The busiest time of the MLS season has ended with the LA Galaxy making additions to bolster the roster depth.
The summer transfer window is where all the money and players make their moves around the world. The Galaxy wasn’t shy to make moves and retool the roster to aid in the race for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Gabriel Pec, Matheus Nascimento, Mauricio Cuevas, Edwin Cerrillo, Miki Yamane, and Ruben Ramos Jr. departed the club in the last few months.
The club brought in Sergi Roberto, Kyogo Furuhashi, Robert Taylor, Lucas Calegari, and Pablo Ruiz. It also has Hirving “Chucky” Lozano on loan with an option to make the deal permanent.
LA moved on from some key pillars of the 2024 MLS Cup-winning team, but their replacements are seasoned veterans. No players are coming in that will take time to develop as the race to secure a playoff spot continues.
“I think we’ve made the group a lot more competitive, a lot deeper, and we think we have a lot of high character guys who’ve come in, and who are excited to be here,” said General Manager Will Kuntz to the media.
“I think this is a deep roster. We like it now. We like it in the future. I think it’s got a lot of different ways to combine and play good football. We know where we are, and there certainly is a mentality of ‘hey, it’s time to knuckle down,’ and that goes from everyone throughout the building,” added Kuntz.
The roster is more filled out with players who know how MLS operates and players not yet out of their primes. It’s why this set of moves is seen as more of a team retool rather than a full-on rebuild.
“We do get a little bit of maturity. I think we get a couple of guys who also just the profiles and the way they play the game really settle into what our style of play is,” said Head Coach Greg Vanney after training on Thursday.
Vanney, in the middle of his sixth season with the club, has emphasized the importance of having the right set of players to make his possession-based playstyle work. During his talk with the media, he seemed content with the options he could use in the middle of the park.
“We’ve got space creators and space users… We've got guys who want to receive the ball behind the back line, and we’ve got guys who want to receive the ball between the lines. And so you need the balance of all of these things in order for a team that wants to use the ball to be effective,” said Vanney,
Quality is no longer a question on the roster; can this team gel together to make the playoffs? Will the club be limping into the postseason or cruise with ease?
“I think we have a really interesting group at the moment that does fit together nicely. It’s just how quickly we can get them to fit together, which is going to be the race for all of us,” said Vanney.
“It’s a tight schedule the rest of the way,” said Kuntz.
“That’s why we want to have as much depth as possible. We feel like we’ve really addressed that… Not a lot of time, but I really like our chances.”
Two New Additions
Lucas Calegari returns to the LA Galaxy permanently. The 2023 LA Galaxy Defender of the Year was on loan with the club, but a severe ACL injury prevented the move from becoming permanent.
He spent time in Brazil, Portugal, and Türkiye before his return to the Galaxy. LA signed him through June 2029, and he will take up an international roster spot.
“I’m very excited about Lucas. He’s really wanted to be here ever since he got hurt. I don’t think Lucas has missed a game since his injury. He’s really excited to be back here,” said Kuntz.
“(Calegari) is a player who’s going to want to be out there every day, but he also is going to understand that we have a great young player that we’re also trying to bring along.” Said Vanney.
19-year-old Harbor Miller was the lone right back on the roster following the departures of Cuevas and Yamane. With Calegari, there is competition at the position that the Galaxy looks to develop within the roster.
“Harbor will continue to play. Lucas will continue to find his opportunities. That’s what good teams do, and that’s what good players need,” said Vanney about the competition at the position.
The addition of Pablo Ruiz adds more veteran leadership and MLS experience, but most importantly, he’s a left-footed midfielder.
“Pablo, left-footed midfielder, which is something we’ve wanted for a long time,” said Kuntz.
“We’ve always been talking about we would love an interior player who is left‑footed, who likes to take the game from right to left, because we’re a team that likes to go from left to right a lot… I think it can provide some balance,” said Vanney about the addition of Ruiz.
LA traded $400,000 in 2027 General Allocation Money to RSL for Ruiz. The 27-year-old is signed through December 2026, with club options for 2027 and 2028. Should the Galaxy not feel like he’s the right fit, there are options to not make this a long-term deal.
Other Notes:
Ruben Ramos Jr. heads to Sporting Kansas City on loan. There is an option for this to become a permanent deal with a sell-on clause included.
“We were really excited for him. I’m very excited about this opportunity for Ruben and what it means for his and our future,” said Kuntz about the loan for Ramos.
Vanney says Joao Klauss “trained in full this week”. There will be more work this week to assess if he’s ready to get into game action this weekend against New England. Klauss has been out since April.
“We didn’t have attacking option beginning of the restart of the World Cup break… but again, there’s no excuse anymore. So now we have to get the results,” said Maya Yoshida about the upcoming games. Yoshida is adamant about getting points and climbing the standings following the end of the transfer window.