LA Galaxy sign Gabriel Pec as Young Designated Player
Gabriel Pec is LA's biggest reinforcement ahead of the 2024 MLS season. A couple takeaways from this transfer that is now official.
The LA Galaxy bolstered their attack following the official announcement of winger Gabriel Pec.
Pec joins the Galaxy from Brazilian Série A side Vasco da Gama as a Young Designated Player. The forward signed a five-year contract through the end of the 2028 MLS season
“Gabriel has been a key contributor for one of the biggest clubs in Brazil’s Série A and we are beyond excited that he is choosing to join the Galaxy as the next step in his burgeoning career,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Will Kuntz via press release. “In addition to his work rate and attacking prowess, he will also be bringing the experience of representing his native Brazil in the qualification tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics when he joins our group. We are thrilled to announce Gabriel as the newest member of the LA Galaxy.”
During the 2023 Série A campaign, Pec tallied eight goals and four assists in 37 matches played (29 starts). Notably, Pec recorded 14 goals and five assists in 50 appearances (42 starts) across all competitions for Vasco in 2023. Those performances earned him a spot in Brazil’s 2024 Pre-Olympic Qualifying roster. Pec registred an assist in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Colombia on Jan. 26.
"He's a dynamic attacking winner, who has had a very strong career at a young age in Brazil, which is a very competitive league. We like his competitiveness, his character, his ability to score goals and work hard for the group,” said Kuntz
Playstyle fills a void on the roster
As discussed in my scout report on Pec, he is a pacey direct winger who likes to dribble. The Galaxy needs that type of player on their roster as soon as possible.
Following the trade of Tyler Boyd to Nashville SC, the current Galaxy wingers are Diego Fagundez and Jonathan Perez. Boyd consistently provided verticality and was viewed as a threat by the opposition defense. Fagundez likes to cut inside to play in the half-space as a creator rather than make daring runs at space or into the box. There isn’t much tape on Perez and he doesn’t have much MLS experience. LA likely won’t give him much first-team playing time as they expect to be a top team in the Western Confrence.
You can see statistical similarities in their attacking influence when comparing Boyd and Pec. Despite getting fewer touches than Boyd on a per-90 basis, Pec averaged the same amount of carries into the final third (2.5) and recorded a similar amount of carries into the penalty box (Boyd at 1.4 and Pec at 1.2).
Like Boyd, Pec has an excellent work rate off the ball. He will chase long balls, close out spaces, and will track back to keep the defensive formation strong.
“We love his speed, his power, his relentless work rate, his willingness to defend and we love that he's playing for the front of the goal and he's playing for the end line and that's something that we think our team really needs,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney about Pec.
He added, “The way [Pec] scores goals is the way you would want your wingers to score goals. He gets himself on the weak side in front of the goal and he's scoring very goals that you can score on a consistent basis, they’re not these worldies that you see every now and he has a couple of those, but they're really goalscorers type of goals.”
The LA Galaxy is showing their ambition
This offseason has been the first in some time when the LA Galaxy is looking for a keystone player in South America to develop. The club is known for its attraction toward giving the DP tag to players past their primes. Douglas Costa and Chicharito have departed the club and are immediately being succeeded by younger talent with a much higher ceiling.
Despite having bids for Ramon Sosa and Pablo Solari rejected, the Galaxy kept working towards acquiring a young player with high potential. The Galaxy’s scouting department has multiple names that fit this profile well. The easy thing would’ve been to throw money at an aging player but instead, their persistence to find their preferred player profile must be appreciated.
“Coming into the offseason, you always have a list of names of players who fit the profile for what you want to fill the DP position or any position that we want. And Gabriel was one of those players that was high on the list,” revealed Vanney.
Many of the top teams in MLS have invested in young attacking talent from South America since 2015. For LA, this is the first time they’re doing this since it started to become a huge trend (not counting Cristian Pavon since he was on loan). Just last season we saw Julian Aude and Calegari be the first major investments into the South American market - now the club has acquired a DP through this philosophy that’s garnered success in MLS.
“That transaction started again with our profile and our head of scouting Mikey Stephens, who identified Pec as a player who fits the way that Greg and his staff want to play. And then a lot of work with the coaching staff to make sure that everybody was comfortable, and then the negotiation piece of it as well”, said Kuntz about the process of acquiring the Brazilian.
With another DP roster spot available, the Galaxy can still add to their attack which includes Dejan Joveljic, Diego Fagundez, midfield orchestrater Riqui Puig, and now Pec. The Galaxy will hope the Brazilian becomes a keystone player in their quest for the club’s sixth MLS Cup.