Signings Report — Major League Soccer 2019

Clubs' accuracy in the market · Published on December 23, 2019

We identified 246 real signings across the 24 clubs of Major League Soccer; 237 are included in the hit-rate calculation (9 youth investments set aside). Signings without relevant game time are classified as unsuccessful. League average hit rate: 31%.

Comparison with 2018

The league's average hit rate was 31%, against 35% the previous season (▼ 4 p.p.). There were 246 real signings, against 222 in 2018.

Hit rate by club

1º Colorado Rapids (17th in the league · 9 eval.)
67%
2º Minnesota United FC (9th in the league · 9 eval.)
56%
3º Toronto FC (5th in the league · 10 eval.)
50%
4º Philadelphia Union (6th in the league · 9 eval.)
50%
5º Chicago Fire (16th in the league · 12 eval.)
46%
6º CF Montreal (18th in the league · 10 eval.)
45%
7º Vancouver Whitecaps (23rd in the league · 15 eval.)
43%
8º Orlando City SC (22nd in the league · 12 eval.)
42%
9º New England Revolution (14th in the league · 6 eval.)
42%
10º Portland Timbers (11th in the league · 5 eval.)
40%
11º San Jose Earthquakes (15th in the league · 7 eval.)
36%
12º Real Salt Lake (8th in the league · 6 eval.)
33%
13º Houston Dynamo (19th in the league · 10 eval.)
30%
14º Los Angeles Galaxy (7th in the league · 18 eval.)
25%
15º New York City FC (3rd in the league · 8 eval.)
25%
16º Atlanta United FC (4th in the league · 7 eval.)
21%
17º FC Dallas (12th in the league · 7 eval.)
21%
18º FC Cincinnati (24th in the league · 29 eval.)
19%
19º DC United (10th in the league · 10 eval.)
15%
20º Los Angeles FC (1st in the league · 9 eval.)
11%
21º Columbus Crew (20th in the league · 10 eval.)
10%
22º Sporting Kansas City (21st in the league · 9 eval.)
6%
23º New York Red Bulls (13th in the league · 5 eval.)
0%
24º Seattle Sounders (2nd in the league · 5 eval.)
0%

Detailed ranking

ClubLeague positionSigningsEvaluatedSuccessfulFairUnsuccessfulHit rate %
Colorado Rapids17º9944167%
Minnesota United FC9950456%
Toronto FC101034350%
Philadelphia Union9941450%
Chicago Fire16º121243546%
CF Montreal18º101025345%
Vancouver Whitecaps23º151545643%
Orlando City SC22º121234542%
New England Revolution14º6621342%
10ºPortland Timbers11º5520340%
11ºSan Jose Earthquakes15º7721436%
12ºReal Salt Lake6612333%
13ºHouston Dynamo19º101022630%
14ºLos Angeles Galaxy2218411325%
15ºNew York City FC8820625%
16ºAtlanta United FC7711521%
17ºFC Dallas12º8711521%
18ºFC Cincinnati24º2929272019%
19ºDC United10º101011815%
20ºLos Angeles FC10902711%
21ºColumbus Crew20º111002810%
22ºSporting Kansas City21º990186%
23ºNew York Red Bulls13º650050%
24ºSeattle Sounders650050%

Season Highlights

PlayerClubMinG+ANotaRating
Carles GilNew England Revolution315610+127.57Excellent
Alejandro PozueloToronto FC280914+97.62Excellent
Kacper PrzybyłkoPhiladelphia Union224815+47.39Excellent
NaniOrlando City SC229212+57.43Excellent
Gonzalo MartínezAtlanta United FC22725+97.36Excellent

Methodology

Only genuine signings for the first-team squad are considered — academy promotions, loan returns and internal moves are excluded. Each evaluated signing is classified into five tiers from a score that combines match ratings, attacking output adjusted for game time and consistency over the season, in comparison with the other players in the competition. Successful signings count as a full point; Fair ones, half a point.

Appendix — Signings by club

* Youth investment (under-23, no game time) — outside the calculation.

Atlanta United FC (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Gonzalo Martínez33227259Excellent
Justin Meram20129440Below expectations
Florentin Pogba1698900Did not deliver
Emerson Hyndman1698511Fair
Brek Shea1992401Did not deliver
Dion Pereira1868101Below expectations
Mohammed Adams57200Did not deliver

CF Montreal (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Maximiliano Urruti31244146Excellent
Zakaria Diallo24204232Fair
Orji Okwonkwo28178482Good
Lassi Lappalainen1168850Fair
Bojan Krkić861330Fair
Omar Browne1056421Fair
Clement Bayiha1146901Did not deliver
Harry Novillo1145412Fair
Clement Diop218000Did not deliver
Jorge Luis Corrales411101Did not deliver

Chicago Fire (12 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Charles Sapong322556131Excellent
Przemysław Frankowski31231257Excellent
Nicolás Gaitán272013411Excellent
Francisco Calvo23194831Good
Kenneth Kronholm20181200Fair
David Ousted14126000Did not deliver
Marcelo16114700Did not deliver
Jonathan Bornstein1191900Fair
Fabian Herbers1778831Fair
Michael Azira422300Did not deliver
Amando Moreno78200Did not deliver
Cristian Martínez56300Did not deliver

Colorado Rapids (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Keegan Rosenberry32288013Good
Kei Kamara282451141Excellent
Diego Rubio251976114Excellent
Lalas Abubakar21189000Fair
Nicolás Mezquida30134933Good
Clint Irwin1085500Fair
Jonathan Lewis1475342Fair
Benny Feilhaber962022Fair
Kofi Opare327000Did not deliver

Columbus Crew (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Robinho18109902Below expectations
Eloy Room12104400Below expectations
David Guzmán15101800Below expectations
Luis Díaz1278523Fair
David Accam1455521Below expectations
Joe Bendik654000Did not deliver
Youness Mokhtar844910Fair
Romario Williams710910Did not deliver
Rick19000Did not deliver
Jordan Hamilton33300Did not deliver
Christopher Cadden *0000Investment

DC United (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Lucas Rodríguez32262853Excellent
Leonardo Jara29220114Below expectations
Felipe Martins977600Below expectations
Quincy Amarikwa2343510Did not deliver
Chris McCann631900Did not deliver
Marquinhos Pedroso428700Did not deliver
Ola Kamara525730Fair
Chris Seitz19000Did not deliver
Emmanuel Boateng35500Did not deliver
Earl Edwards Jr.0000Did not deliver

FC Cincinnati (29 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Mathieu Deplagne33288111Fair
Kendall Waston25217510Fair
Leonardo Bertone25205511Fair
Victor Ulloa26195011Fair
Nick Hagglund22181500Did not deliver
Roland Lamah28178313Fair
Emmanuel Ledesma26177464Excellent
Spencer Richey19171000Did not deliver
Kekuta Manneh27149743Fair
Justin Hoyte17147700Did not deliver
Caleb Stanko23144500Did not deliver
Przemysław Tytoń15135300Did not deliver
Darren Mattocks21128233Good
Maikel Van der Werff1199000Did not deliver
Alvas Powell1397400Did not deliver
Greg Garza1391100Below expectations
Fanendo Adi1269510Below expectations
Kenny Saief956612Fair
Rashawn Dally1255610Did not deliver
Joseph-Claude Gyau846400Did not deliver
Fatai Alashe1143710Did not deliver
Andrew Gutman739501Did not deliver
Forrest Lasso539300Below expectations
Eric Alexander631201Did not deliver
Derrick Etienne521900Did not deliver
Corben Bone618600Did not deliver
Rick19000Did not deliver
Nazmi Albadawi1900Did not deliver
Hassan Ndam0000Did not deliver

FC Dallas (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Bryan Acosta25199221Good
Bressan17110911Did not deliver
Zdeněk Ondrášek1776272Fair
John Nelson945100Did not deliver
Thomas Roberts623700Did not deliver
Edwin Gyasi512700Did not deliver
Bryan Reynolds *912301Investment
Francis Atuahene12610Did not deliver

Houston Dynamo (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Matías Vera29256201Good
Aljaž Struna28253301Below expectations
Maynor Figueroa25226001Good
Thomas McNamara32151023Fair
Christian Ramirez1067351Fair
Marlon Hairston1142300Did not deliver
Jose Bizama535400Did not deliver
Michael Salazar716100Did not deliver
Chris Duvall19000Did not deliver
Niko Hansen44000Did not deliver

Los Angeles FC (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Eddie Segura34296111Fair
Mohamed El-Munir1560310Fair
Peter-Lee Vassell515700Did not deliver
Rodolfo Zelaya411810Did not deliver
Niko Hämäläinen39501Did not deliver
Diego Palacios *29200Investment
Adrien Perez22200Did not deliver
Rick11800Did not deliver
Ricky Lopez-Espin0000Did not deliver
Alejandro Guido0000Did not deliver

Los Angeles Galaxy (22 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Diego Polenta29261312Good
Uriel Antuna32247264Good
Joe Corona30223411Fair
Giancarlo González22159310Did not deliver
Favio Álvarez19128434Good
Cristian Pavón13115445Excellent
Matt Lampson19000Did not deliver
Carlos Vela19012Did not deliver
Eddie Segura *19000Investment
Eduard Atuesta *19000Investment
Diego Rossi *19000Investment
Jordan Harvey19000Did not deliver
Lee Nguyen19000Did not deliver
Tyler Miller19000Did not deliver
Walker Zimmermann19000Did not deliver
Mark-Anthony Kaye17010Did not deliver
Christian Ramirez16310Did not deliver
Latif Blessing *15800Investment
Steven Beitashour13200Did not deliver
Adama Diomandé12711Did not deliver
Peter-Lee Vassell12000Did not deliver
Juninho21400Did not deliver

Minnesota United FC (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Vito Mannone32288900Good
Ján Greguš28250817Excellent
Ike Opara28247331Excellent
Osvaldo Alonso26228721Good
Romain Metanire25225903Good
Robin Lod1166900Did not deliver
Lawrence Olum955301Did not deliver
Wilfried Moimbé434000Below expectations
Thomas Chacón28500Did not deliver

New England Revolution (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Carles Gil3531561012Excellent
Edgar Castillo20169305Fair
DeJuan Jones21140010Did not deliver
Gustavo Bou15125091Excellent
Juan Fernando Caicedo28110852Below expectations
Justin Rennicks210600Did not deliver

New York City FC (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Alexandru Mitriță282178112Excellent
Héber221480143Excellent
Keaton Parks21130311Did not deliver
Tony Rocha1685100Did not deliver
Gary Mackay-Steven1253011Did not deliver
Eric Miller533800Did not deliver
Dan Bedoya1100Did not deliver
Juan Torres1100Did not deliver

New York Red Bulls (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Amro Tarek20148611Did not deliver
Tom Barlow1260530Below expectations
Josh Sims748501Below expectations
Sean Nealis946110Below expectations
Mathias Jørgensen *512800Investment
Marcus Epps310900Did not deliver

Orlando City SC (12 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Brian Rowe32289500Good
Robin Jansson28243700Fair
Nani302292125Excellent
Ruan25211404Fair
Tesho Akindele281885101Good
Jhegson Méndez23181500Below expectations
Kamal Miller16135900Below expectations
João Moutinho16123002Fair
Danilo Acosta867000Did not deliver
Alex De John640600Did not deliver
Mauricio Pereyra639402Fair
Robinho621900Did not deliver

Philadelphia Union (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Kai Wagner31277306Good
Kacper Przybyłko262248154Excellent
Jamiro Monteiro27213947Excellent
Marco Fabián24127371Good
Sergi Santos1868641Fair
Aurelien Collin653000Below expectations
Andrew Wooten836000Did not deliver
Carlos Coronel431900Below expectations
Rick17410Did not deliver

Portland Timbers (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Jorge Moreira27232322Good
Brian Fernández191411111Excellent
Claude Dielna16109800Did not deliver
Renzo Zambrano1079200Below expectations
Aljaž Ivačič0000Did not deliver

Real Salt Lake (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Donald Toia25223711Fair
Everton Luiz27213602Fair
Sam Johnson25130090Good
Erik Holt537100Below expectations
Justin Portillo419400Did not deliver
Kelyn Rowe518800Did not deliver

San Jose Earthquakes (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Daniel Vega33297600Good
Cristian Espinoza29245029Excellent
Judson26182510Below expectations
Marcos López18116800Below expectations
Paul Marie833801Below expectations
Andrés Ríos1026910Fair
Carlos Fierro722500Did not deliver

Seattle Sounders (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Xavier Arreaga17126600Did not deliver
Saad Abdul-Salaam18107400Did not deliver
Jonathan Campbell436000Below expectations
Justin Dhillon527400Did not deliver
Luis Silva519700Did not deliver
Emanuel Cecchini *415500Investment

Sporting Kansas City (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Botond Baráth20165910Fair
Luis Martins1082900Did not deliver
Erik Hurtado1381520Below expectations
Kelyn Rowe1470401Below expectations
Nicolas Hasler964200Did not deliver
Gedion Zelalem837100Did not deliver
Abdul Rwatubyaye216400Did not deliver
Adrian Zendejas19000Did not deliver
Rodney Wallace12700Did not deliver

Toronto FC (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Alejandro Pozuelo332809149Excellent
Quentin Westberg31279000Fair
Nick DeLeon35195571Good
Richie Laryea23154312Fair
Laurent Ciman19144501Fair
Omar Gonzalez15136511Good
Nicolas Benezet1164730Fair
Patrick Mullins1040220Did not deliver
Terrence Boyd1134500Did not deliver
Erickson Gallardo524401Did not deliver

Vancouver Whitecaps (15 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
In-Beom Hwang33271733Excellent
Erik Godoy28250611Good
Ali Adnan27232213Good
Maxime Crépeau25225000Good
Andrew Rose24184311Below expectations
Jon Erice20166201Fair
Derek Cornelius17142610Below expectations
Lucas Venuto22113231Fair
Scott Sutter1698610Fair
PC1881301Did not deliver
Zac MacMath872000Fair
Lass Bangoura1657211Did not deliver
Tosaint Ricketts848211Fair
Michaell Chirinos741211Below expectations
Joaquín Ardaiz1539600Did not deliver
Signings Report · Major League Soccer 2019 · December 23, 2019