Standing pat in the summer transfer market was never an option for Real Salt Lake.
With Pablo Mastroeni’s team third in the Western Conference standings, and star striker Chicho Arango leading the Golden Boot presented by Audi race, chief soccer officer Kurt Schmid sought to strike while the iron was hot.
“We feel we have some guys doing really, really well in terms of production and you have to harness that when it's happening,” Schmid told MLSsoccer.com. “You see it all the time. A guy puts up insane numbers one year, then next year he's still really good, but maybe not quite the same.
“So we saw it as a year where Chicho is putting up big numbers and we needed to support him and harness that as much as possible rather than do a slow build. It's looking to accelerate it with a singing here or there.”
Gonçalves & more
Step in Diogo Gonçalves.
RSL’s newest Designated Player, the Portuguese No. 10 arrives from Danish Superliga powerhouse FC Copenhagen for reportedly around $3 million. Gonçalves previously played at Benfica with Arango, and RSL expect the 27-year-old will “jump in and hit the ground running.” Negotiations were tough before RSL ultimately secured their "top prospect."
However, Gonçalves differs from marquee summer signings at other Western Conference contenders.
LAFC added iconic French striker Olivier Giroud and LA Galaxy landed German midfielder Marco Reus. Both were free transfers, with Giroud leaving AC Milan and Reus previously at Borussia Dortmund. Their résumés are littered with World Cup appearances, trophies at some of Europe's biggest clubs and UEFA Champions League glory.
RSL believe Gonçalves, a prime-age playmaker with his own impressive C.V., can be just as impactful.
“We wanted to capitalize and improve the team now and compete with the top tier,” Schmid said. “It's a different profile for us. Diogo Gonçalves doesn't maybe have the name recognition as Giroud or Marco Reus and those types of players. But we feel he's the type of guy who will enhance what we're doing.
“ … If we can have difference-makers like Diogo, Diego [Luna], Chicho, [Matt] Crooks and those players who make a difference on the attacking end, we think we can compete with anyone regardless of who they've added. The belief and confidence the guys have in our game model and what we're doing transcends that.”
RSL didn’t just sign Gonçalves, though.
They also acquired rising Polish youth international winger Dominik Marczuk for reportedly around $1.5 million, fresh off a title-winning season and being named the 2023-24 Ekstraklasa Young Player of the Season. Marczuk inked a long-term U22 Intiative deal.
Australian youth international winger Lachlan Brook adds depth, as does former Orlando City SC forward Benji Michel. Lastly, Jamaican international defender Javain Brown was claimed off waivers after leaving Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Gómez to leave
There are outgoings, too, none more prominent than Andrés Gómez.
While a deal’s not formally announced, RSL are expected to transfer the Colombian forward to French Ligue 1 side Stade Rennes for $11 million plus add-ons. It’ll be among the top 15 most-expensive outgoing moves in league history, a short 18 months after he arrived for around $3 million (then a club-record fee) from Millonarios FC.
“We didn't want to sell Andrés this summer,” Schmid said. “We preferred to sell him in the winter, but an eight-figure offer doesn’t come around often.”
Gómez is RSL’s second-leading scorer, tallying 22 goal contributions (13g/9a) alongside Arango’s 28 goal contributions (17g/11a). The 21-year-old, after a stop-and-start first season, leveled up alongside Arango and Luna.
“Last year, the impression of him was raw, tons of speed, kind of erratic and unpredictable,” Schmid said. “I think he kept the unpredictability, he's obviously very fast as well. But I think his vision and ability to play dangerous passes in the box was pretty underrated. I thought it was something he had last year. … And this year, playing with Chicho and the ability to score is what finally clicked for him.”
Gómez will be RSL’s second major outgoing deal this summer after Fidel Barajas joined LIGA MX’s Chivas in early July. The 18-year-old Mexican youth international spent six months in Claret-and-Cobalt, plucked from USL Championship side Charleston Battery before his reported $4 million move.
“Chivas were interested in Fidel when he was in Charleston,” Schmid explained. “They maintained the interest and kept poking us and exploring it and exploring it. Eventually, it got to a point where we felt if we held onto him, we didn't think we could make him much more valuable than this in the next 18-24 months. We should probably make this deal now.
“ … It wasn't necessarily ripping the guts out of the team because he was our primary guy off the bench with some starts, but wasn't the main focal point at that stage. If someone offers you $4 million for a guy that isn't yet your key player and you don't think he'll be more valuable than that in 12 or 18 months, I think it's something you have to do.”
Luna's potential
Might a similar situation await Luna one day?
Schmid said “there’s a lot of interest in Diego,” and it seems like a matter of when, not if a big-money move happens for the 20-year-old attacking midfielder.
“When we find something that is an interesting project for him and of good value for us, that's when we'll have that conversation about taking the next step,” Schmid said.
“I know he's looking for that move, but we re-signed him at the start of the year and it's not something where we feel we have to get Diego out of here because we have someone else coming in. We don't want to move him now. If we can hold onto him through the winter as well, that would be ideal and is what we'll try to do.”
Like Barajas, Luna was signed out of the USL Championship. He joined in June 2022 from El Paso Locomotive and now is among the favorites for MLS’ Young Player of the Year Award. Luna, an MLS All-Star and US international, has 5g/12a this season.
“He's still a really young player where the next step is a place for him to go and play and develop and learn and grow before even another move,” Schmid said.
“I think it's important he finds the correct next step for him and his family. We'll figure it out for us. I have confidence that will represent value for us at the end of the day.”
Global market
All the chess pieces – Gonçalves and Marczuk joining, Gómez and Barajas as outgoings, Luna and Arango delivering – speak to RSL’s growing place in the global transfer market. In Schmid’s view, the Gómez deal especially illustrates finding the right balance between buying and selling.
“Sure, letting Andrés go and exploring this opportunity for this price, it potentially sends a message to fans and pundits who say we're getting weaker,” Schmid said. “But we look at it as a way to message to future players.
“We sign Dominik yesterday and this Andrés move, he knows it's happening and helped us land him. It helped him feel like there's a spot to compete for, but also he sees us taking Andrés and selling him for eight figures, then that could be him one day. Then we go back to South America this winter and recruit for the next young player, it's going to help us a ton there as well where we can present ourselves, position ourselves as a launching pad – a place where players can come and develop their game and be sold into Europe.
“It also creates an impression among clubs in Europe where RSL is a club they can go and look for to buy. All those are positives from the Andrés deal. On the field, there's a bit of a step back from that standpoint. But Chicho's back, Dominik and the other pieces we've added we hope will fill in. Obviously Diogo as well. We feel we can mitigate the loss. It might look a little different on the field than it did with Andrés, but it doesn't mean it's going to be worse or bad. It's just going to be a little different.”
All the while, RSL remain firmly in the trophy hunt – only five points adrift of West leaders LA at the Leagues Cup break.
Mastroeni’s side returns to MLS action on Aug. 24 when hosting the San Jose Earthquakes (9:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass), their first of nine games before the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs begin. Six of those tests are home at America First Field.
With new pieces integrating, RSL are very much in win-now mode.
“We saw these clubs are bringing in that guy or this guy,” Schmid said. “We couldn’t just sit here and get passed by. We know we're not competing for the same player and that's okay. We're not pining for that. We just want to find guys who are good fits for what we're doing.”
