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Columbus Crew GM Issa Tall isn't doing much to stir up the fan base this winter | Arace
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- Columbus Crew GM Issa Tall isn't doing much to stir up the fan base this winter | Arace
This winter, Crew star forward Cucho Hernandez , who finished a close second to Inter Miami 's Lionel Messi in MVP voting last year, has been a subject of headlines for numerous Spanish-language news outlets. Monterrey of Liga MX is after Cucho . No, wait, he's too expensive. Brazilian powerhouse Botafogo has zeroed in on Cucho. No, wait, Botafogo is behind on payroll. Is Europe calling?
Outside of the Cucho rumors, it has been a quiet offseason in Columbus . Three backup goalkeepers − Evan Bush , Nicholas Hagen and homegrown Stanislav Lapkes − have been signed or extended. A free-agent winger − Lassi Lappalainen , who played for coach Wilfried Nancy during Nancy's previous posting in Montreal − has been added. Oh, and forward Marino Hinestroza , who was loaned to Colombia 's Atletico Nacional last year, has been sold to Atletico.
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Meanwhile, Atlanta , Austin and Cincinnati, to name just a few rivals, have paid tens of millions during this transfer window. Cincinnati, in fact, set a league record for highest transfer fee when it laid out $16.2 million to get striker Kevin Denkey, 24, out of Belgium .
More Crew news: Columbus Crew's Cucho Hernandez, Steven Moreira named to MLS Best XI team
This does not make for an exciting offseason for Crew fans, who have been asked to buy tickets to a Messi game at a football stadium in Cleveland under the pretense that the cash-grab will be plowed back into Columbus.
All quiet. And disquiet.
Over the final five months of last season, Cucho Hernandez had 20 goals and 16 assists in 25 games over all competitions.
Crew general manager Issa Tall talked about bringing in another defensive midfielder and a center back with size, among other pieces. He has U22 initiative slots (as many as three) available. He has the ability to buy down Darlington Nagbe 's contract and open another Designated Player slot. He has flexibility.
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"We are not looking to make additions just for the sake of making additions," Tall said. "If we are adding players, it's for us to be better, always. We're talking about a group that just broke club records. ... So, at the end of the day, the group of players we have is strong."
It's a fair argument, and so all is quiet, except for the rumors. There were rumors about Crew interest in midfielder Diego Valdes of Mexico City's Club America. Nothing to them. There were rumors about Romanian winger Claudiu Petrila of Rapid Bucharest. Not sure there's much there.
Then there's Cucho.
Hernandez may be the greatest player in franchise history, which is saying something because this is a club with a thick scrapbook. He will turn 26 in April, and he may be the best player in his prime in MLS. He is in the final year of his contract. The fans, who sell out the new Crew Stadium and are ordered to travel to Cleveland to see Messi, are wondering what the heck is going on.
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(Conspiracy theory: Both Crew regular-season games against Messiami – April 19 at Cleveland and May 31 at Miami – will be played before the summer transfer window opens on July 24? Were the schedulers making sure that Cucho vs. Leo could be joined before Hernandez might leave? Could a league run by Don Garber be that crass? Discuss.)
Crew general manager Issa Tall.
How long can the Crew keep Cucho? That has always been a fair question. Teams are calling. If there's an offer for Hernandez that the Crew cannot refuse, and the destination and the contract terms are amenable to the player, he'd be gone. So it goes.
If Hernandez's goal is to be an international star, and if that goal requires him to play in the World Cup, it might behoove him to move to a better league. A posting to a team in Europe or South America might improve his chances of representing Colombia at the 2026 World Cup. (Over the previous three years, he has appeared in two friendlies and one World Cup qualifier, playing 13 minutes off the bench in the qualifier.)
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Here's Tall last month: "I'm going to speak highly about (Hernandez) today and for the years to come, but there's no one that's above the club. Meaning, we are not in a position whereby one player, if he's gone, we're like all of a sudden, 'Oh, what happens to us now?' I trust in the people here, the same way (I did in the past). … So, if Cucho were to leave, which I'm not saying this is the case, I'm confident in what we have here, to find somebody to now take over. If Cucho is here to stay, then great."
Point taken. Brian McBride was sold. Guillermo Barros Schelotto's option wasn't picked up. Federico Higuain 's contract ran out. And so forth. It's the nature of the game for players, even the greats, to cycle out. Crew fans remember well the day the great Lucas Zelarayan waved farewell to a Columbus crowd in the summer of 2023. Within 48 hours, Diego Rossi arrived and, a few months later, the Crew won the MLS Cup.
Here's the thing, though: Sources within and without the organization say that Hernandez enjoys playing and living (and winning) in Columbus. So, why does his future here hang in limbo? He wouldn't cost anything close to the $230 million that Haslam Sports Group, majority owners of the Crew and owners of the Cleveland Brown, paid for quarterback Deshaun Watson. The beer sales for the Messi game in Cleveland might just cover it.
Tall manned the point when it came to scouting and recruiting Hernandez. Tall is an intelligent, capable executive. He is a protege of the best in the business, his predecessor Tim Bezbatchenko . He is also a young GM in his first major posting, he has a budget he must manage and he might not want to look soft when it comes to any negotiations.
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But this is Cucho Hernandez we're talking about. Over the final five months of last season, he had 20 goals and 16 assists (36 goal contributions) in 25 games over all competitions. He was MVP of the MLS Cup in 2023. He was MVP of Leagues Cup in 2024. He is the Black & Gold GOAT and one of the most consequential professional athletes in Columbus history. He is in his prime.
If there's any chance to extend the time he has in Columbus while Nancy, the best coach in MLS , is still here, it should be a no-brainer. Alas, it's complicated. Hernandez has some things to think about when it comes to the next couple of years. More offers will be coming from overseas as the summer transfer window draws closer. A big number in transfer − say, $20 million − would be lucrative to Hernandez as well as the Crew. How does he see his future? How much are the Crew really willing to pay him? These questions remain unsettled.
And all is quiet.
Get more Crew news by heading down to the Soccer Speakeasy
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: As MLS rivals load up with stars, all is quiet with the Columbus Crew
