SigningLab · Annual Report

Signing Accuracy — Major League Soccer 2023

Published on January 8, 2024

Executive Summary

277
Real signings
261
Evaluated
32%
Clubs' average hit rate
50
Successful
139
Unsuccessful

In total we identified 277 real signings by the clubs of Major League Soccer in the 2023 season — academy promotions, loan returns, internal moves and transfers that never went through are excluded. Of these, 261 are included in the hit-rate calculation; 16 are youth investments (under-23 with no game time), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes in the season count as unsuccessful.

Club Ranking

ClubLeague positionSigningsEvaluatedSuccessfulFairUnsuccessfulHit rate %
1Inter Miami27º1413382
54%
2New England Revolution99333
50%
3Charlotte18º88323
50%
4Sporting Kansas City12º55212
50%
5New York Red Bulls16º32020
50%
6St. Louis City2322859
48%
7CF Montreal22º88233
44%
8Vancouver Whitecaps15º77223
43%
9Nashville SC13º55122
40%
10Columbus Crew109315
39%
11DC United23º1313265
38%
12FC Cincinnati66123
33%
13Portland Timbers19º76204
33%
14Chicago Fire24º88134
31%
15Orlando City SC98134
31%
16Houston Dynamo1413328
31%
17Atlanta United FC10º1010226
30%
18San Jose Earthquakes17º77205
29%
19Minnesota United FC21º119216
28%
20New York City FC20º99054
28%
21Colorado Rapids28º1111227
27%
22Los Angeles FC1211227
27%
23Los Angeles Galaxy26º1413238
27%
24Real Salt Lake11º98035
19%
25Toronto FC29º16150510
17%
26Austin25º1110118
15%
27FC Dallas14º1110037
15%
28Philadelphia Union43003
0%
29Seattle Sounders33003
0%

The difference between Signings and Evaluated are youth investments (under-23 with no game time in the season), classified separately. Signings without relevant minutes are unsuccessful (Did not deliver).

Season Highlights

The ten signings with the greatest technical impact of the season, according to the Player Impact Score (PIS).

PlayerClubPosMinG+AAvg ratingRating
Eduard LöwenSt. Louis CityM24746+97.27Excellent
Giorgos GiakoumakisAtlanta United FCF205819+27.22Excellent
EvanderPortland TimbersM22139+47.27Excellent
Mateusz KlichDC UnitedM27244+77.25Excellent
Connor RonanColorado RapidsM28561+87.19Excellent
Tyler BoydLos Angeles GalaxyM23387+46.96Excellent
João KlaussSt. Louis CityF149910+27.10Excellent
Diego RossiColumbus CrewF12304+57.39Excellent
Amine BassiHouston DynamoM227711+16.85Excellent
Teemu PukkiMinnesota United FCF104010+17.07Excellent

Methodology

Club assessment — the universe of signings

The report considers exclusively genuine signings for the first-team squad, identified by the player's effective incorporation into the group between seasons. Excluded from the universe are: academy promotions, loan returns, internal administrative moves and transfers recorded but never completed. The aim is to measure the quality of market decisions — and those alone.

Player Impact Score (PIS)

Each evaluated signing receives a score from 0 to 100 that combines four observable technical dimensions: individual performance (average match ratings over the season), output (goals, assists and decisive actions adjusted for game time), collective performance (starting status and correlation with the club's results) and availability (volume of matches, adjusted for interruptions). High-impact players with reduced game time are promoted through an alternative efficiency criterion.

Outcome classification

The rating tiers are: Excellent and Good (successful signings — a full point in the index), Fair (intermediate performance — half a point) and Below expectations / Did not deliver (unsuccessful signings). Two categories sit outside the calculation, for distinct reasons: Injury (a serious injury prevented a fair assessment) and Investment (an under-23 player with low game time — the return depends on development and cannot be counted for or against the club in this cycle). Signings that did not reach relevant game time in the season are classified as unsuccessful, reflecting the sporting cost of the decision.

A note on scope

This is SigningLab's public, simplified model, developed for transparent retrospective market assessment. SigningLab's commercial solutions for partner clubs use a substantially larger set of variables and dedicated predictive mechanisms, and are not fully reflected in this document.

Appendix — Signings by club

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

Atlanta United FC (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Giorgos Giakoumakis302058192Excellent
Luis Abram34174300Did not deliver
Derrick Etienne29106601Did not deliver
Miguel Berry34106110Below expectations
Tristan Muyumba13104411Good
Xande Silva1385642Fair
Saba Lobjanidze1264934Fair
Quentin Westberg3649500Did not deliver
Clement Diop713500Did not deliver
Nicolas Firmino31110Did not deliver

Austin (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Leo Väisänen22176311Fair
Gyasi Zardes31149662Good
Adam Lundqvist2986602Below expectations
Will Bruin3337431Below expectations
Aleksandar Radovanović1036400Did not deliver
Sofiane Djeffal1332000Did not deliver
Matt Hedges830610Below expectations
Memo Rodríguez1125200Did not deliver
Amro Tarek1000Did not deliver
David Rodriguez *1000Investment
Matt Bersano28000Did not deliver

CF Montreal (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
George Campbell27186211Fair
Ariel Lassiter25160012Good
Bryce Duke27147821Good
Aaron Herrera20141002Fair
Kwadwo Opoku1393741Fair
Jules-Anthony Vilsaint1940811Did not deliver
Ilias Iliadis926300Did not deliver
Logan Ketterer12000Did not deliver

Charlotte (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Ashley Westwood30262132Excellent
Enzo Copetti27205461Good
Bill Tuiloma24135700Did not deliver
Justin Meram26135343Excellent
Jere Uronen1165400Below expectations
Brecht Dejaegere1051110Fair
Scott Arfield1543720Fair
Vinicius Mello55400Did not deliver

Chicago Fire (8 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Maren Haile-Selassie33191263Good
Arnaud Souquet32183403Below expectations
Kei Kamara30152151Fair
Jonathan Dean27137101Below expectations
Georgios Koutsias2797431Fair
Daniel Alonso Aceves Patiño3085900Did not deliver
Ousmane Doumbia1181301Fair
Jeffrey Gal7000Did not deliver

Colorado Rapids (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Andreas Maxsø33292520Good
Connor Ronan34285618Excellent
Kevin Cabral32119820Below expectations
Marko Ilić29117000Did not deliver
Andrew Gutman12100910Fair
Calvin Harris2590813Below expectations
Rafael Navarro1088811Fair
Danny Leyva2365300Did not deliver
Sidnei Tavares630000Did not deliver
Alex Gersbach1026200Did not deliver
Luis Díaz59100Did not deliver

Columbus Crew (10 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Malte Amundsen27237342Excellent
Christian Ramirez35170193Good
Rudy Camacho16126800Below expectations
Diego Rossi15123045Excellent
Julian Gressel1693011Fair
Exon Gustavo Vallecilla2085900Did not deliver
Maximilian Arfsten3931432Did not deliver
Yevhen Cheberko1622700Did not deliver
Jimmy Medranda3512410Did not deliver
Keegan Hughes *16100Investment

DC United (13 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Mateusz Klich32272447Excellent
Tyler Miller26220500Fair
Derrick Williams25185310Fair
Lewis O'Brien17151511Good
Pedro Santos27150411Below expectations
Ruan27142505Fair
Alex Bono3485500Did not deliver
Gabriel Pirani1083610Fair
Cristián Dájome2478421Fair
Éric Davis953800Did not deliver
Mohanad Jeahze636601Fair
Erik Hurtado2427900Did not deliver
José Fajardo924300Did not deliver

FC Cincinnati (6 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Yerson Mosquera30243231Good
Santiago Arias29165421Fair
Marco Angulo3582601Did not deliver
Aaron-Salem Boupendza1271550Fair
Bret Halsey1922500Did not deliver
Evan Louro3000Did not deliver

FC Dallas (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Sebastien Ibeagha37265811Fair
Sam Junqua35123020Did not deliver
Geovane2099602Fair
Asier Illarramendi1496800Fair
Jesús Jiménez2871002Did not deliver
Liam Fraser1360500Did not deliver
Tsiki Ntsabeleng2536604Below expectations
Eugene Ansah1423010Below expectations
Amet Korça *2115400Investment
José Mulato1811800Did not deliver
Collin Smith510900Did not deliver

Houston Dynamo (14 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Artur37300620Good
Franco Escobar33249530Good
Amine Bassi322277111Excellent
Erik Sviatchenko22162900Below expectations
Ibrahim Aliyu28126932Fair
Luis Caicedo35124400Did not deliver
Iván Franco35107831Below expectations
Bradley Smith2853712Below expectations
Tate Schmitt539810Fair
Sebastian Kowalczyk1437401Did not deliver
Brooklyn Raines2422000Did not deliver
Chase Gasper1321000Did not deliver
Andrew Tarbell349000Did not deliver
Djevencio van der Kust *3000Investment

Inter Miami (14 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Serhiy Kryvtsov26212010Good
Kamal Miller22184500Fair
Dixon Arroyo26178810Fair
Josef Martínez30174871Good
Nicolás Stefanelli33133720Below expectations
Franco Negri16133311Good
Sergio Busquets1193001Fair
Tomás Avilés1187811Fair
Facundo Farías1283831Fair
Ian Fray1165810Fair
Jordi Alba743910Fair
Lionel Messi637212Fair
Shanyder Borgelin1915010Did not deliver
Carlos Santos *209000Investment

Los Angeles FC (12 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Timothy Tillman31201142Good
Mateusz Bogusz33184933Excellent
Denil Maldonado38167110Did not deliver
Aaron Long29162401Below expectations
Stipe Biuk38133431Fair
Sergi Palencia28129701Below expectations
Cristian Olivera1599920Fair
Mario González1444511Below expectations
Eldin Jakupović2018000Did not deliver
Filip Krastev *1617510Investment
Yekeson Subah21300Did not deliver
Abraham Romero4000Did not deliver

Los Angeles Galaxy (14 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Tyler Boyd34233874Excellent
Calegari23193501Fair
Julián Aude27119601Below expectations
Chris Mavinga23113900Did not deliver
Maya Yoshida12108011Good
Oriol Rosell2785501Did not deliver
Edwin Cerrillo1280601Below expectations
Billy Sharp1271161Fair
Memo Rodríguez1666811Below expectations
Diego Fagúndez1258311Fair
Tony Alfaro1038100Did not deliver
Novak Mićović *1618000Investment
Michael Barrios1212110Did not deliver
Noble Okello0000Did not deliver

Minnesota United FC (11 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Miguel Tapias32286010Good
Zarek Valentin34132202Did not deliver
Teemu Pukki141040101Excellent
Sangbin Jeong2596311Fair
Ethan Bristow1054200Did not deliver
Clint Irwin3136000Did not deliver
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi1534212Below expectations
Cameron Dunbar2211200Did not deliver
Mikael Marques *41400Investment
Tani Oluwaseyi *41100Investment
Doneil Henry1000Did not deliver

Nashville SC (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Fafà Picault30172651Good
Lukas MacNaughton17117310Fair
Sam Surridge1168120Fair
Ján Greguš2025200Did not deliver
Nick DePuy0000Did not deliver

New England Revolution (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
David Romney36324411Good
Bobby Wood34157575Good
Latif Blessing16104201Fair
Tomás Chancalay13103360Excellent
Mark-Anthony Kaye1387303Fair
Ian Harkes1060620Fair
Ben Sweat2434700Did not deliver
Tomáš Vaclík1000Did not deliver
Noble Okello0000Did not deliver

New York City FC (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Braian Cufré33189423Fair
Mitja Ilenič31119202Did not deliver
Richard Ledezma27118904Fair
Matthew Freese3490000Did not deliver
Birk Risa1086201Fair
Monsef Bakrar1076030Fair
Tony Alfaro2138300Did not deliver
Julián Fernández1032620Fair
Alonso Martínez83600Did not deliver

New York Red Bulls (3 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Cory Burke2398020Fair
Dante Vanzeir1974521Fair
Jorge Cabezas *1212300Investment

Orlando City SC (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Rafael Santos37223612Fair
Martín Ojeda37183567Excellent
Dagur Dan Þórhallsson37155123Fair
Ramiro Enrique35112041Fair
Gastón González2372102Below expectations
Felipe Martins3658500Did not deliver
Luca Petrasso2044400Did not deliver
Alejandro Granados1100Did not deliver
Juninho *2100Investment

Philadelphia Union (4 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Damion Lowe28151920Below expectations
Joaquín Torres3537211Did not deliver
Andrés Perea *2116010Investment
Tai Baribo1115100Did not deliver

Portland Timbers (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Evander27221394Excellent
Franck Boli29147071Good
Eric Miller32123300Did not deliver
Bryan Acosta1045701Did not deliver
Antony Alves1025710Below expectations
Miguel Araujo1117400Did not deliver
Florián Monzón *0000Investment

Real Salt Lake (9 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Brayan Vera28213231Fair
Andrés Gómez33145215Fair
Emeka Eneli31140400Did not deliver
Nelson Palacio1386701Below expectations
Cristian Arango1176561Fair
Gavin Beavers3058500Did not deliver
Bertin Jacquesson1435900Did not deliver
Kevon Lambert77500Did not deliver
Moses Nyeman *82800Investment

San Jose Earthquakes (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Carlos Gruezo28215802Good
Carlos Akapo28215323Good
Jonathan Mensah31196000Below expectations
Daniel27194600Below expectations
Matthew Hoppe1142120Below expectations
Michael Baldisimo2331500Did not deliver
Ayo Akinola107600Did not deliver

Seattle Sounders (3 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Héber35107121Did not deliver
Cody Baker1669100Did not deliver
Paul Rothrock134810Did not deliver

Sporting Kansas City (5 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Daniel Rosero Valencia29253120Good
Nemanja Radoja28199102Good
Tim Leibold2195802Fair
Robert Castellanos2773610Did not deliver
Felipe Gutiérrez1129700Did not deliver

St. Louis City (23 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Roman Bürki36315200Good
Tim Parker31274750Excellent
Eduard Löwen31247469Excellent
Jakob Nerwinski34229302Fair
Indiana Vassilev36229224Good
Nicholas Selson Gioacchini352147101Excellent
Jared Stroud35214355Good
Njabulo Blom29209911Good
João Klauss211499102Excellent
John Nelson22126800Did not deliver
Aziel Jackson30119714Fair
Tomáš Ostrák35116332Fair
Rasmus Alm23109832Fair
Lucas Bartlett23107501Did not deliver
Samuel Adeniran23102881Fair
Joshua Yaro3499700Did not deliver
Anthony Markanich1371610Below expectations
Joakim Nilsson1169300Did not deliver
Nökkvi Þórisson1226310Did not deliver
Isak Steiner Jensen *1714800Investment
Jonathan Bell1414300Did not deliver
Benjamin Lundt369000Did not deliver
Selmir Pidro144100Did not deliver

Toronto FC (16 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Sean Johnson20180000Fair
Raoul Petretta27174801Fair
Brandon Servania29171111Fair
Sigurd Rosted24164500Below expectations
Aimé Mabika25151500Below expectations
Charles Sapong20126810Fair
Matt Hedges14106800Fair
Tomás Romero2854000Did not deliver
Franco Ibarra1044000Did not deliver
Gregory Ranjitsingh636000Did not deliver
Prince-Osei Owusu625700Below expectations
Cristián Gutiérrez1024401Did not deliver
Víctor Vázquez1524100Did not deliver
Adama Diomandé516600Did not deliver
Latif Blessing715200Did not deliver
Cassius Mailula *66800Investment

Vancouver Whitecaps (7 signings)

PlayerMatchesMinutesGoalsAssistsRating
Yohei Takaoka36310000Good
Mathías Laborda34161910Did not deliver
Richie Laryea14104912Good
Sergio Córdova2184220Fair
Sam Adekugbe1253811Fair
Junior Hoilett1026000Did not deliver
Karifa Yao16100Did not deliver