Charlotte FC to sign Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood
Charlotte FC have signed English midfielder Ashley Westwood from EFL Championship leaders Burnley, a source tells MLSsoccer.com. TurfCast Podcast, a Burnley FC fan outlet, first reported the talks. Westwood, 32, has made 286 career English Premier League appearances with Burnley and Aston Villa, including 26 starts during the 2021-22 season before he suffered a fractured ankle in April.
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So much is about to change. The winter transfer window is open in Europe and some of the league’s best players will be heading out at the same time new stars are coming in. Preseason training starts for some teams within the next few days and the urgency to make necessary roster moves will ratchet up exponentially as we get closer to opening weekend 50-something days from now. The only thing we truly know about any of these teams right now is nothing. Unless that team is Philadelphia… Philadelphia will be really good, as always.
But, I figured before everything gets too hectic, we could take a look at which teams seem set to have a very different experience in 2023 – at least as of right now. Some teams have already put in the work to put together an Audi MLS Cup Playoff-caliber roster after missing out on last year’s postseason. And some teams have already put in the work to make sure returning to the playoffs will be really, really difficult regardless of what kind of January moves they make. Who doesn’t love a challenge, right?
It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for SKC. At least when it comes to tangible roster moves. They re-signed a few of their (extremely) veteran guys and that’s pretty much been it. Yet it still feels like they’re a clear pick to make their return to the playoffs in 2023.
2022 went poorly by almost every measure and it's fair to be concerned that a team that felt like it aged out at key positions hasn’t exactly gotten younger so far this offseason. But from the time William Agada and Erik Thommy arrived in Kansas City last season, Sporting turned into one of the league’s best teams by points earned and by expected goal differential. From Agada’s first start on July 30 onward, SKC were third in points per game and fourth in expected goal differential per game. They weren’t suddenly lucky, they were suddenly good.
Now they’re entering 2023 with DPs Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda set to return from injury and a sense from the fan base that they have the resources to make the team even better. Reports that they came genuinely close to bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo have made it impossible for the club to suggest that new signings are out of reach.
We’ve basically talked about this every day for like two months now, but, uh, hey, both these teams have lost a significant chunk of their best players. One seems far more likely to replace those players than the other, but both are worth keeping a close eye on.
The floor is always relatively high with a team that’s as defensively rigid as Nashville, but they weren’t exactly trending upward by the end of last season. And there are only so many years in a row you can ask Hany Mukhtar to carry this team. Would anyone really be surprised to see the Coyotes sit around the playoff line all year and come up short if the roster stays as is?
The good news is that they’ve reportedly offloaded DP forward Ake Loba and have a chance to find the attacking partner for Mukhtar that they’ve been lacking for the last couple of years. If they get it right, then they’ll be just fine. If not… well, it’s going to be hard to be enthusiastic about watching Mukhtar roll a boulder up a mountain again.
Wilfried Nancy in charge plus a full year of Cucho Hernandez at striker makes this pick almost feel like cheating. Nancy is really their only positive move this offseason, and it still feels like more than enough to get them back over the line.
They came up two points short last year. I can’t say for sure how their new club-record signing, Evander, will adapt to MLS. But if you’re asking if I think he’s worth at least two points, my best guess is probably yes. That’s an oversimplification, but Portland are likely just going to keep being extremely Portland. Evander’s performance will be the tipping point.
I mean, I could tell you about how they’re set to lose Aaron Long and maybe John Tolkin and how they still probably don’t have a top-tier striker and it seems like this could be the year they finally come up short. But let’s be real and acknowledge that no matter how things might look on paper, the Red Bulls just show up in the playoffs anyway.
But if Seattle can miss the playoffs...
Could I interest anyone in a classic year-two bump? We’ve seen it plenty in MLS as of late. As long as an expansion team shows a hint of promise in their first season, year two usually turns out pretty well. You don’t have to look any further than Austin’s 2022.
Charlotte put together a decent roster that executed well down the stretch and seemed to buy into what Christian Lattanzio laid out for them. They’re set to add a veteran presence in midfield with Ashley Westwood, grabbed a potentially impactful draft pick in center back Hamady Diop and a deal to sign forward Enzo Copetti on a DP deal seems to still be working its way through the final stages. Those moves (and others potentially on the way), plus another offseason to gel, could lead to a leap forward.
Could I interest anyone in a year three regression? It’s almost just as reliable as year two bump. And when you’re coming off a historic overperformance of your expected goals numbers, well, you’re going to be a popular pick to take a step back.
That said, they did well to pick up Gyasi Zardes; the roster is solid and they're so sound tactically that it seems unlikely for them to drop too far. It might all depend on whether or not DP winger Emiliano Rigoni comes good or not. Considering his initial introduction to MLS, that’s probably a scary thought for Austin fans.
They’ll probably most likely definitely be fine. But it’s hard to see them improving on last season. Sometimes small steps back in MLS are enough to keep you from finishing above the line.
- Casey Dunau picked out three USMNT New Year's resolutions that must be tackled in 2023.
- Tom “2023: A Scoops Odyssey” Bogert was kind enough to let youtake a look inside his insider notebook.
Good luck out there. Get a proper ride.
