Lutz's Shopping Cart - CITY's Summer Transfer Window Predictions

We all use Amazon these days. Its convenience is unrivaled. Lots of folks like to make spending "to-do lists" by loading up their virtual shopping carts with items they need to order. A look into my shopping cart might not intrigue you (or maybe it would?), but if you clicked on this article, you're interested in peeking inside of Lutz Pfannenstiel's going into the MLS Secondary (Summer) Transfer Window, which runs from July 24th to August 21st.

I'll help your tired eyes take a gander. This is a long one, so get comfortable to spend some time with me.

Context:

Before we get into the cart, there is some necessary context. Most importantly, the head coach. For now, we're going to pretend this item doesn't exist, but I will write an entire piece on coaches soon. Currently in the research phase, looking at well over 25 candidates. Stay tuned. In the meantime, note that CITY just won their first match under caretaker manager David Critchley and now sit 6 points out of a playoff spot with a game in hand on 7 of the teams above them in the standings. This means the season is far from a lost cause and Lutz should be tweaking this roster for immediate improvement.

Next, contracts. There are TWENTY players in contract years, which makes this very spicy. This summertime shopping cart will have not just incoming signings, but outgoing players to profit on before their contracts expire and they walk as free agents, as well as a few new contracts and/or extensions.

Finally, the roster situation. St. Louis CITY SC currently utilize the U-22 roster designation model, meaning they get 4 U-22 slots and 2 Designated Player slots. They also have and utilize 8 international slots. Below is a tidy look at everything we know about the current roster, courtesy of yours truly. Note that there are a few unconfirmed salaries for new players, so I just plugged in the maximum salary they could possibly have given their roster designation.

You'll notice there are two supplemental roster slots open. One of those falls into slots 21-24, meaning the player we sign there can make a higher salary that would normally fall into the senior roster, but it won't count against the cap. This means $104,000 or more, so a player with a salary similar to Simon Becher, Célio Pompeu, or Kyle Hiebert.

The second supplemental roster slot falls into slots 25-30, meaning the player must be 25 years old or younger and make below $104,000.

Not pictured is that, as of May, St. Louis CITY SC have $2,603,976 available General Allocation Money (GAM), which can be used to pay salaries or reduce their hit to the cap, sign new players, buy TAM or DP contracts down, and make MLS trades. Note that an MLS trade is trading GAM, cash, draft picks, and/or players with another MLS club, while a transfer is paying/receiving cash for a player with a non-MLS club.

So, to summarize:

- 1 Supplemental Roster slot 21-24 open

- 1 Supplemental Roster slot 25-30 open

- 0 international slots open

- 0 Designated Player slots open

- 2 U-22 slots open

- 0 Senior Roster slots open

- $2,603,976 available GAM

Last thing to note is that CITY have the ability to migrate back to the DP Roster Designation Model, with 3 DPs and 3 U-22s, but they would have to have used less than $1 million of the additional GAM they were granted for utilizing the U-22 model at the start of the season.

MLS is an overcomplicated and confusing league, but when I break down the shopping cart, I'll explain the implications of all this context.

Budget:

Whether you're shopping for a car, a home, groceries, or a (most likely German) footballer, you need to have a budget. The good news is that MLS trades make the budget more flexible by bartering assets.

CITY have a ton of GAM that they can use to make signings or package up into MLS trades. They have also acquired so many players on free transfers, opening the door for a big cash acquisition via MLS transfer (newly allowed in 2025) or non-MLS transfer. They are not very restrained by the cap; my math has them sitting around a $4.5 million cap hit, while the MLS cap is $5.95 million. A certain outgoing transfer candidate could allow for a new signing to earn a TAM salary ($743,750/yr or higher). Lutz could even toss in a 2026 MLS SuperDraft pick to sweeten an MLS trade if needed.

A Look at the To-Do List - Loans

Let's get the loans out of the way.

Njabulo Blom may be on his way back to the Lou, as his loan with his prior club, Kaizer Chiefs, has ended, and they opted not to active his purchase option. If he comes back to St. Louis, he will likely immediately be given a season-long loan to CITY2, where he will stay the rest of the year. CITY currently do not have an international slot nor a roster slot to house him.

Nökkvi Thórisson, who also requires an international slot that CITY doesn't have, has his loan expire at the end of June. The same situation would probably exist for him if he came back to St. Louis, but I think that Eredivisie's Sparta Rotterdam will opt to keep him.

Jannes Horn's loan to St. Louis expires in a month, and he was recently in Germany.

Before the summer window even opens up, that should have been item #1 in the shopping list. Horn has been unbelievable for St. Louis -- see below for his stats through the end of April. Estimates have Horn's salary as less than $400,000/yr, which is more than affordable.

Unfortunately, it was reported early this morning that CITY's purchase option expired yesterday, with Horn now being linked with a free transfer move in Germany. This leads to the assumption that his purchase clause was too pricey. I am fine with Lutz declining it as long as that money is invested elsewhere. This will open a door for Jay Reid to become a more significant contributor at left back.

Horn's presumed exit would open a senior roster slot and an international slot, but for the sake of nothing official being announced yet, we're going to pretend those are still things we need to open up by offloading other players.

A Look Inside the Cart - Outgoing Players

Alright. Now the fun stuff. The meat and potatoes. The summer transfer window.

There are three prime candidates for outgoing transfers in my eyes.

Joakim Nilsson: Nilsson is arguably CITY's best spatial defender and an excellent distributor. Unfortunately, despite having zero injuries in his entire career before coming to St. Louis, his time here has been entirely injured. CITY can't remain patient with a TAM player who doesn't play. Shop him around, see who will bite for a nice but discounted chunk of change. Since he has his green card and does not occupy and international slot, maybe look for an MLS trade--but I'd primarily be searching abroad.

Rasmus Alm: Similar story, only this time, even when healthy, Alm has been far from elite for St. Louis. He has 5 goals and 2 assists in 42 MLS appearances. See who will bite. Maybe an MLS trade.

João Klauss: Klauss catches a lot of criticism for not scoring many goals, but what he brings to the table is irreplaceable. If CITY were to transfer him out, they better have a new DP true target-9 ready to sign at the same time, or else they will be in an absolute world of issues. In my ideal world, CITY keep Klauss this year, decline his 2026 option, and then when winter rolls around, offer Klauss a new TAM contract with a slight pay decrease, and reinvest into a juicy new contract for Roman Bürki at a slight pay raise with that newly-freed Designated Player slot. That is getting into a whole different offseason monster that I will tackle near the end of the season, though.

There are also two prime candidates for MLS trades.

Joshua Yaro: Yaro has struggled in 2025, but is a proven locker room and community leader and is a reliable speedy depth centerback. There are numerous teams in the league who could use a hard working guy like that who can eat reserve minutes and boost the intensity in training.

Alfredo Morales: Morales also provides veteran leadership and has proven he can still log significant decent quality minutes in 2025, overperforming his $100,000 salary with CITY. Since his contract includes an option year, he is the perfect low-risk, high-reward player for a playoff team as cover for mid-season injuries to add to their roster. Why would CITY trade him? To free up a senior roster slot.

Extra Trade Options: A few other players could be bundled up in a trade; Akil Watts, Kyle Hiebert (for a big return), Michael Wentzel, even Jayden Reid. Of all of them, Watts and Wentzel are the most likely candidates, but I doubt any of them are moved this summer.

A Look Inside the Cart - Roster Additions

There are a few areas CITY need to fill.

Supplemental Roster 25-30 Slot: For me, the most obvious must-do is to give Mykhi Joyner the last Supplemental Roster 25-30 slot. Keep it a Homegrown contract at minimum salary ($89,716) for 3 years and you're set.

U-22 Slot: Next, they will need another centerback to replace Yaro/Nilsson. This is exactly the spot I would love to see CITY sign a slightly expensive 20 year old centerback on a 3 year U-22 contract with options; one who has a high ceiling, but is unproven, lowering his value. He would serve as CB4.

Designated Player Slot: This is the most fun one. Some will want a striker to replace Klauss, but if Lutz is on the same wavelength as me, he will be looking for a big-time right winger this summer. You have Xande Silva and Célio Pompeu on the left already, and Hartel leans towards that side naturally. Need to bring some serious firepower on the right to replace Alm; assuming Lutz can sell Alm, that also means it can be an international player. That opens a world of possibilities.

Fullback Depth: This squad painfully lacks depth in the wide areas. I would love to see Joey Zalinsky get the chance to be the second string right back and then see Lutz add another depth player who can play either side of the pitch.

Midfield Depth: Ideally, a young, speedy winger who could also play centrally if needed. Think about Hosei Kijima (man, do I miss him) or Indiana Vassilev; that type of player profile, but one who is not ready to be an MLS starter yet.

What Might the Roster Look Like on August 24th?

Keep in mind, there will be quite a bit of overlap with a handful of versatile players and players who sort of play certain positions based on formation. An example is Teuchert listed at CAM. Players are listed in hierarchical order.

Goalkeepers: Roman Bürki, Ben Lundt, Christian Olivares

Left Backs: Jayden Reid, Kyle Hiebert, new fullback depth player

Right Backs: Tomas Totland, Joey Zalinsky, new fullback depth player, Kyle Hiebert

Centerbacks: Henry Kessler, Timo Baumgartl, Kyle Hiebert, new U-22 centerback, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Michael Wentzel

Left Wingers: Conrad Wallem, Célio Pompeu, Xande Silva, Mykhi Joyner

Right Wingers: New DP right winger, Conrad Wallem, Xande Silva, Akil Watts

Central Defensive Midfielders: Eduard Löwen, Chris Durkin, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Alfredo Morales, Akil Watts

Central Attacking Midfielders: Marcel Hartel, Tomáš Ostrák, Alfredo Morales, Cedric Teuchert, Miguel Perez

Strikers: João Klauss, Cedric Teuchert, Simon Becher, Xande Silva, Mykhi Joyner, Caden Glover

This list implies the following players departing: Joshua Yaro (CB), Joakim Nilsson (CB), Rasmus Alm (RW), Jannes Horn (LB).

This list implies the following positions being filled: Mykhi Joyner, depth fullback, depth midfielder, DP right winger, U-22 centerback.

In my make-believe perfect world, every single position has at least two serviceable understudies and a versatile player that plays more positions than the one listed. It also maintains Miguel Perez in Supplemental Slot 31 (loan to CITY2) for 2025 as a result of a perfectly full roster of 30 men, including 3 DPs, 3 U-22s, 2 Homegrowns (plus Tyson Pearce off-roster), 20 senior roster players, and 10 supplemental roster players. It maintains the usage of 7/8 international slots, meaning one of the three placeholder signings can be an international player, while the other two cannot.

These moves address the biggest areas of need: width, attacking power, and upgraded depth in case of injuries. It also makes the roster "younger," which is one of the things Lutz Pfannenstiel made a point of in this week's presser.

A best starting XI might resemble:

                     Bürki

Totland-Kessler-Baumgartl-Reid

(New DP)-Hartel-Löwen-Wallem

             Klauss-Teuchert

Bench: Pompeu, Silva, Ostrák, Hiebert, Reid, Lundt, Zalinsky, Durkin, Becher

That is some pretty solid stuff. That situation leaves numerous quality players not even making the bench. Of course, this resides in a world with no injuries, which, as we know, is very much not the world we live in. Bur, needless to say, it would not take a ton of actual roster moves to bolster this team into a serious threat in the playoffs. The question is, can they gather enough points between now and July 24th to keep the playoffs a strong possibility under caretaker manager David Critchley, and will Lutz Pfannenstiel be able to both find and afford everything on his shopping list and make some sales? Guess we'll have to wait and see.