Analysis: With 3 months of intense soccer ahead, what are Sporting KC’s strengths?

Sporting Kansas City has an interesting dilemma down the left side of the field.

To sum it up succinctly, Luis Martins, the team’s starting left back in 2019, hasn’t looked remotely the same in 2020, most recently resulting in Jaylin Lindsey starting against Minnesota.

Lindsey, who was picked ahead of backup left back Amadou Dia, typically plays right back behind Graham Zusi.

Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes has landed on Johnny Russell and Khiry Shelton as his starting wingers through the first eight games this year. On the face, this lineup seems to be working — Kansas City sits atop the Western Conference after six regular-season games — but both players seem to prefer playing on the right side of the field.

But if we’re going to go more in-depth, let’s start with the defense.

Assessing the defense

Heading into Friday night’s game against Minnesota, aside from Felipe Guttierez (who is out for the season) Sporting Kansas City enjoyed a clean bill of health.

Martins’ last start came in KC’s MLS is Back quarterfinal loss to the Philadelphia Union. The Portuguese defender endured a nightmare first half, including handing the Union their second goal on a silver platter before being pulled off at halftime for Dia.

And then, against Minnesota, Martins wasn’t even named on the bench — Dia was sitting there in his place. So assuming he wasn’t injured, he was simply left off the match-day squad on merit — or lack thereof.

Martins performed excellently upon his arrival in Kansas City last year, offering a dual-threat down the wings to complement Zusi’s bursting runs forward down the right side of the field. And not only was Martins producing blistering runs, but he could swing a good cross into the box, to boot.

But that’s not been the Martins we’ve seen in 2020. Instead, hehas looked shaky in defense and unable to overwhelm opposing midfielders and defenders.

And now it looks like Lindsey is set to start against Houston on Tuesday, too.

“(Lindsey’s) going to have to be on his toes defensively and that needs to be his first responsibility before he can do anything else in the game (against Houston),” Vermes said. “I think it’s going to be a really good test for him, and I think it’s going to be a great experience for him too as young as he is.”

To add fuel to the fire, the transfer rumor mill has begun churning. Reports coming out of Argentina say that Kansas City is considering making a bid for Club Atlético Independiente left back Juan Sanchez Mino.

The report, from fansite Soy Del Rojo, says Sporting is on the verge of making an offer valued at around $1 million for the 30-year-old defender.

Sporting KC has yet to comment on that report.

About the offense

On the other side of the ball, it all seems to be clicking for KC. Sporting has looked most ruthless with Russell and Shelton on either side of Alan Pulido this season, making runs inside as Pulido drops back.

This look has given Sporting KC the most goals in MLS regular-season games this year (tied with LAFC at 15).

But ultimately, even though Vermes says that both players can play both sides of the pitch, each seems to be more comfortable on the right.

Kansas City’s winning goal against Minnesota Friday came down the left-hand side from Russell. But that opportunity materialized thanks to a quick counter-attack after Gadi Kinda won the ball high up the field.

Typically, whoever has been stuck on the left side between the pair has not enjoyed a fruitful game.

“Depending on the opponent, depending on the way they play, depending on the personnel and the position and the opposition they would face, one could be better than the other in that situation,” Vermes said.

Vermes also praised the adaptability of Shelton specifically, saying that he can play left, right or up center. And he’s not wrong: Shelton has put in respectable performances in all of those positions during his time in KC.

But let’s not forget Shelton also played 15 games as center forward for Kansas City in 2018. He scored just one goal and three assists across those 15 games.

“We have other guys that can play there,” Vermes added.

Those “other guys” who can play there? Gerso Fernandes is chief among them, and he’s done an excellent job coming on as a substitute and using his speed and energy to perform well in his natural position.

Past him, you’ve got Gianluca Busio, who can play there but has never looked completely comfortable. Busio also most recently played excellently in the defensive midfield against Minnesota, and to make things more complicated he’s also seeing transfer interest from Europe. There’s also homegrown rookie Cameron Duke, who has played 24 minutes for the club so far, all in center midfield.

And then there is homegrown Daniel Salloi, who took the fourth-most shots on the team last year and had just a single goal to show for it. Whether Vermes wants his wingers to score or provide, Salloi also only managed one assist in 1,783 minutes across all competitions.

That’s simply not good enough.

Games are now going to be coming fast and furious at Sporting KC for the next three months Rotation will be necessary.

“When you start to see the number of games that we have coming up, I’m sure that you’re going to see some different guys in there,” Vermes said. “And again, they will be moving around.”

Whether new faces are added to the squad or players currently on the roster take what’s up for grabs, it could be an interesting couple of months for Kansas City down the left-hand side of the field.

This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Analysis: With 3 months of intense soccer ahead, what are Sporting KC’s strengths?."