Jeff Carlisle
The conclusion of the 2025 MLS season heralded the end of a banner year for several U.S. men’s national team players performing domestically. Columbus Crew defender Max Arfsten, Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese and Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna all boosted their stock over the course of the year at both club and international levels, giving credence to U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino’s vow to look under every rock and tree for capable players who will help his team’s cause.
The offseason is a time for those players to assess their situations and ask the ultimate question: Is now the time to take the next step in their careers and make a move abroad? It’s a question that is, at this juncture, more loaded than it otherwise might be.
Not only is the winter transfer window in Europe about to open, but next summer’s World Cup is looming on the horizon. No player wants to mess with a good situation and perhaps compromise his standing with Pochettino with the World Cup so close. Playing time, regardless of where it happens, is paramount. Then there’s the nature of what next summer’s World Cup represents.
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“I think as you’re heading into six months out from a World Cup, for American, Canadian and Mexican players it’s an opportunity that’ll happen once in a lifetime to make a World Cup roster and play in your home country. That’s going to be paramount,” said Richard Motzkin, executive vice president and managing director of global soccer at Wasserman, a firm that represents more than a dozen USMNT players. “And quite frankly, you’re going to want to give yourself the best chance to make a roster, period.
“Playing in a World Cup is a dream for every soccer player, and then to be able to do it in your home country is just an unbelievable opportunity that you’re going to be really smart about to give yourself the best chance to make that happen.”
There are no absolutes in these kinds of circumstances. Every player has his own scenario, but some situations are more solid than others. Freese signed a new deal in September through 2030 and, according to one source with knowledge of the situation, has “no appetite” for a move. This makes perfect sense. Freese’s competition is all MLS-based with the New England Revolution’s Matt Turner and Columbus’ Patrick Schulte among those hoping to challenge for the top spot; Freese isn’t going to get nudged out of the starting spot because a competitor is tearing it up in Europe. As for his own aspirations, there will be time after the World Cup to try to bring those dreams to fruition.
Arfsten and Luna are similarly tied up, with multiple years left on their respective deals, though their situations are a bit more fluid. Arfsten drew the attention of Middlesbrough earlier this year, but Columbus’ valuation remains higher than what was being offered. That said, the Crew have shown a willingness to move players in the past, such as Aidan Morris to Boro and Cucho Hernández to Real Betis. The timing — and money — has to be right.
That’s even more the case with attacking players like Luna, with U.S. products in those positions often having to do more to prove themselves than their colleagues elsewhere on the field. There’s also RSL’s desire to build a team around Luna for years to come.
“I would say [a move is] not very likely, but again, things can change and you never know what happens in the next month or so,” said RSL chief soccer officer and sporting director Kurt Schmid about a possible Luna transfer. “I think we’d only do a move — and he’d only, I assume, want to move — if it was the right situation and didn’t mess anything up with the national team, given how close the World Cup is. That’s going to be a big concern of his, and rightly so, with any potential offers or anything that comes in.”
Freeman’s circumstances are different. The defender’s rise up the ranks at both club and international level has been nothing short of meteoric, capped off by a two-goal performance in a friendly against Uruguay in November. The player has made it clear that he prefers to stay put.
“I think my focus in January, February is going into Orlando and just being able to perform at my best,” Freeman told ESPN in November. “I feel like that’s going to be my goal, and especially being able to do that and being a system guy … not [having] to worry about having to switch the way I play, I feel like that’s perfect for me in my situation.
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“To be able to do that and just be accustomed to something I’m used to, and just to be happy in Orlando. You know, I’m happy here … I’ll be playing games. It’s not like we’re not going to play games around preseason games and everything like that. So I’ll still be able to get that.”
But the respective desires of player and club aren’t always in alignment. Freeman’s contract expires at the end of 2026. One source with knowledge of the situation said that Orlando has made a max-U22 offer for Freeman that would see him get paid eight times more than what he is making now, but he isn’t expected to sign, which puts Orlando in a quandary.
The club essentially has to transfer Freeman now if it is going to get any return on the player. Otherwise, it risks losing him for nothing at the end of next season. The source confirmed a report from The Athletic that LaLiga side Villarreal had an offer rejected but remain interested.
The compromise is for a transfer to be made with a loan back to Orlando through at least the World Cup. Freeman would get his move, eventually, without compromising his standing with the USMNT. Orlando, meanwhile, gets some money in return. Freeman holds the cards in this situation.
With just six months to go until the start of the World Cup, matters in terms of possible transfers are mostly settled, but there are still some pieces in motion.
