Galaxy Aim to Work With Familiar Roster

While a few contract options were declined, the club continues to negotiate with several players for 2021.

The LA Galaxy announced roster decisions earlier this week on Monday, November 30^th, and it appears that the club will see many of the same faces next season.

The team is still undergoing some crucial offseason changes, as they are looking to rebuild (yet again) by searching for a new head coach and making roster changes in hopes to bring the Galaxy back to being an MLS Cup contender.

To the discontent of many fans, there are players on the roster who many feels should not return, however, we should know within the next month who will be leaving and who the team will seek to add.

Who Will Not Return?

The players who are not in any type of talks with the Galaxy and had their options declined were Yony Gonzalez, Emil Cuello, and Gordon Wild. It looks like we will not be seeing them next season. With their limited number of appearances and minutes, it is a little difficult to build a case as to why they should stay.

The other declined players are Joe Corona, Emiliano Insua, and Jonathan Klinsmann. It has been announced that they are currently in negotiations with the team. There is also a possibility that Cristian Pavon and Carlos Harvey may not return due to their loans expiring at the end of this month.

Additionally, David Bingham, Perry Kitchen, and Rolf Feltscher are out of contract and are apparently also negotiating with the LA Galaxy.

Who Should Return?

The obvious answer is Cristian Pavon, who’s loan expires on Dec. 30^th. He has proven himself as a vital part of the team from the moment he arrived in LA. There have been reports stating that the Galaxy have proposed an $8 million offer to Argentine Club Boca Juniors for the forward, which has been reportedly been declined. At this point, I am not sure if the Galaxy will be able to pay any fee higher than that in order to obtain the player. Will we see the talented Pavon in a Galaxy kit next season? I sure hope so.

Jonathan Klinsmann is another name who I would like to see the return, given the good performances he showed in the few games he started for the team.

While I do not feel he should be the first-choice keeper yet primarily due to a lack of experience, he is certainly a great option for a backup goalkeeper and potentially on his way to becoming a regular starter.

Emiliano Insua. Although there may be Galaxy fans that feel different, Insua was a consistent left-back who provided solid defensive performances throughout the entire season.

Who Will We See Next Season?

We should expect to see the following players next season as they remain under contract or had their contract options exercised by the club.

Players under contract: Eric Lopez, Nick DePuy, Julian Araujo, Danilo Acosta, Daniel Steres, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Jonathan Dos Santos, Sebastian Lletget, Efrain Alvarez, Cameron Dunbar, Javier Hernandez

Players who had their contract options exercised: Justin Vom Steeg, Diedie Traore, Kai Koreniuk, Ethan Zubak.

Sacha Kljestan also is reported to have agreed to a new contract with the Galaxy.

Overall, there were not many changes to the squad.

While we do our best to remain optimistic, I feel most fans were wanting to see more change on the roster for next season, myself included.