We need to talk about the U22 Intiative
Is there an optimal way to utilize one of the most powerful salary mechanisms in MLS?
Another week, another post theorizing about roster rules in MLS. I guess you can that’s what I do in my spare time if I’m not out and about. With all the ways MLS has constructed its rules, there’s been a lot of debate on how to build a roster. Should a team go 2+4 or 3+3? How should a team use its allocation money? I feel like this could be a pretty fun college theory class with no right answer.
Anyways, today’s topic: The U22 Initiative.
Three (or four) of MLS's most valuable roster spots come from the U22 Initiative. Much like its prime slot counterpart, the Designated Player, teams can spend whatever transfer-wise. As long as the respective player’s salary is below the maximum budget charge for the season. In return, their cap number hits at either $150k or $200k, depending on their age.
At first, someone might look at this rule and say hey, just try to acquire a borderline 22-year-old player, sign them to deals until their 25th birthday, have an option year in at 26, and then profit for all three spots. That’s what I thought initially; a team then has the flexibility when the player is in an option year to shed off the transfer fee from the budget charge and fit him into the roster (the opposite of how the Galaxy wrote up Joveljic’s contract).
I’ve spent more time thinking about how this should be done for numerous reasons. One, there is no guarantee that players who are coming from out of the country at such a young age can acclimate quickly and be a part of a team. Think about it. When you were 19 or 20, could you go to a new country where you may or may not speak the primary language? Could you perform with the massive expectations that come with being a big transfer?
It’s a lot more different when you think of it that way. In a perfect world, that theory makes sense. Slowly, I’m starting to see a different way to approach the rule, because if you hit on a U22, you will pay dividends. The Galaxy hit on Dejan Joveljic and had virtually four DPs in its 2024 MLS Cup run. Diego Gomez was an absolute hit for Inter Miami and was able to be sold to Brighton for $15m.
For every hit, there’s a miss. And for international U22s, there’s a boatload of misses. Enes Sali was FC Dallas’ 2024 U22 and played two minutes inLeagues Cup. Former Austin FC player Rodney Redes was another U22 initiative. He scored a goal in 1352 minutes for the club. Jovan Mijatovic from NYCFC played 264 minutes in 2024 and was loaned out to Belgium.
The Colorado Rapids have employed the most interesting of strategies when it comes to the rule. They’ve signed one of their academy graduates(Cole Bassett) and then went and picked off two other U22 players from other rosters (that also happen to be academy players) in Josh Atencio and Ted Ku DiPietro. All the players have had experience in MLS, and have played minutes for their respective clubs. In fact, if you look at a rough list of current U22 players (I had some name-joining issues), the Rapids’ three U22s have the most minutes played since 2021. Portland is second, and Houston is third, with domestic player Jack McGlynn making up slightly over half of the minutes.
I’m not saying that the more minutes you played in MLS, the better you are. I’m just saying that you’ll likely be not only more acclimated to the league but you’ll also be able to make an impact much earlier on. Instead of having to wait for the first 10-15 games (unless you’re Miami who seems to hit on every U22 signing), a player will be ready now, as we’ve seen McGlynn and Atencio be able to produce quickly.
Let’s take it a step further with Brian Gutierrez from the Chicago Fire. The Fire signed him to a U22 deal at the end of the 2023 season. At that point, he’d played over 5000 minutes for the club. Not only do you know what Gutierrez will give you, you know his attitude on and off the pitch. You know how he will get along with players. You know the things that need to be studied in person.
We shouldn’t just focus on domestic players as U22s. I just don’t think they’re getting as much usage as they should be. In an ideal world, here’s how I would set up my U22s:
An academy graduate. This can provide healthy motivation for players and can be some sort of a culture builder for the club. Reserving one spot can show hey, this can be yours. Gutierrez and Atencio are good examples.
Either a domestic player who should be on a U22 contract and isn’t or another academy player; it just depends on how good your academy is (which applies to the academy graduate category). Along the lines of Jalen Neal, George Campbell, and McGlynn.
A foreign player from out of the league that requires a fee; think Langoni, Igor Jesus, and Tomas Aviles.
This is a rough guideline but you can follow my logic here. Two of the U22s are known commodities and you know the data you have them should be solid. Your third is a shot that you can prioritize as such. You’ll make sure you do the research and treat it as if you’re scouting for another DP. The focus will be narrower in scope and in my opinion, will allow for a better result in the end.
There are a few players that are interesting when it comes to the next U22 domestic players. Obed Vargas is the most obvious candidate but Owen Wolff and Daniel Edelman also come to mind. All in all, I’m curious to see what clubs do, especially with the moves we’ve seen this off-season. Will we see more domestic U22s? Only time will tell.
Week 2 Watch Guide Review:
Charlotte FC 2, Atlanta United 0: I gotta be honest, I did not expect to see the game we saw on Saturday. Charlotte just caused issues in transition and yes, I know Atlanta isn’t 100% healthy. The 5 Stripes just looked lost whenever there was a long ball; it felt like the mere presence of Patrick Agyemang caused issues and then when you have Liel Abada and Wilfred Zaha pressuring, problems arose.
Atlanta couldn’t figure out the defense of Charlotte sans a few early chances from Miguel Almiron. .76 xG on 15 shots is brutal. Latte Lath struggled and those moments that we saw against Montreal just weren’t there. I liked what I saw from Slisz but I feel like Miranchuk and Almiron are almost redundant. They both are 10s and Miranchuk is being used more as an 8? Maybe I’m wrong and I still like him as a player but I’m not sure how this will work long term.
New York Red Bulls 2, Nashville SC 0: Can we take a minute to talk about Emil Forsberg? He was everywhere pressing and just loved to float to the left of the park to get on the ball. At 33 years old, Forsberg is thriving in the NYRB system. His goal was absolutely excellent vs Nashville, as Nashville tried to make it hard for them to play directly. I was also impressed with Cameron Harper; he looked threatening as a wingback, even in his 19 touches.
For Nashville… I get what they’re trying to do. They tried to narrow the park and force the Red Bulls to play direct. We talked about how Nashville wanted to play more narrow. In defense, we saw that. NYRB had a 3.95 average vertical distance, which is absurdly low for them. They should be closer to a six or seven. Offensively, I’m just not sure. Mukhtar is one of your primary playmakers and his touches are… here?
Thanks SofaScore They desperately need their midfield back and healthy.
Colorado Rapids 3, FC Dallas 3: Apologies everyone. This was the game of the week. Eric Quill plays some of the most kamikaze-style soccer I’ve seen. It’s 3-3 in the dying minutes of stoppage time and the team is all out pressing for a goal like they’re about to lose MLS Cup. That allowed for some moments for Colorado to potentially score and a back-and-forth ending but one thing is for certain; FC Dallas will entertain, for better or for worse. Lucho Acosta and Petar Musa are clicking in the attack. The defense has a lot to be desired and as I’ve said numerous times, FCD will compensate for that by going on the offensive. They were the second most direct team in MLS this week; when’s the last time you’ve heard that?
Man, for the Rapids I think they’ll be happy not to play two games this week. Rafael Navarro is such a threat in the air and I’m interested to see how TKD comes in and plays in the lineup. Defensively, rough. Awaziem watched Acosta run by him for the goal, and it seemed like the team was ball-watching a bit. I still like Colorado and since we’re in the non-judgment zone, I’ll wait for when they don’t have two games a week.
Till next time!
"FC Dallas will entertain, for better or worse" perfectly encapsulates it. I was worried that Dallas would sort of drift without direction this year, but at the very least, they're an interesting team to watch with an identifiable ethos. That might be enough to make the playoffs in this year's Western Conference
Kamikaze style or DAWG style, Arman?