Sizing up Charlotte FC's summer transfer window
Charlotte FC aimed high and missed on top targets, but still comes out ahead, coach Dean Smith says
It’s time for Fútbol Friday, The Charlotte Ledger’s weekly newsletter getting you up to speed on Charlotte FC, the city’s new pro soccer team.
➡️ Need to sign up for Fútbol Friday and other Charlotte-focused email newsletters from The Charlotte Ledger? You can do that here.
➡️ Ledger subscribers can add or drop individual newsletters on their “My Account” page.
Charlotte FC went to the brink of signing a superstar midfielder yet again — but ultimately sign Biel as stopgap
Spanish midfielder Pep Biel is set to join Charlotte FC when he acquires his visa. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
When the dust settles on this summer transfer window — and the season — Charlotte FC’s biggest roster move will probably prove to be the return of striker Karol Swiderski.
That’s not at all how this front office foresaw it, having loaned out the standout Polish national to an Italian club and not expecting to see him back. But maybe it was just a little foreshadowing for the twists and turns coming.
General manager Zoran Krneta and assistant Bobby Belair went shopping for some of the biggest names on the international transfer market — most notably Dutch national Calvin Stengs and Paraguayan Miguel Almiron — hoping to make a splash at their greatest need: attacking midfielder. But in a matter of 48 hours, both of those deals unraveled. And with about nine hours to go before the midnight Central deadline Wednesday, Charlotte landed a low-risk and temporary but suitable solution in Spanish attacking midfielder Pep Biel.
Biel comes on loan from the Greek club Olympiacos through Dec. 31. The 27-year-old had a breakout year for FC Copenhagen three years ago, scoring 11 goals and adding six assists in 32 games for the championship-winning squad in the Danish Superliga, Denmark’s top tier. (For more insight into Biel, Will Martin of Charlotte FC wrote a nice breakdown.)
The deal, which fills the vacant designated player spot, comes with an option to purchase — so Charlotte can attempt to resign Biel this winter if he performs well or regroup when the winter transfer window opens and start a “CAM” (central attacking midfielder) search anew.
As it is, the club can take a collective breath.
“It’s been a good window for us, I believe, because of the ambitions that the club has shown,” Coach Dean Smith said. “I feel really supported by [the front office]. I know the numbers that we’ve offered to players and clubs and agreed with players and clubs, and it shows me a really ambitious owner. Our GM has worked extremely hard. He’s been based in London for the last 10 days. We’ve had Swiderski back. He’s yet to play with [Israeli winger] Liel Abada, who was on Olympic duty, so that fills me [with] excitement. And we’ve got Pep coming in as well. And I haven’t even mentioned [U.S. Men’s National team defender] Tim Ream yet.”
Futility at ‘No. 10’
For three years running, Charlotte FC has been in search of a true No. 10, the playmaker, the midfield engine who dictates offensive play, feeds goal-scorers and chips in goals himself when defenses allow or his will takes over.
The first player to wear and play “No. 10” for Charlotte, Titi Ortiz, was waived after 15 games the first season. Swiderski, a more natural striker, was asked to play out of position at No. 10 for parts of the first two seasons. He held his own but has proven more dangerous up top. Brecht Dejaegere, brought in this time a year ago from Belgium, showed technical potential that never translated into results. He rarely played in recent weeks under Smith and departed during this window for a club in his native Belgium.
Charlotte fans have been salivating for a powerhouse No. 10, and both fans and the club thought they had it Saturday night. Charlotte was poised to pay Calvin Stengs’ Dutch club, Feyenoord, $8 million in a transfer and sign him to a long-term contract, but the deal broke down over an issue that cropped up during his medical exam Monday in London. That was the first domino to fall. Here was Smith’s take in the aftermath:
We are now looking and talking to players and clubs who I was looking and talking to when I was a Premier League manager. I think that shows the ambition of the club … But for whatever reason, deals don’t go through, and I’ve had it all through the last 20 years as a coach.
You have a list of players you try and get in, and there’s always three parties that have to agree (two clubs and a player) and they don’t always align. We’ve had situations where we’ve agreed with clubs, but players haven’t wanted to come.
We’ve agreed with players, but clubs have valued their players too highly.
Some go as far as a medical, and then something crops up where you want to mitigate your risk for the club, and again, things don’t happen…
I’m very happy with where we are. I’m very happy with the ambition we’ve shown. We haven’t got some of the players that we’ve wanted, but we’re really happy with what we have got.
Six that got away: Near-miss list is getting longer for Charlotte FC
Charlotte FC general manager Zoran Krneta (center) has been working closely with owner David Tepper and club president Joe LaBue. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Say this for Charlotte: For being a young club, just in its third year, it’s managed to stay in the transfer headlines, just by players it’s sought out. Here’s a brief look at some of the names the team has missed out on, going chronologically, with information from both reports and sources:
Darwin Machis: 28-year-old Venezuelan winger. Charlotte FC had a $6 million transfer fee agreed upon and medicals complete, before reports of his involvement in a bar fight surfaced and the deal was derailed by legal troubles.
Albert Grønbæk: 22-year-old Danish midfielder. Charlotte FC offered $10 million in transfer fees before he re-upped with his Norwegian team (FK Bodo/Glimt).
Luciano Rodriguez: 20-year-old winger from Uruguay. Charlotte FC was willing to spend reportedly $12 million to sign him and had the player convinced to come, but his club had aspirations of shopping him for more to European clubs.
Marco Reus: 35-year-old German midfielder. He rejected Charlotte’s overtures and took less money to sign with L.A. Galaxy, though Charlotte walked off with $400,000 in general allocation money from L.A. for having him on their discovery rights list, which gave Charlotte first crack at him.
Calvin Stengs: 25-year-old Dutch midfielder. Charlotte had agreed to pay Feyenoord $8 million and was poised to announce Stengs as its newest DP this week when something showed up on his medical report to raise doubts about the health of his knee. Charlotte FC attempted to go back to Feyenoord to restructure the deal to mitigate risk and it fell through.
Miguel Almiron: 30-year-old Paraguayan midfielder. Charlotte had convinced Almiron to return to MLS, where he helped Atlanta United win an MLS Cup in its second season. But an initial transfer offer of $10 million, reportedly, was never close to the reported $20 million Newcastle was seeking.
Charlotte still comes out of window improved
Veteran center back Tim Ream learning the ropes at Charlotte FC from Dean Smith. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
In the grand scheme of things, Charlotte FC has upgraded at three positions during this transfer window:
Swiderski at striker
Ream at center back
Biel at attacking midfielder
Already, Charlotte has proven to be a team that’s tough to beat, as they say, with a sound defense, and sits in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, which is its best position at this point in the season. Smith echoed those sentiments as a voice of reason in his press conference Thursday:
I think any club’s aim is before the window and the end of the window is to come out looking better — having a better squad, an improved team, and I think we’ve got that. I’m pleased with the business that we’ve done. Disappointed on some of the ones we’ve missed as well. But that’s the way business goes throughout the window.
One point he made, which is one Krneta makes regularly, is the difficult position MLS teams are in because their window closes two weeks prior to that of many of the European Leagues. So, for example, Newcastle chooses to reject Charlotte’s $10 million offer for Almiron, figuring it can wait a couple of weeks and get other suitors to drive up that price.
“It’s a very difficult period for MLS teams because everybody knows when you’re trying to make deals, if you’re looking to sell a player, you’re looking to create a market, because you want to get as much money as you can for them,” Smith said.
He also said it’s difficult to get past old stereotypes that MLS is still a lesser league.
“Sometimes — and I know this from personal experience — the perception of the MLS from Europe at times probably can hinder,” Smith said. “Our job is now to change that, because this is a much better league than the perception is in Europe. The best player in the world is here (in Lionel Messi), so it tells you how strong this league can be. But we have to keep trying to move that needle as often as we can.”
Notable: U-22 announcement coming, Carolina Ascent opening Saturday
Young Israeli winger coming: Charlotte is expected to announce the signing of 19-year-old Israeli striker Idan Toklomati next week. Toklomati is signed as a U-22 initiative, reportedly in the $3.5 million range, and joins his fellow countryman Liel Abada as a newcomer to Charlotte this season. Toklomati and Abada both went to Paris with the Israeli Olympic team before being eliminated in group play.
Carolina Ascent FC opens Saturday night: Charlotte’s first-ever women’s professional soccer team plays its inaugural home game Saturday night at American Legion Memorial Stadium. Carolina Ascent FC take on DC Power Football Club at 7 p.m. Some 9,000 fans are expected. For ticket information, go here.
Up Next: New York Red Bulls on Saturday, Aug. 24
Charlotte FC has had two weeks off after being eliminated from Leagues Cup in group play, with one more to go. MLS regular season play resumes for Charlotte at home on Saturday, Aug. 24, against the New York Red Bulls, a team currently at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings while Charlotte is No. 6.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her third season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 4 of our local newsletters:
➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.
➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger
The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.
Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.
Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Sponsorship information/customer service: email support@cltledger.com.