs is no surprise due to the club’s struggles; expect more teams to follow this trend of dumping salary.
The MVP will be decided
The MVP race has bounced around over the past few months with player trends jumping all over the place.
As easy as it could be to just make Lionel Messi the MVP every year, this year he has proven a case that it should be him. The Argentine star has been the only reason Miami is still a top team in the East after having a tough stretch in April and May.
Messi’s two goals to defeat New England showed why he is the front-runner to be the MVP, and if he keeps it up this standard of play, there is no reason to think that he won’t run away with it.
Messi is the biggest name and talent the MLS has ever seen. Most DPs look out of shape or lack results. Messi is in his late 30s and looks to be the very best that the MLS has to offer.
When we get into mid-August, as the transfer window closes, don’t be surprised if Messi is named the MVP by many of the fans and pundits.
The West standings will be clearer while the East continues to battle it out.
The West is a lot weaker this year compared to the Eastern Conference. It is a three-team race for the top seed out West, while the Eastern Conference teams are switching up and down the standings.
The top three in San Diego, Vancouver, and Minnesota will run away with the conference if they continue to play as consistently as we’ve seen them play.
The East, on the other hand, is a fist fight between at least seven teams that have all played great this season. The past two weeks, we have seen three teams in the East not just take the one seed but also take the top spot in the Supporters Shield.
Both battles for the top spot in each conference will be interesting. The East has the advantage of being the more chaotic of the two, if last year’s playoffs showed us anything.
The West has three teams that have surprised us all, battling for a top seed in the playoffs and a chance to go on a playoff run like they have never done before.
Main Photo
Credit IMAGO/aal.photo
Recording Date 16.05.2025