MLS is no longer on the outside looking in at the European transfer window, says Yahoo Sports’ Martin Rogers. In fact, no longer will MLS clubs be allowed to look at it from that vantage point, he says. Indeed, MLS-related news has died down now that the transfer window has been closed shut, as barely a day in January went by without an MLS player either being linked to, or completing, a move to Europe.
To recap: Eddie Johnson’s $4 million Fulham transfer was the biggest news of the month, followed by Brad Guzan’s failed transfer to Aston Villa and the New England Revolution’s refusal to sell Taylor Twellman. One of the more surprising transfers was that of D.C. United teen reserve Bryan Arguez to Bundesliga giant Hertha Berlin. As time goes by, MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis is confident that Europe’s interest in MLS will only grow. “We want overseas teams interested in our players,” Gazidis tells Rogers. “The more respect our league has, the more interest there will be around the world. That is a positive dynamic from our point of view.”
However, MLS is in a unique position in the soccer world, in that it’s more of a buying league than a selling league. MLS teams do not necessarily have to sell players because teams operate under a salary cap. The league is also centrally operated, which means a transfer has to be a wise move for both MLS and the club in question. Gazidis believes the changes happening today are potentially as significant as those that took place in England in the mid-1990s.