Sporting KC spent club-record $9M on 3 players this offseason. So what comes next?

As Major League Soccer has grown, so too has a team’s means of constructing a roster.

Increasingly, adding a player requires the expense of some serious capital. That’s in line with how things work in the world’s most competitive soccer leagues.

Here in Kansas City, where Sporting KC finished the 2024 MLS season with the second-worst record in the league, ownership committed to spending more in hopes of fixing a flawed roster.

In an interview with The Star, Sporting KC sporting director Mike Burns said the club’s ownership group lent “complete support” to the overhaul.

Complete support, as in, financial support.

“(Manager) Peter (Vermes) and I met with ownership towards the end of last season,” Burns said, “and we received complete support from them to start the process and rebuild. That included designated players.”

That conversation, combined with the promise of increased spending when Burns was hired last year, was met with some skepticism. But Sporting has thus far delivered on its pledge.

In the span of 48 hours, the team announced the addition of three players — two as designated players — for an estimated total price tag of around $9 million.

Sporting KC acquired striker Dejan Joveljic from the L.A. Galaxy for $4 million; he will be a designated player. A second designated player, Manu Garcia, was acquired along with teammate Shapi Suleymanov. Both arrive from Aris, a club in Greece, for an estimated combined total of around $5 million.

Three players for $9 million sounds like a lot, and it is. But it’s not the most spent by an MLS team this offseason.

Atlanta United recently signed Emmanuel Latte Lath from Middlesborough for a $22 million transfer fee. Austin FC spent $25.3 million on three additions, including two designated players.

Vermes made a point of noting this.

“I’m not suggesting that we should be spending a lot more money,” he said. “What I’m saying is that we’re also still trying to be smart about that money because it’s bigger than just trying to get a roster together.”

The reconstruction confronting Sporting KC will take more than a single transfer window. But having one of the most financially active windows in club history was a good start.

Acquiring Dejan Joveljic

Players who occupy designated player spots usually have the greatest impact.

They also come at the highest cost, both in acquisition expenses and yearly salary. Sporting KC has one or potentially two such spots on its roster, depending on how it chooses to construct its roster.

Sporting KC had enough capital to add Garcia and Suleymanov ... but not much else. That is, until Alan Pulido’s transfer back to Mexico provided a reset.

“Things changed dramatically for us when Alan transferred to Chivas,” Burns said. “If that transfer doesn’t happen, the Dejan (Joveljic) deal is close to impossible.”

The other part of the Joveljic deal — beyond getting the flexibility to fill the roster spot — involved making use of the league’s new “cash-for-player trade” mechanism.

Sporting KC — not exactly known as a big spender when it came to acquiring players — became the first team in the league to utilize it.

Burns said conversations with Galaxy GM Will Kuntz began earlier in the offseason but really came to a head once that new MLS rule took effect.

“Speaking frankly, without this mechanism, it’s probably very unlikely that we would have been able to come to an agreement with them to acquire him,” Burns said.

Indeed, Sporting KC might’ve watched Joveljic sign with Tigres in Mexico.

“It’s a great mechanism,” Vermes told reporters after a preseason friendly on Wednesday, “because in the league, there’s a lot of really good players.

“And instead of them always leaving and being outbound transfers, we have the ability to do the transfers internally, which still gives you flexibility within your roster and your [salary] cap to keep those players and keep the quality up.”

A package deal?

The acquisitions of Garcia and Suleymanov might not have gone through without Burns’ presence in Greece.

Vermes has typically shouldered the responsibility of finding and closing deals with new players. But by the time the European window opened, Sporting KC was ready to start its preseason.

Given the timing of that window — and the fact that most deals during the European winter window are completed toward the end (which now comes nearly a month into the MLS preseason) — Vermes couldn’t be out on the road, meeting with players.

Speaking before the acquisitions of Garcia and Suleymanov, he said, “With some of the things that we have coming up, there’s just no way I could have spent the time traveling … there’s just no way.”

Burns landed Garcia on a designated player contract and Suleymanov on a TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) deal — which means he’ll make more than the max budget charge, but less than the hard-capped “designated player range.”

Sporting KC’s TAM funds could be used to reduce Suleymanov’s salary-cap hit so that it drops below the maximum budget charge. That would keep him from having to count as a designated player.

Where does Sporting KC stand now?

In reality, Sporting KC’s roster rebuild has just begun.

It’s a three-window process that will likely involve a few more deals between the end of the current window and the start of the summer window. Yet another layer to the rebuild could be coming next winter.

Depending on which roster design Sporting KC chooses, there’s room to add either one more designated player and a U-22 initiative player, or two more U-22 initiative players.

Those moves will likely involve players from outside the league and country, meaning Sporting KC would use INTL slots for them. Sporting KC is currently thin on such slots, with just one left. More could open up, however, if players who hold INTL slots get their green cards.

Until then, Sporting KC is limited in how many more players can be added — and how soon. While Burns wouldn’t rule out signing more attackers, for instance, he noted that additions to the midfield or back-line would be more likely.

But back to the present, and a roster that’s taking shape after a historic (for the club) level of offseason spending.

Joveljic joined his new teammates for a short stint Wednesday as Sporting KC played NYCFC to a 0-0 draw at the Coachella Valley Invitational in California. He looked impressive in limited action.

Suleymanov and Garcia, who are awaiting visas, no doubt hope to join him — and the rest of their Sporting KC teammates — as soon as possible.

“We’re going to have to integrate all of them together,” Vermes said. “And they’re going to have to find partnerships and relationships in the field and (make) connections.”

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.