Football Season Guide

New York City FC

In


Tomás Romero (gk) Toronto FC / Strahinja Tanasijević (def) Spartak Subotica / Hannes Wolf (mid) Borussia M’gladbach / Agustín Ojeda (att) Racing Club / Malachi Jones (att) draft

Out


Braian Cufré (r) (def) Real Mallorca – loan ended / Stephen Turnbull (sp) (def) Rhode Island / Alfredo Morales (sp) (mid) San Jose / Richard Ledezma (sp) (mid) PSV U21 – loan ended / Matías Pellegrini (sp) (mid) Velez / Jonathan Jiménez (att) released / Cody Mizell (gk) DC United / Samuel Owusu (def) released / Nico Benalcázar (def) Cincinnati Res.

NYCFC failed to find a winning touch all of last season. Despite countless draws and some decent brand of football the team from New York simply couldn’t win enough matches to get in a play-off contention. There were some bright sparks throughout the campaign though and hopes are that with a bit better execution in the final third of the pitch the results could be much better in 2024. As NYCFC were very active last summer they started the rebuilt of their roster from early. To add further speed down the flanks big money were paid for wingers Hannes Wolf and Agustin Ojeda this winter. Both are expected to be key in attack this season. The squad remains very young and this is the main reason for a concern. The oldest of the 4 centre forwards is the 22-year-old Monsef Bakrar. That’s why finding a proven goalscorer remains a priority for NYCFC. Young wing-backs Gray and Ilenic, both under 21, developed well in 2023. The expectations are that this season both of them will be involved much more often. They are suitable for a system with 3 at the back, which is what coach Cushing used often in the pre-season friendlies.

Target


The aim is to be competitive in the conference. Qualifying for the play-offs will be added bonus.