Story by
How Nashville SC can address its biggest needs with MLS summer transfer window looming
- Story by
- How Nashville SC can address its biggest needs with MLS summer transfer window looming
Nashville SC went into last summer's transfer window with a clear need and a clear way to fill it.
With a roster that, for much of last season, appeared fit for contention barring a dominant striker, Nashville used its open designated player slot — allowing it to add players outside the MLS salary cap — to sign Sam Surridge for a club-record fee last July.
Advertisement
The 2024 secondary transfer window for MLS teams opens July 18 and runs through Aug. 14. Clubs can agree to contracts with players before July 18, but they can't appear for their new teams until the window opens. MLS teams can also make trades with each other during this time.
Nashville (6-6-8, 26 points) currently has all three designated player spots filled with Surridge, Hany Mukhtar and Walker Zimmerman . After NSC acquired a building block in 2023, any moves the club makes this summer would likely be of the supplemental variety.
Here's a look at two of Nashville's biggest needs:
Midfield creation is a priority for Nashville SC
Surridge, with nine goals in 19 games this season, has at times looked like the answer to Nashville's problems up front. The issue has been getting him the ball.
Advertisement
NSC ranks 27th out of 29 teams in MLS in progressive carries (263), 28th in progressive passes (685) and 26th in through balls per game (0.65), per xvalue . It's 20th in possession, controlling the ball 48% of the game. These numbers indicate a team that has struggled to advance the ball through the midfield and create attacks via prolonged buildup.
Midfield was already a weakness for Nashville even before longtime captain Dax McCarty left in free agency this winter. NSC traded for Dru Yearwood and signed Amar Sejdić , but even with those additions, the group doesn't have much depth.
To make matters worse, Aníbal Godoy injured his left thigh in a June friendly and was ruled out for the Copa América, in which he was set to captain the Panama national team, and there's no timetable for his return. Godoy has been one of Nashville's most accurate passers from short, medium and long distance.
Nashville has been linked to Patrick Yazbek, an Australia international who plays for Viking FK in Norway 's top league. The 22-year-old Yazbek profiles as a central, box-to-box midfielder, and while it's unclear if he fits the pure passing archetype NSC could use, he'd certainly give the squad another option to push the ball forward.
Advertisement
It's possible that Nashville has a solution on its roster already in the oft-injured Randall Leal , who had eight goals and seven assists in 2021 but hasn't played since April because of a hip injury.
MORE: How Nashville SC compares to other MLS teams that fired their coaches early in season
Depth at forward
While Nashville's most obvious hole is in midfield, forward depth is also a concern.
In recent games under interim coach Rumba Munthali , Surridge has found a home on the left wing with Teal Bunbury as the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It's allowed Surridge, who's consistently shown impressive work-rate and mobility for a 6-foot-3 player, to get his feet on the end of deliveries instead of having to battle center backs for headers in the penalty box.
Advertisement
MORE: Nashville SC midseason grades: Here's what got the highest marks and what got dinged
Per Football Reference , Surridge has won just 35 of 104 aerial duels this season, which ranks 231st out of 253 qualified players in MLS. Bunbury has been slightly better, winning 46.4% of his 68 duels.
As Surridge has excelled with his feet — he's scored seven of his nine goals that way — it wouldn't hurt Nashville to find another forward who complements his playing style, especially if Munthali continues to use a 4-2-3-1. It's also an issue of depth, too, as Nashville's only strikers outside of Surridge are the 34-year-old Bunbury and undrafted rookie Forster Ajago.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC biggest needs in MLS transfer window
