Sporting KC "Will Have Additional Signings to Announce"
Description
For the Glory KC is back with the 114th episode of the show!
Sporting Kansas City had a lot of news this week. Two signings were made. The first was the addition of 19-year-old Homegrown Jacob Bartlett who was followed by veteran MLS striker Mason Toye. We break down what the signings mean, and what they don't.
Then Sheena and I get into the numerous quotes from the press conference with Chief Soccer Officer Peter Vermes and Sporting Director Mike Burns. The most impactful quotes, at least when it comes to roster building, were mostly attributed to Burns. He promised Sporting KC will "have additional signings to announce.”
Burns also talked about a possible different positions for Designated Players, U-22 Initiative and international signings the team is looking at. Primarily confirming the signing of Mason Toye doesn't mean they aren't signing another striker, saying, "the 9 is in play as well." At the same time, he also said the team is patient and that “it’s important to get it right than to just rush and sign a player," despite the state of their depth chart.
Vermes had plenty of juicy quotes too, telling the story of the Alan Pulido transfer (he seemingly deserves a lot of credit here), a Jake Davis story about perseverance and a series of quotes about how he wants the team to play in 2025.
Speaking of Pulido, he was officially sold this week. There wasn't much to add to last week's podcast as we had gotten out ahead of the transfer, but Vermes did confirm the team didn't use a buy out on Pulido and required a transfer fee to come back to get him out of his SKC contract.
Finally, the KC Current get some attention as they made three more signings this week along with getting two international call-ups. In addition to the Clare Gagne and Katie Scott signings, the team announced the signing of Mary Long, the daughter of Chris and Angie, the owners of the Current. Sheena and I get into the complications of that signing and where Mary fits in.
In the Digital Crawl, we touch on a few more topics, including:
- A new MLS documentary incoming featuring Johnny Russell
- Wilson Harris is headed to Israel
- Graham Zusi gets a new job?
- The San Jose Earthquakes won't be 'winning' the Wooden Spoon
- Former KC Current and NWSL updates
Here is a rundown of topics (and approximate start times):
- Sporting KC make two signings - 6:01
- A ton of good quotes from Vermes and Burns - 24:29
- Alan Pulido was sold to Chivas - 59:56
- KC Current sign three players - 1:08:45
- Digital Crawl - 1:21:04
As a special gift to For the Glory KC listeners and KC Soccer Journal readers, Backheeled dot com is giving away 30 days of their amazing, independent American soccer coverage for free. If you decide you want to turn that into a paid membership, they'll give you 10 percent off too. Just follow this link!
Big thanks to Splitter Conspiracy (listen to them here) for our theme music made with the permission of the KC Cauldron.