Minnesota United’s bitter end in the MLS Cup Playoffs — a 6-2 thumping at the hands of eventual MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy — doesn’t diminish how bright 2024 was for the Loons.
MNUFC finished 10th out of 29 clubs in the MLS Supporters Shield standings and advanced to the final eight in the postseason. After missing the playoffs in 2023, it was an improvement for new Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad and first-year head coach Eric Ramsay.
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El-Ahmad spoke with reporters Tuesday, looking back on last season and ahead to 2025, which starts with preseason camp in early January.
Here’s an edited and condensed version of the Q&A session:
What do you look to as major roster needs going into next season?
I always go back to: What do we have? … So if you look at this coming preseason, the core is stronger because we didn’t have (transfer window additions) Kelvin (Yeboah), Joaquin (Pereyra), (Jefferson) Diaz, etc. So, they should create a bit of stability and some sort of improvement. It will be the first preseason for the coaches, so focus on what we have, as always, to try to improve them. And then, from a squad balance and perspective, we are going to continue to get a bit younger. … We’re definitely gonna look in midfield, still in the defense. But then you always have the unknown, and that is the market. If someone comes and offers something you can’t say no to, then you have to be able to adapt and (be) flexible.
Given the success down the stretch, could this team be one transfer window away from being really competitive?
I just continue to evaluate and analyze the progress itself. It could be one, it could be three. There’s the unknown of injuries, the transfers. I still try to be very calm in my approach and super focused on (smaller things); is the recovery room improving? I think you might see that we’ve painted walls outside (at the National Sports Center in Blaine) to make the culture feel even more collaborative. But yes, every (transfer) window we’re going to try to improve the talent. But that could also be development (of current players). Do the coaches do the right individual training? Which they do. Can we tweak that? What about our second team? It doesn’t always have to come from the external market. It could be internal.
Has Teemu Pukki played in his last game for Minnesota? (The Loons’ highest played player — $3.5 million — scored four goals in 939 minutes in his age-33 season.)
Pukki is under contract until end of June and right now is an MNUFC player.
What did you see in the underlying numbers for Pereyra that shows that he can produce goals and assists next year? (The new Designated Player had zero goals and one assist in 407 minutes in 2024)
What he brought wasn’t just necessarily the assist and goals, it was the flexibility that he can play out left. He can be as one of the two (forwards). He can play as an eight (central midfielder) we can play as a 10 (attacking midfielder). That was important for us.
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We brought in a player that there is a potential to buy down (his contract). So, we have flexibility to bring in another DP in the summer. And it’s also a player that we think is very intelligent, can link. Yes, he will have to be more brave to try to break line and attack forward.
How do you evaluate Ramsay?
He comes into difficult situation (after the start of season in March). Kudos to (interim head coach Cameron Knowles) and the staff providing him an environment that he can kind of hit the ground running. I think he’s done great. I think he’s collaborative, communicative. He learned to adapt in certain points. He stayed firm to what he believed in through the period when we struggled a bit. … So, I would hope we now have a solid foundation (with the entire coaching staff) to then continue to improve in 2025.
(El-Ahmad said the club still wants to go down the roster-building path of two DPs and four Under-22 Initiative players next season.) With those extra Under-22 spots, how do you approach those?
If we find the right player for the right value, then we know we have that flexibility, which is exciting. … When you make that investment, let’s assume we bring one or two of the 22s in this winter … they’re gonna be 22 to 19(-years-old). They’re coming to Minnesota when it’s cold. … So, just always have the right expectations. … Under-22 players is a little bit of the focus for this window and the next one.
What are you willing to share about contract extensions for current players — Hassani Dotson, Dayne St. Clair and Bongi Hlongwane?
They’re all on the contract through the 2025 season. We’re happy with all three of them. We’ll see if they’ll be a part of the future of the club, but we like all three players. But again, there’s not always just one party or one side in this.
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