FC Dallas announced its year-end roster moves ahead of the 2024 MLS season today.
Players under contract for the 2024 season include goalkeepers Maarten Paes and Antonio Carrera; defenders Geovane Jesus, Nolan Norris, Marco Farfan, Ema Twumasi, Nkosi Tafari and Sebastien Ibeagha; midfielders Paxton Pomykal, Eugene Ansah, Dante Sealy, Paul Arriola, Alan Velasco, Bernard Kamungo, Tarik Scott, Isaiah Parker (returning from loan) and Sebastian Lletget; forwards José Mulato, Jesús Ferreira and Jesús Jimenez.
Option exercised (5): Asier Illarramendi, Liam Fraser, Katlego ‘Tsiki’ Ntsabeleng, Sam Junqua, Herbert Endeley
Option declined (3): Collin Smith, Facundo Quignón, José Martínez
In Discussions (3): Jáder Obrian, Jimmy Maurer, Amet Korça
The MLS offseason begins on Monday, Dec. 11, with the trade window opening at 9:00 a.m. The End-of-Year Waivers process then begins on Dec. 12, followed by Free Agency on Dec. 13 and the Re-Entry Process, Stage 1 on Dec. 14.
2024 FC DALLAS ROSTER (as of Nov. 30, 2023)
Listed alphabetically by position
Goalkeepers (2): Antonio Carrera, Maarten Paes
Defenders (8): Herbert Endeley, Marco Farfan, Sebastien Ibeagha, Geovane Jesus, Sam Junqua, Nolan Norris, Nkosi Tafari, Ema Twumasi
Midfielders (12): Eugene Ansah, Paul Arriola, Liam Fraser, Asier Illarramendi, Bernard Kamungo, Sebastian Lletget, Tsiki Ntsabeleng, Isaiah Parker, Paxton Pomykal, Tarik Scott, Dante Sealy, Alan Velasco
Forwards (3): Jesús Ferreira, José Mulato, Jesús Jiménez
My Thoughts
The five players that saw their options picked up fall pretty much in line with some of the moves we were expecting the club to make. Illarramendi, Fraser and Junqua seemed like locks to be retained for 2024 after their performances in 2023. Ntsabeleng and Endeley were possibly a surprise to some, but they will likely remain on the off-budget Supplemental roster in 2024.
As for the three players who were declined, the bigger shock to me is Collin Smith. It looked as though he did all the work you would want a young player to do on loan this season, and the few times he was brought in from that loan, he played well. Seeing Quignon and Martinez not have their options picked up is the right call, as it will save the club over $1.5 million in salary.
Then, on the three that are in discussions with the club, the only real shocker for me is Korca. If anything, that shows that the club is looking to retain some center back depth where they can on the supplemental side of the roster. I do wonder how long the club will be in discussions with Maurer and Obrian this winter. Maurer would be a great candidate to move into coaching if he is ready to retire, while Obrian did enough in my opinion, this season to earn a new contract.
Right now, the club has five open slots on the 30-man roster. That number could go down to three should the club retain the three players they’re in talks with. That is a smaller number than we’ve seen in previous years when the team has eight or nine moves to make in an offseason. I do think they’ll be active in the upcoming trade window though, which could open some spots up.
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