State Of The FC Dallas Roster: Late December 2024
After FC Dallas makes another trade, this time for a defender, let's look at what the roster looks like now and what is reasonable to expect as the New Year comes.
A late Christmas present came for FC Dallas supporters Thursday afternoon, as the club announced they acquired Nashville right back Shaq Moore in exchange for General Allocation Money. It’s $50,000 up front with a potential $100,000 in incentives. Moore also signed a two year deal with a one year option, meaning he’s in Frisco for the foreseeable future.
It’s a homecoming for Moore who joined FC Dallas’ academy in 2014, before going to Spain the following year. He came back stateside to Nashville in 2022, making 66 appearances in the Music City. He’s also got 77 appearances for the United States national teams, 19 of those with the senior team.
Moore was on a pretty big salary with Nashville, which is why his acquisition price was cheap. Nashville is in cap hell, needing to shred salaries. Dallas was a natural fit with plenty of GAM to send away and buy down cap impacts, along with the obvious need at right back.
Between the Moore and Anderson Julio trades, Dallas has hit a plateau on roster movement. They’ve got 28 players under contract, although that 28 isn’t exactly accurate. Let’s look at that roster as it stands, what it tells us about where Dallas is right now, and what to expect over the next couple weeks.
First, here’s the roster after the Moore trade. I’ve shaped it as a 4-2-3-1 with some assumptions based on previous playing spots/common sense. It’s not comprehensive, more an education guess:
When 28 isn’t 28
With a maximum roster size of 30, Dallas theoretically has two spots open as it sits now. Except based on previous comments from Chief Soccer Officer Andre Zanotta, those open spots aren’t exactly open.
At the end of the season, Zanotta mentioned that some players will be promoted from North Texas SC during the off-season. Anthony Ramirez is one of those players; he made his first team debut in 2024 under Peter Luccin. He was specifically mentioned as a riser at season’s end, we’re just waiting for the official announcement. That makes 29. It’s reasonable to assume the other is Diego Garcia, NTSC’s industrious midfield star. That’d put the roster at 30 while also filling up the Dallas midfield.
That means if Dallas wants to make more changes, they’re going to need to make some choices.
What’s Going On With Ferreira And Arriola?
Two roster spots could be up for grabs, as Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola are still in limbo. Their trade to Seattle hasn’t been updated in awhile, with the last missive being the Sounders were negotiating down salaries with both players to make them fit. That meant Ferreira would go down from a DP player and Arriola from a TAM.
The streets are quiet on these deals, although there’s an expectation that something will happen with them before the season starts. If I had to bet folding money on an outcome, I think both will be moved but only Arriola ends up in Seattle.
Reason being: Arriola’s situation is an easier lift for Seattle than Ferreira’s. Arriola would require less salary given up, and doesn’t involve a DP slot. His negotiations will be less complicated, and while Ferreira is the higher upside player the salary cap makes doing deals like this complicated.
Not to say that there’s not incentive for Ferreira to make Seattle work even with the monetary/contractual complications. The Sounders are one of two MLS clubs in this year’s Club World Cup, which takes place during Europe’s summer transfer window. If Ferreira wants to make the jump, a strong showing in that tournament would go a long way. The reality is he might give up some now for the opportunity to make more on a European move.
If that’s the logic however, Seattle might not be the best fit. There’s a second club in the CWC from MLS: Inter Miami. Yes the thought of Messi and friends getting another young talented player probably doesn’t sit will with most fans. After the Leo Campana trade to New England, Miami has the resources and room for Ferreira. It also moves Ferreira out of conference, which could be appealing. What’s definitely appealing: playing on a team with Messi if you’re interested in visibility.
There are other teams who could get Ferreira in (Atlanta United comes to mind with their dragon horde of GAM), but Seattle and Miami seem the most likely. It’s MLS though, anything is possible. Until something happens though, both Ferreira and Arriola are FC Dallas players with all that implies.
Other Potential Roster Options
There’s some other options for Dallas if they want to open up a spot or two. The most obvious involved Geovane Jesus.
We’re going on almost 18 months since Jesus tore his ACL, he’s had two surgeries related to it, and he still hasn’t returned to play. With no official update from the club on his status since the summer, it seems fair to say something isn’t going right. Should that be the case and he isn’t in line to return soon/at all, there’s two options they have.
Put him on Season Ending IR: Dallas would have until the summer to make this decision, meaning they could carry Jesus if they think there’s a chance he could return. As a U22, his salary hit isn’t that extreme but they’d be able to sign a replacement player for him.
Buy him out: This is less likely as he’s not a salary drain and he’s still young. However if they did exercise the buyout on him, that’d indicate a big concern with his future in the game.
With Moore and Endeley on the roster, Jesus’ availability is less a concern. Even more if Ruan comes back, although that seems unlikely now. As such, to make room on the roster would probably mean Jesus’ status needs to be clarified. Even if that status means he’s not coming back in 2025.
Second on the list is Enes Sali. The U22 from Romania had a good year with NTSC, but doesn’t seem ready for prime time MLS just yet. A loan to a USL Championship club seems the next step with the intent of giving him a stiffer challenge. Unless Quill is a lot higher on Sali than the rest of us, which is possible, 2025 probably isn’t the year Sali becomes a first team regular. Loaning him and making a call on Jesus opens up two spots.
A third option is rumor based, as 3rd Degree posted the club is shopping Sebastian Lletget. To be clear: They indicated it was mostly rumors and they weren’t able to confirm them. It makes sense that the team would listen on offers for Da Boy. Lletget balled out for the back half of the season, and if you’re a win now team he’d be a great add. Dallas doesn’t have to move Lletget at all; he’s on an expiring deal with an option. However if they want to get younger while opening up salary space and a roster spot, it’s a place to go.
Another question mark is Alejandro Urzua, who signed a Homegrown deal in 2023 but hasn’t appeared with the first team yet. He’s another loan candidate, unless Quill wants to give him a look. Balancing the youth and the now is going to be a struggle for the next couple of years. Urzua’s status will give us an idea of what the franchise thinks about how the scales currently sit.
All of that adds up to six potential spots open on the club if they pull every single lever. Which is good, because there are some things Dallas still has to address.
What’s Left To Do
Left wing has become an issue for Dallas, especially if Arriola and Ferreira end up elsewhere. Velasco has established himself more as a 10 than a winger, Julio is a right winger by trade, and Kamungo had more success on the right than the left. Pedrinho could shift over in theory though he mostly played on the right with NTSC.
Even if Arriola stays, you’d like to see a depth add there in case of injury. Arriola hasn’t played in all 34 games ever in his MLS tenure, although 28 starts in 31 matches last year was an improvement over a down 2023. You’d want someone who can play 15-30 minutes a game along with around 10 starts a season. Whether that’s in the pipeline or in free agency, Dallas has to identify that player.
Speaking of the left side, a backup to Marco Farfan is also on the needs list. The keen eyed above noticed I’ve got Nolan Norris listed as his backup currently. That’s not by accident, but it’s also not insider knowledge. With the midfielder crowded as is, and expected to get more so, Norris is probably back on defense going forward.
Where he plays is another issue. Dallas could use another center back, but we’re talking fifth center back at this rate. That’s not the best use of Norris’ talent. Seeing if he can handle the backup spot to Farfan though? That’s worth doing. Norris plays left back in the national team setup, and he has the chance to prove he can do it in MLS. He’s got an impeccable work rate, good passing, and fits the intangibles Quill wants. If he can do it at a position of need, potentially even seizing the long term job? That’s a win.
As mentioned, another center back would do Dallas good as well. It’s easy to believe that Tafari, Ibeagha, and Abubakar will compete for the starting spots. Sainte as the fourth who can also play midfield is a nice flex option. Someone to fill the Omar Gonzalez role of veteran teacher/emergency option is what’s left. That could be Gonzalez himself, as the team could bring him back. It’s the right profile, and he proved more than proficient in extended minutes last year.
Finally, the third keeper is not a huge priority but it should be addressed. With Jimmy Maurer’s departure to Houston, Antonio Carrera is the de-facto backup and Michael Collodi would be the third based on the current roster set up. Signing a veteran backup could shift everyone back a spot, although it’s unclear if Dallas wants that. One thing is for sure: Maarten Paes is the starter. Everything behind him is a bit murky.
What’s The Timeline Going Forward?
While Dallas hasn’t announced their preseason plans yet, other clubs have giving us a decent road map. It appears January 11th is the start of preseason based on other team’s listed report dates. That means teams are back in two weeks. It’s worth remembering: Dallas didn’t announced the Petar Musa signing until February 1st. There’s a real chance that training camp begins for Dallas with a group of players, but changes could happen deep into preseason.
The message being: patience. The wonkiness of the MLS calendar means things happen at odd times in odd ways. If Dallas has a big move up their sleeves, it could be they’re waiting until the next international transfer window opens to execute. A lot can happen between now and February 22nd. FC Dallas supporters can afford to be patient, since their club has already tipped their intent. Now it’s all about time.